well surgery to modify genitalia or chest tissue can be a part of transitioning. its not a misconception, it’s just described by transphobes in a way that makes it sound more repulsive than any other medical procedure. it’s important to note that trans people are not the only ones who receive gender affirming surgeries, any cis woman you know who has received breast implants or cis man who has received penis enlargement surgery have both undergone types of gender affirming surgery. but for trans people, its just a way that some choose to transition.

how it works depends on what kind of procedure, but the most common categories are “top” and “bottom” surgery (top of your body, bottom of your body, not the kind of top and bottom you might be thinking of lol). for trans men, operations to remove chest tissue and operations to create a penis from existing tissue (phalloplasty) are the most common. for trans women, operations to add breast implants and to modify a penis into a vagina (vaginoplasty) are the most common. some trans women also get facial feminization surgery, such as a tracheal shave which cuts down the adams apple to make it not visible.

this research shows that gender affirming surgery is more common for trans men (around half of those studied in the linked paper), whereas for trans women it was around 28%. i think these statistics are pretty accurate in my own experience, i frequently meet more other trans women who haven’t had any operations than those who have (i myself don’t want to have any and know a lot who feel the same).