A trans woman has revealed her horrific ordeal as she suffered internal injuries on her journey home from having gender reassignment surgery in Turkey — and it has left her needing emergency NHS treatment.
Shona travelled from her home in Lancashire to Izmir to complete her transition.
It was a success until she had to travel home with a piece of surgical equipment still in place, she claims.
After the op, Shona was travelling home to the Blackpool area through three airports — Izmir, Istanbul and Manchester.
She says she booked assistance at all three but no one was there to help her around the airport with her bags or up and down the steps of the two planes she needed to get home.
It meant Shona carried her suitcases across the airports while her dilator — a plastic or silicone device used to prevent shrinkage following male to female surgery — was inserted.
Shona travelled from her home in Lancashire to Izmir for gender-reassignment surgery that would give the male born trans woman a vaginal opening
As part of the surgery Shona had to have dilator – a plastic or silicone device used to prevent shrinkage following male to female surgery – inserted
Shona, who is married to a woman and has children, took to TikTok to describe her ordeal to her 11,000 followers.
She said she flew out to Turkey on February 2 for surgery but felt compelled to speak out against rumours the surgery had been botched.
Shona said: ‘A lot of people are assuming my surgery went wrong in Izmir, but it went according to plan.
‘However on the way home I had booked assistance through the three different airports, starting at Izmir itself.’
She said that she arrived at each airport in turn to find there was no one there as planned to carry her cases and make it as simple as possible to board and leave flights in her vulnerable condition.
She said she was exhausted by the time she reached Manchester, telling her followers: ‘No assistance was there and I had to walk through passport control, lift my suitcases off the belt and push them to the train station.
‘I then got a train to Preston and had to carry my cases up and down stairs myself. I then got a taxi and was met by my wife at the front door.
‘In all that time I was walking I had my dilator inside me which has caused damage to the new left labia.’
Shona added: ‘I have seen a doctor and they have referred me to St George’s Hospital in London to try to fix the problem.
‘There were no issues until I had to walk with this dilator inside me.
‘I don’t want people to judge me over what has happened, it is now about healing and me getting better.
‘The infection has now almost cleared up, I am off oxygen now for a little while though I am finding it hard to breathe.
‘I am getting there and the antibiotics are working. I now just need to get to St George’s and get the wound fixed.’
In a previous video posted to TikTok, Shona told how she was rushed into hospital after returning home from Turkey when her temperature spiked.
She said: ‘Last night I had to be rushed into A&E at Blackpool Vic (Blackpool Victoria Hospital) due to a high temperature and being off food for a few days.
‘It was found my labia had become infected and needs debriding. The doctor is taking me down to clean it all up, however the hole is still open.
‘Other than that everything is OK and these things happen. I will not be the first and I will not be the last person that this has happened to.
However, she wasn’t meant to walk with the device inside her and despite booking medical assistance Shona says she was forced to carry her luggage herself on her journey home which ended up causing serious internal injuries
She said she’s now planning Shona to return to Turkey today for further surgery to repair the damage done
‘The infection was caused because I had the dilator inside me which caused skin damage.’
After gender reassignment surgery patients are required to use a dilator to prevent a process known as ‘stenosis’ – the shortening or contracting of the new vaginal cavity.
The London Transgender Clinic – one of the UK’s leading private hospitals – advises patients: ‘The stretching effect from vaginal dilation can prevent wound contraction, in addition to providing optimal elasticity of the vaginal walls to accommodate penetration.
‘Without adequate and consistent dilation, the skin inside the vagina will shrink and contract, which may ultimately lead to shortening and/or narrowing of the vaginal canal; this is known as stenosis.’
Shona has revealed that she will be returning to Turkey today for further surgery to repair the damage done.
She said work carried out at an NHS hospital had removed too much healthy skin so surgeons in Izmir would be working to rectify the damage.
Shona told her followers in an updated TikTok: ‘They took away too much healthy skin on my wound so unfortunately I am now having to return to Turkey where they will take me back to theatre again to repair the damage and keep me there for a week on bed rest.
‘I will have assistance again at Manchester airport, they have confirmed it and made sure it is on the list when I get there.’
She thanked her followers for their support, saying: ‘You have been a major part of my journey and it has been amazing to have you there.’
