A transgender woman has said she needed emergency NHS care after a gender reassignment surgery in Turkey.
Shona, from Lancashire, travelled to Izmir in Turkey to complete her transition.
However, despite the successful surgery, she said she had to travel home with a piece of surgical equipment still in place.
She has now spoken out out against rumours the surgery had been botched, saying that the dilator, a plastic or silicone device used to prevent shrinkage following male to female surgery, was still inside her.
Shona took to TikTok to document her journey
TikTok
She 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."
After arriving at each airport in turn, she found 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.
By the time she reached Manchester, she said: "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."
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Shona only noticed the issue once lading at Manchester Airport
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Shona, who is married to a woman and has children, said she was taken to hospital following a spike in her temperature.
She added: "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. The infection was caused because I had the dilator inside me which caused skin damage."
Shona has revealed that she will be returning to Turkey today for further surgery to repair the damage done.
In a later TikTok, she said: "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 went on to 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."
