A transgender woman took her own life after a botched backyard surgery by an unlicenced ‘practioner’ with ‘less training than a vet’ left her body horrifically mutilated.
Frustrated by being unable to find a more conventional surgeon, the 24-year-old underwent a horrifying ordeal in October 2019 in an attempt have her testicles removed.
The surgery – performed on a tarp laid across a bed in a home in Melbourne – led to serious complications, including excessive bleeding.
The botched operation was abandoned as the victim was rushed to Casey Hospital in the south east of the city.
After the botched surgery, the victim was rushed to Melbourne’s Casey Hospital
Cecilia Jones, a friend of the transgender woman, revealed details of the gruesome incident.
‘She said she was on a tarp on a bed and there was blood everywhere,’ Ms Jones told the Herald Sun.
‘She felt desperate and this guy she found online.
‘The way I saw it, a vet was better (qualified).’
The transgender woman’s mother Rachel Byrne is furious that the hospital did not report the matter to police, despite being told what happened.
‘No one cared about my child – that is unforgivable,’ she said.
Casey Hospital operator Monash Health declined to comment to the Herald Sun, citing ‘ongoing obligations to protect patient privacy and confidentiality’.
The transgender woman took her own life 18 months after the operation, using a drug from an Australian chemical company that is under investigation.
It is unclear if the ‘surgeon’ can be charged, with Australian laws targeting those who falsely claim to be licenced practioners – not those who don’t make such claims.
The Victorian Coroner is currently investigating the suicide, along with four others committed by transgender people.
In a submission to the inquest Transgender Victoria stated gender affirming care is difficult to obtain and with male to female surgery starting at $20,000 it can also be prohibitively expensive.
‘Female genital surgery can be difficult or impossible to obtain in Victoria or Australia,’ the submission stated
‘A trans or gender diverse person will often delay affirming their gender until living in their birth gender becomes intolerable.
This often manifests in a strong feeling that their options are to affirm their gender or suicide.’
The advocacy group said trans people have among the highest rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts in Australia with gender-affirming care ‘medically necessary’ to save lives.
Monash Health has been contacted for comment.