Help Coda with urgent hospital charges

Hi,

We're fundraising to help our lovely Coda with unexpected hospital charges following a gender affirming surgery gone wrong.

The Situation

Coda underwent a self-funded breast augmentation in April 2023 as part of her transition with a London-based medical provider with long running ties to the trans community. While Coda's right breast healed as expected, her left breast proved to be problematic and caused discomfort from the start.

Four months after the surgery, the incision (which had healed fully on the outside) reopened and turned into a chronic wound. Following such a prolonged and difficult period, months of antibiotics, and significant immobilisation, Coda's mental and physical health has suffered enough. Per doctors' orders, the offending implant needs to be removed (explanted) to be replaced once six months have passed.

This is a harrowing situation and one Coda never imagined herself in - especially given how gender affirming the original intervention was supposed to be. Even more worryingly, this has brought about uenxpected and significant hospital charges which Coda needs to cover.

While the surgeons have been generous to waive their fees for the explant and following reimplant, steep hospital charges are due. Understandably, Coda isn't able to take on the financial burden of more surgery at such short notice, especially as an immigrant trans woman from a working/lower middle class background.

Cost Breakdown

Hospital fees - £2330.00

Anaesthetist fees - £450.00

Implant cost - £859.64

MRSA swab - £100.00

In total, the explant and reimplant will set Coda back £3,739.64.

The Provider

The provider is yet to pinpoint what the issue is with certainty, despite multiple surgeons reviewing Coda's case - her primary doctor expressed that in all his many decades of practice, he's never seen anything like this. Their leading theory at present is that bacteria made its way into Coda's body (likely at the time of the first surgery), which may be causing a low grade infection leading to the formation of biofilm (buildup of bacterial colonies) and capsular contracture (hardening of the tissue around the implant).

The surgeons were keen to take a conservational approach for as long as possible, since they understood how important the original intervention was for Coda and didn't want to cause further trauma by removing the implant. We're grateful that they tried.

What's Next

The explant is scheduled for 21st February. The hope is that the reimplant can occur in late 2024 pending how the explant goes. The future is still a bit uncertain and Coda is taking things one day at a time.

Thank you for your support!