A High Price to Pay to Belong

For youth and adults pursuing a gender transition today, social stigma, lack of education for medical providers, high costs and insurance difficulties lead many to seek support and medical care elsewhere.

Medical transitioning sought outside of mainstream and licensed channels carries serious risks. CBS 4 Miami and the Miami Herald have both reported on victims of an alleged person posing as a doctor and injecting unsuspecting clients with cement and toxic substances instead of silicone.

Raj, a South Florida resident and a volunteer speaker with YES Institute for the past seven years, said she did not have the financial means to afford a licensed plastic surgeon and sought ought the alleged suspect after hearing of word-of-mouth referrals.

Raj at a YES Institute presentation for Florida Atlantic University graduate counseling students. 

"It becomes so dire that you want to match your outside with your inside that you’re willing to roll the dice and take your chances," Raj said of her decision. "As a transgender person, you’re thinking ‘Oh, my God, I can start to look like, I want to look like and I don’t have to spend a lot of money.'"

Dr. John J. Martin, Jr. 

Longtime Kiaora Society Donor and newly installed YES Institute Board Member, Dr. John J. Martin, Jr., has been treating Raj to correct and restore the botched and unlicensed procedures.

Dr. Martin has been giving Raj therapeutic injections in the the hopes to eventually soften the hard nodules formed in her skin and return her to a more normal appearance. "There is not an easy solution to this nightmare," says Martin. 

Dr. Martin has been treating Raj for the past three years. He says Raj thought she was getting silicone, and he doesn't know what the composition of the substance is now in her skin.

More and more leaders within various healthcare professions and specialties are recognizing the need for increased education and awareness about gender transitioning patients. For example, the American Congress for Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently released a policy statement that "opposes discrimination on the basis of gender identity and urges public and private health insurance plans to cover the treatment of gender identity disorder."

On January 15, 16 and 17, YES Institute will be conducting our entire Gender/Orientation Series™, three days of courses providing an in-depth, research-based exploration of these and many other consequences facing youth, families and communities resulting from binary concepts of gender.

The Gender/Orientation Series™takes place during Communicating Powerfully & ReVisioning Gender, our annual education weekend held in January. YES' two-day signature Communication Solutions™ course will be conducted on Friday and Saturday, January 13 & 14.

Contact Brittney McCabe at 305-663-7195 or email brittney@yesinstitute.org to register and reserve your seat today. CE credits are available for licensed nurses, therapists and teachers.