Tanner Chose Mass General for Gender-Affirming Care

On August 2, 2018, Tanner Bonanza, came from New York to Boston to undergo gender-affirmation surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. Throughout his life, Tanner experienced gender dysphoria, a condition that causes a person great distress due to feeling as though their physical body, or sex, does not match their gender identity.

Below, he shares more about his experience at Mass General.

“I had a wonderful care team, and I have a lot of love for them. After years of hormone therapy, I decided to pursue gender-affirmation surgery, and I chose the Transgender Surgical Program at Mass General because I knew that qualified individuals would provide me with my desired outcome.

While the overall experience was challenging, my surgery went well. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t have my team by my side every step of the way. I went from worrying, to feeling grateful that I would be having a ‘sleepover’ with enjoyable company.

My recovery went well too. The recovery process can be tedious, but my care team taught me about proper wound care and gave me a regime to follow that included a protein diet, drinking a lot of water and getting plenty of sleep. All of this helped my condition to drastically improve.

For anyone considering Mass General, I would say they won’t find another hospital that can do what our hospital can do. Through our ups and downs, I wouldn’t trade my team for the world. They want to make a difference in people’s lives, and you’ll be in great hands no matter the circumstances.”