Texas Detransitioner Accuses Doctors of Insurance Fraud Coaching in Botched Surgery Lawsuit
A Texas woman who endured severe complications following gender transition surgery has filed a lawsuit accusing her medical providers of instructing her on how to deceive her insurance company. Soren Aldaco, aged 23, initiated legal proceedings in 2023 against the doctors who administered testosterone and performed a flawed double mastectomy when she was a teenager.
The Texas Supreme Court considered oral arguments in this contentious case on Wednesday, highlighting significant legal and medical controversies.
Childhood Trauma and Online Influence
Aldaco, who was assigned female at birth, began identifying as transgender at just 11 years old. She now attributes this early determination to a combination of childhood trauma and pervasive online influences. By age 17, after a brief 30-minute consultation with a nurse practitioner, she was prescribed testosterone and estrogen blockers to facilitate her transition to male.
Two years later, she underwent 'top surgery'—a double mastectomy to remove her breasts. Aldaco claims her surgeon actively assisted in securing insurance coverage by providing her with specific talking points.
"My surgeon made sure to facilitate my physical transition as much as possible, spoon-feeding me talking points for insurance coverage," Aldaco wrote in a Wall Street Journal essay published on Wednesday. "I donned rainbow hair, medical knee braces and prescription compression socks to my surgery date. I was on more than 10 different medications when I went under the knife."
Severe Surgical Complications
The procedure resulted in disastrous outcomes. Aldaco reported experiencing painful bruising along her ribs, sides, and chest, with her surgeons allegedly dismissing her concerns. In her legal complaint, she detailed how the surgery caused "her nipples literally peeling off her chest."
Eventually, she sought emergency care, where doctors had to reopen her scars to drain three cups of blood before inserting Penrose drains. Six months post-surgery, Aldaco decided to detransition, explaining, "Piecing together my turbulent family life and adolescent internet habits, among other things, it dawned on me that I had never been 'born in the wrong body.'"
Legal Hurdles and Political Support
Aldaco's lawsuit names several medical professionals and their associated clinics, including nurse practitioner Del Scott Perry, psychiatrist Dr. Sreenath Nekkalapu, counselor Barbara Rose Wood, and surgeons Dr. Richard Santucci and Dr. Ashley Deleon. The clinics involved are the Crane Clinic, Texas Health Physicians Group, Three Oaks Counseling Group (also known as Thriveworks), and Mesa Springs mental health facility in Fort Worth.
However, the case faces a significant obstacle due to Texas's statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, which generally requires lawsuits to be filed within two years of the alleged malpractice. Counselor Barbara Rose Wood argued that Aldaco should have filed by February 2023, but Aldaco sent a pre-suit notice in May 2023 and filed the lawsuit in July 2023.
Aldaco and her attorney contend that the two-year period should commence from June 2021, when the actual damage occurred during her breast removal surgery. The Fort Worth Second Court of Appeals has previously sided with the defendants, but a coalition of 60 Texas House Republicans has intervened, urging the court to allow the claims to proceed.
Republican Representative Shelby Slawson stated on social media, "What happened to Soren was an absolute atrocity, and House Republicans are uniting to ensure there is no shelter for gender mod practitioners who harm Texans." Representative Jeff Leach, who accompanied Aldaco to court, expressed pride in her fight for justice.
Broader Investigations and Accountability
In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged to investigate hospitals under the False Claims Act to determine if claims had been submitted to federal healthcare programs for noncovered services related to gender transition procedures. By July, the Department of Justice had issued over 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing transgender medical procedures on minors, focusing on healthcare fraud and false statements.
Bondi emphasized, "Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice." This case underscores ongoing debates about medical ethics, insurance practices, and legal protections for detransitioners.
