TRANSSEXUAL Samantha Valentine is about to undergo the irreversible surgery she describes as “the final piece in my jigsaw”

in what has been the most radical of personal journeys.

Next week the Sale resident will go under the knife at the Nuffield Health hospital in Brighton and said the procedure, like all surgeries, has risks attached.

These include the potentially life threatening condition deep vein thrombosis and there is also the chance the operation could fail.

Samantha, who was born Philip, said she is “very, very nervous” about the lmpending surgery which will take place on March 26. But she also added her fear is mingled with a sense of excitement.

Samantha, who is originally from Stretford, said: “I’m thinking back to my early days when I used to dress up in my flat and I’d close the curtains in case anyway outside saw me through the window. I was absolutely petrified. i just look how far I’ve come and I see myself today, a very brazen person who doesn’t really care what people think.”

She will spend eight days in hospital and a further two weeks recovering at home. Samantha said visits by friends and a stack of DVDs will be a part of the recovery process.

Samantha said she will have to get over the operation without the support of her estranged family.

She said: “It’s part of the process - some families can accept it and others don’t. But I’ve got good friends and I class them as my family.”

Samantha, who does voluntary work at the Scope charity shop in Sale and for the Old Trafford mental health group BlueSci, is bracing herself for a long recovery.