A transgender woman is preparing to jet more than 5,000 miles across the world for vocal cord surgery in a bid to sound more feminine.

Rhona de Jong, 54, from London, has aspirations of becoming a model but fears her voice currently 'doesn't match' her appearance.

Having undergone liposuction, a hair transplant and a vaginoplasty, Rhona will nowfly to Seoul, South Korea, for the $12,000 (£8,594) procedure in which surgeons will shorten her vocal cords to increase their pitch.

Rhona, who is currently single and works as a designer, said: 'My voice – its tone and vibration – simply doesn't match my feminine appearance. It's as if it belongs to someone else.'

London designer Rhona de Jong is preparing to jet more than 5,000 miles across the world to South Korea for vocal cord surgery in a bid to sound more feminine

Drastic measure: Rhona, who is 54, has aspirations of becoming a model but fears her voice currently 'doesn't match' her appearance

When she wakes from surgery, Rhona - who is originally from Scotland, and still talks with an accent - will initially be unable to speak and plans to use her iPhone to communicate for the first two weeks.

Rhona's treatments so far . Hormone treatment . Liposuction to make hips wider . Hair transplant . Reconstructed breast implants following mastectomy . Vaginoplasty . Vocal cord surgery Advertisement

She continued: 'I'll need to relearn to talk all over again. I've no idea what I'll sound like, but I'm so intrigued to find out.'

Born intersex - where a person's reproductive or sexual anatomy doesn't appear to fit the typical definitions of male or female - Rhona was raised as a boy, but knew she wanted to be female when she was just four.

She said: 'I'd be playing, as little ones do, and notice how girls' bodies were different to mine – yet I didn't feel like they should be.

'That notion never left me. It just grew stronger and stronger. It became a war in my thinking.'

With her androgynous appearance, she Rhona was often asked whether she was a boy or girl while growing up - and aged 19, she decided to seek medical help.

After being referred for sex therapy and placed on a course of hormones, Rhona began to develop breasts.

'I absolutely loved it. I couldn't stop looking at myself,' she said, adding that, by the time she hit her twenties, she was living full-time as a woman.

Rhona, who is originally from Scotland, was born intersex and realised she wanted to become a woman at the age of four

Next step: Having undergone liposuction, a hair transplant and a vaginoplasty, Rhona is preparing for her next procedure in which surgeons will shorten her vocal cords

Rhona, who is currently single and works as a designer, said: 'My voice – its tone and vibration – simply doesn't match my feminine appearance. It's as if it belongs to someone else'

Years later, she underwent surgery, having liposuction to make her hips wider and give her an hourglass figure as well as a hair transplant.

After chopping off her own waist-length locks for the procedure, she had a wig made from them, so she could still feel as if she had natural hair.

After a cancer scare in the early 2000s, Rhona opted for breast reconstruction surgery to bring them up to a D-cup - although she wants to go bigger - and in 2017, she had vaginoplasty surgery.

She recalled: 'I had a clitoris made out of the nerve-endings in what was my penis. I'm very happy with it now and, thankfully, I've had no problems with it healing.

Big step: Rhona - who is originally from Scotland, and still talks with an accent - will initially be unable to speak and plans to use her iPhone to communicate for the first two weeks

Speaking about her upcoming procedure, Rhona said: 'I'll need to relearn to talk all over again. I've no idea what I'll sound like, but I'm so intrigued to find out'

Born intersex, Rhona was raised as a boy, but knew she wanted to be female when she was just four and has since undergone hormone therapy as well as a series of surgical procedures

'I'm sure they'd not had this request before, but I actually asked the nurse to take a picture of my penis and testicles once they'd been detached. It was my way of knowing they were really gone.'

As Rhona lay in Charing Cross Hospital recovering from her vaginoplasty, she chatted to other transgender patients on her ward and heard about voicebox surgery.

She is hoping the procedure will take her pitch up to 70hz - the average female range - as it currently stands at 195hz.

Growing up with an androgynous appearance, she Rhona was often asked whether she was a boy or girl while growing up - and aged 19, she decided to seek medical help

Transformation: After being referred for sex therapy and placed on a course of hormones, Rhona began to develop breasts at the age of 19

Brave: As she prepares to go the pioneering operation, Rhona hopes that, by sharing her story, she can help to become a voice for the transgender community

Ongoing process: After a cancer scare in the early 2000s, Rhona opted for breast reconstruction surgery to bring them up to a D-cup - although she wants to go bigger

Now, as she prepares to go the pioneering operation, Rhona hopes that, by sharing her story, she can help to become a voice for the transgender community.

'I want transgender people to be accepted as part of society. We should be taken as a given, not treated as if we're any different,' she said.

'For me, I've never had any huge insecurities with being transgender. Of course, you get the odd overwhelming moment, but I'm incredibly comfortable with who I am.

'I want people to look on me as a positive story, not a 'poor me' story.'

She added: Life, for me, is an experiment and choosing to have surgery – whether it be breasts, vagina or voice, is not taken lightly. It has to have meaningful purpose.