Facial Feminization Surgery Procedures Facial Feminization Surgery Procedures By Trinity Rose www.facialfeminizationsurgery.net Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS) refers to surgical procedures, which will alter a masculine face to a feminine shape through the use of plastic surgery, reconstructive surgery, and maxillofacial surgery. Procedures range from the use of soft tissue procedures, facial fillers, implants, to more invasive procedures involving the buring (grinding) of facial bones, and the cutting (osteotomy) of facial bones. Due to the fact people differ in facial characteristics; a combination of serval procedures may need to be used to alter the face to the desired result to feminize the face. Most people refer to Facial Feminization Surgery as FFS when describing it. There are a number of surgical procedures that can be used to feminize the face when it comes to FFS. Depending on your facial structure and degree of masculine features, one or many of the following procedures can be used to feminize the transsexual face: Forehead contouring: Complated by a high speed bur Forehead reconstruction: Complated by cutting out a section or sections of the frontal skull Forehead compression/controlled facture: Research in progress Jaw tapering: Completed by a high speed bur or a bone saw Chin contouring/Mentoplasty: Completed by a high speed bur and or chin inplant Sliding genioplasty: Completed by cutting and removing the chin Cheekbone augmentation Through the use of implants Cheekbone reduction Complated by a high speed bur Lip contouring/Lip lift trachea shave blepharoplasty (Eyelid surgery to correct sagging or drooping of the eyelids) Rhinoplasty Facial Implants Facial Fillers Facelift FFS surgeon listings Further links about surgery can also be found at the bottom of this page. This surgery is not limited to female to male transsexuals; since there are also options that can be applied to help female to male transsexuals using this type of surgery to obtain masculine features. I will be adding Facial Masculinization Surgery information at a future date. ..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Jaw tapering/Jaw contouring Facial Feminization Surgery FFS has a great many options of procedures, which can feminize the face of transsexuals. Jaw tapering can have a great impact towards feminizing of the male bone structure in the transsexual face if done correctly during your FFS. All facial feminization surgery procedures carry a certain amount of risk. It is important that transsexual women educate themselves about the procedures involved in the FFS process and research the available facial feminization surgery surgeons throughout the world. View the affects of jaw tapering on the jaw in the above photo of the skulls (CLICK TO ENLARGE). The Mandible (jaw): In males the jaw tends to be wider/fuller in the back angles for more of a square appearance (lateral and posterior flaring of the bony angles) compared with a female jaw. Females have a greater taper from the back of the jaw to the chin. Females tend to have more of a rounded shape in the back of the jaw. Some females tend to have strong jaw angels and so having this procedure is subjective to the personal preference of the patients having this procedure done. Jaw tapering, Angle of mandible reduction, and or Ramus reduction: This procedure involves removing a section of bone from the jaw to give it more of a rounded affect from the ear down to the new forward curve. This is done through a incision in the gumline of the mouth (there are a few other areas the surgeon may gain access to the area also) and the bone will be taken down with a bone contouring bur/saw. Depending on the size of your master muscle, a Masseter Muscle Reduction might also be done for further tapering, this procedure involves reduction with forceps and scissors. In most cases the masseter muscle is reduced at the same time. If you place your finger on the back your jaw and perform a biting action, you will feel the master muscle at work. You can also bite down and clench your teeth and feel the masseter muscle. The following link will provide more info and some more photos of jaw tappering. For more info about mandible reduction take a look at the ""bottom"" of this artical by Dr. Charles S. Lee The jaw tapering if done correctly can make the cheeks look fuller and give a smoother taper from the ears to the chin. Jaw Tapering and Masseter Muscle Reduction are considered bloody procedures. So there will be weakness and fatigue after these procedures. So expect to take at least a week off resting. The amount of weakness and fatigue will vary based on the number of procedures you are having done, health and age. Is there pain after these two procedures? From personal experience after these two procedures yes, the areas do hurt for sometime. Pain is a factor after surgery, which you will have to face head on and take some painkillers for a while before it gets better. Surgeons use drain tubes coming from within the gum line incision at the back of the jaw. These tubes can be very irritating during the time you have them in. You won't be able to fully open your mouth all the way so you will have to eat soft foods for a while because of the limited range of movement you will have after this procedure and also becasue you will have a limited amount of bite strength. There tends to be a high degree of swelling after this procedure that can take a few months to go down and there can be bruising in the eyes, cheeks, and neck. From my experience with this surgery I drooled some for the first ten days after and it was kind of irritating and was most prevalent when I tried to eat much of anything during the first ten days. After jaw or chin surgery the doctor will advise you not to sleep on either side of your face for like three months and to sleep on an elevated position on your back. This can be uncomfortable for people who are not used to sleeping on their back. Here are some actual photos of the mandible from different views Mandible, top view. Mandible, frontal view. Mandible, lateral view. Mandible, posterior view. Here are some photos of two burs (referred to as pineapple burs) which are used for grinding bone. The shorter bur is a standard bur used by most surgeons and the second bur was especially designed per specs of Dr. Mark Zukowski to operate at 15,000 RPM and for greater reach during endoscopic surgery. The photos were taken a few days after I had chin and jaw reconstruction with Dr. Zukowski after he allowed me some time with his Surgery Tech for questions about the burs and to take photos. Photos of the burrs The risks and complications from jaw tapering and massester muscle reduction: Over reduction, Under reduction, Step down problems, Hematoma, Blood loss, Infection, Permanent change in sensation, Nerve damage, and Blood clots. Long term affects from facial feminization surgery on the mandible and chin This is a serious health development people will have to deal from having aggressive surgery on the chin and jaw as they age. This will vary in ages due to dental health and a healthy lifestyle. Oral and dental diseases may also lower the age for this possibility during the lifespan of people under going these procedures. In older age (65 to 70 long term good health will increase the ages for this possible condition) the chin and jaw bone becomes greatly reduced (the bones lower in height) in size through the loss of the teeth and alveolar process (the bone area where the roots of the teeth reside) being absorbed may cause the possibility of chin or jaw facture from aggressive surgery in those areas due to the lowered height in the chin and lower to mid section of the jaw. This should be considered before surgery since the chin and jaw reduce sizes to almost half their original sizes in old age. Factures in old age are very difficult to correct and can lead to a massive amount of other health related issues. In the below article there are a number of photos of what happens to the jaw and chin in different periods of life. The section on this issue can be found in the bottom of the article. Long term affects on the mandible and chin Chin Contouring and Chin Reconstruction In females the chin tends to be either a sharp point or a gentle rounding as in an oval face like an upside down egg. Males tend to have more of a square looking chin and it tends to be wider and vertically high compared to a females chin. This depends on the age of the male to female transsexual since a number of male to female transsexuals in their late teens and early twenties will fall into a female range of size and shape when it comes to the shape of their chin. There are two procedures to shape the chin to a female shape the first is grinding and the next is a sliding genioplasty (cutting of bones and placing them in a new position). Chin Contouring/Mentoplasty: This procedure involves making an incision either through the gumline or underneath the chin to gain access to the area and then grinding down the bone to shape your chin into a female shape. Some times a chin implant or a bone paste will also be used to further shape the chin.