My FFS with Facial Team, Marbella, Spain, July 2014

[Monkeymel]

Your progress and recovery seems to be going really well. It is good to see and I'm sure your smile will be lightening up the tapas bars in the months to come!

Hugs
Over energitic Melissa

[Julia-Madrid]

He he he Mel, maybe one day soon you and I shall be being over-energetic at the tapas bars over here!!  Everyone told me to expect HRT to slow me down, and it hasn't.  Breastes are growing; I feel cold all the time (is it really 35ºC today - how astonishing!) but I'm still leaving the coyote without his dinner!

As I returned home yesterday from Marbella (YAY!  My house!) I glanced at myself in a fairly large mirror I have in the living room.  It was a strange experience to see someone slightly different looking back at me in my own home.  There's now a smooth forehead, and the wrinkles have been flattened (a nice side effect from being sliced open ear-to-ear,  tee hee!).   More lip, and this little chin peeking out between the swollen bits.   

Part of the healing process finds you gradually evolving from something slightly monstrous to something more agreeable, and your mental view of yourself adjusts on a daily basis when you look at yourself and realise that there's a little less swelling and a little more visible woman.

I think there has been an immediate  boost to my confidence as a result of my FFS.  Some is undoubtedly psychological, knowing that my face is or will be vastly more feminine, but the other is certainly physical.  It's great to see that there is no longer an adams apple on view - and yes, I mean seeing that it's not there is so very important for me, in a way that not seeing it there it is so necessary on meeting people.   

I must commend the surgeons for placing the tracheal incision so well - they marked the place for the cut so that it coincides with the dimensions of my face and neck so that it's virtually not visible, and even when it is visible it's still tiny.

Evolution today is just more of the same - less swelling and reduced bruising.  Eating is still a bit weird as a result of absence of much sensation in my lower lip.

On the plus side,  the lack of feeling in my chin might be useful as it will mask the pain during a few months of electrolysis.

A final comment for today relates to how grateful I am for a few natural gifts, totally outside of my control and fully due to my parents and their genes. My 162cm 50kg body, with its small shoulders, hands and feet are things that I am keenly aware of now.   At Facial Team I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful transwoman patients, and they have needed to overcome real obstacles, mentally and physically due to their physical genetic inheritance.  As an uncomfortable boy I used to curse my silly little body; as a girl I realise how  lucky I have been and am immensely grateful.

I wish a good weekend to you all from sunny Madrid, where apparently it is hot, but HRT tells me it's just nice

[calicarly]

Hey Julia ! Glad to read you are home, how are things progressing? You must be more and more delighted each day ! Have you started putting make up back on? I keep wondering how much make up to take or not to take to my FFS trip and asked the question on my thread but the ffs section of the forum been kind of slow recently. So is there any point to bringing my whole make up bag you think? Hugs x

[Julia-Madrid]

Hey Carly

Which is your thread, and where/when are you getting your FFS done??? And what are you having done?  You look very cute as you are!

I did take makeup, but you're scarcely going to need it, so take the minimum.  I wore makeup to the pre-surgery consultation.  Then nothing from the day of surgery for 5 days.  From day 5, in order to at least leave the hotel at night,  I very carefully applied a little, taking care around the stitching.

You're probably going to feel like hiding most of the time, and resting a lost.  So keep looking pretty on the inside while you wait for the outside to recover.

I must put up a last few pics.  Apart from residual jowls which will probably take 3-4 weeks to go down, I am very very pleased with the result.

Hugs
Julia

[Julia-Madrid]

Hi y'all

So this is the last post I shall be making here with photos.   It is now 2 weeks and 2 days since the surgery and I am astounded by how well it has all cured. 

• The trach scar is tiny and I am treating it with an anti-scar treatment
  
• Chin swelling is coming down and feeling is returning.  At least a little for general sensation, and a lot for pain sensation.  My bottom teeth in the front feel very much like they used to do after having my braces tightened as a kid. I'll say that this is the most uncomfortable intervention - talking, smiling and eating are quite uncomfortable.
  
• The lip lift scar is virtually unnoticeable - also using an anti-scar treatment
  
• Virtually no discomfort at all from the brow bossing, although the cranial scar does pull a little, especially when I have to wear the chin support overnight and the straps over the top tug at my head

Very little visible swelling can be seen in this not very pretty straight-from-the-shower photo:

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In this one, from the side you can see some bruising and swelling still.

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I can't wait until the hair transplant in December!!!  Meantime, all dolled up with hair and makeup these are today's results:

<picture removed now>

[ClaudiaLove]

  You are looking great , Julia 

  I am very happy for you , for both great results and quick healing  .

[peky]

Chica yo no supe de esta marcha... pero bueno, mira, tu estas muy bella, si los resultados son fantasticos

Besos

P

[Julia-Madrid]

Hi Claudia and Peky

Thanks for your comments.  Yeah, it's been pretty good... let's hope the chin continues to improve!

Besooos
J

[Dash]

Lovely pics Julia. Brilliant change. : )

[calicarly]

That forehead looks so good now! And the fast healing is great! I do see some of the swelling on the chin/jaw area but those 2 always seem to take time!

Congrats! Felicidades!

[LizMarie]

Lovely work and a good result! You'll have to give us more pics as the swelling goes down.

[Yanagi]

How has your recovery progressed? I had a consultation with Dr. Capitan last week and was deeply impressed.

Has your chin regained feeling?

How was the scar across the top of your head? Any complications? I find their method (not cutting along the hairline) very compelling, but I haven't heard any firsthand accounts of the recovery or risks involved. Supposedly it's safer, so it makes sense that I might not have heard complaints...but is there anything more you can share about that head incision?

Thanks! And I'd love to see your photos via PM if that's still okay with you.

[Julia-Madrid]

How has your recovery progressed? I had a consultation with Dr. Capitan last week and was deeply impressed.

Has your chin regained feeling?

How was the scar across the top of your head? Any complications? I find their method (not cutting along the hairline) very compelling, but I haven't heard any firsthand accounts of the recovery or risks involved. Supposedly it's safer, so it makes sense that I might not have heard complaints...but is there anything more you can share about that head incision?

Thanks! And I'd love to see your photos via PM if that's still okay with you.

Hi Yanagi

The results now, after 6 months are pretty good.  Facial Team are absolutely excellent professionals, and I really am pleased that I chose them.

My chin has regained most of its feeling, and is slowly gaining more feeling.  I expect it will take about a year.  The cranial scar gave no problems at all. 

What I will comment is that such invasive surgery has risks and can leave consequences, so you need to be aware that looking feminine may have its down-side.  With a finger I can feel that there was work in the area of the cranial scar - the muscle and skin feels different there, thinner.  And some parts of my face feel different or have slightly different mobility compared with before.  None of these is a limiting condition.  You simply need to go into FFS realising that they are working on the part of you with highest density of nerves and muscles, and your face may not feel perfectly as it did before the surgery.

Hope this helps
J

[Eva]

Thanks for that, 6 months seems like such a long time to live with the discomfort when recovering... Then again its probably really nice to see the results everyday as well

Its getting real for me now and I cant believe Im actually gonna do this in less than a month

[Julia-Madrid]

Thanks for that, 6 months seems like such a long time to live with the discomfort when recovering... Then again its probably really nice to see the results everyday as well

Its getting real for me now and I cant believe Im actually gonna do this in less than a month

Hi Eva

The discomfort was really only for the first month.  The rest of the time it's a case of gradual improvements as facial swelling goes down. But I looked pretty good after only 2 weeks

Julia.

[Melissa_fox]

You look amazing Julia and so happy that the surgery went well.

[Yanagi]

Hi Yanagi

The results now, after 6 months are pretty good.  Facial Team are absolutely excellent professionals, and I really am pleased that I chose them.

My chin has regained most of its feeling, and is slowly gaining more feeling.  I expect it will take about a year.  The cranial scar gave no problems at all. 

What I will comment is that such invasive surgery has risks and can leave consequences, so you need to be aware that looking feminine may have its down-side.  With a finger I can feel that there was work in the area of the cranial scar - the muscle and skin feels different there, thinner.  And some parts of my face feel different or have slightly different mobility compared with before.  None of these is a limiting condition.  You simply need to go into FFS realising that they are working on the part of you with highest density of nerves and muscles, and your face may not feel perfectly as it did before the surgery.

Hope this helps
J

Thank you so much. I'm about to put a deposit down on the Facial Team, and I'm trying to clear up my last questions. You're the only patient I've been able to talk to so far, so I'm sorry for all the questions, but I greatly appreciate it if you're not tired of it:

Did you get hair transplants too? Have you had any complaints about their density? Any other complaints about it?

I have come to learn that the Facial Team shapes the exposed sinus cavity bone, and shapes the front piece before repositioning it back on the skull, but that they do not break the front piece and reform it like some other doctors do. The Facial Team insists that it's better that way (and of course other doctors will insist on breaking it into sections). Do you have any complaints about the forehead/sinus bone work?

And how do you feel about your eyebrow lift?

I know...basic questions, in a way...but these were criticisms of the Facial Team that I heard from another doctor I was turning down, so I'm trying to eliminate all my lingering fears.

Thank you!!

[Julia-Madrid]

Hi Yanagi

Sister, feel free to ask me as many questions as you want.  We can talk too if this would be good for you.

So, one by one:  I didn't do the simultaneous hair transplant.  I don't think I would have had much hair to transplant - probably less than 500 folicular units, but that's a guess - since they did not need to do huge brow work.  I have subsequently had a hair transplant, and my recommendation is that you get an assessment from Facial Team of how many folicular units might be preserved in the strip that Facial Team would retain to do the simultaneous hair transplant.  My feeling is that any figure around 700-800 is worth doing.  At least this way you might end up just having one scar in your scalp rather than two.  And from my experience, having had skin snipped away from two areas of the scalp leaves it a little uneven and quite tight, although the tightness would diminish.

Yes, you are correct - FT remove and reshape the sinus bone, and reposition it, possibly using some small titanium plates as part of this procedure.  It's a remarkable procedure, and honestly the forehead work was excellent.  No swelling or anything  - it looked fantastic the day after surgery and was almost pain free.  The entire forehead was smoothed, brow bossing done as well.

In my case the eyebrow lift was quite subtle.  For a couple of weeks after surgery my eyes looked a bit different - not badly so - before things repositioned to a more natural position.  No complaints.

I think one of the key things for me about FT is their absolute professionalism as well as the exceptional level of care.

xxx
Julia 

[Yanagi]

Thank you so much!! And I agree, every interaction with them has been ideal. Dr. Capitán was extremely thorough and kind and the ONLY surgeon I interviewed that wasn't cocky. Their office was quick and efficient and professional, which I cannot say for every office I interacted with.

Thanks for all your help! Perhaps I will ask to speak with you as well...but as for now, after all my research, and consulting with every friend that would listen, and talking to you...I've just sent my deposit!

btw they said they expect to attempt 1500-2000 follicles. Plus I have thick hair and I'm not sure they even factored that in.

[calicarly]

Julia,

I'm loving your new avatar image!

Hugs babe!!

Xoxo