FFS recovery time to be decently presentable to give public lecture

[Ever]

I realize we all heal at different rates, but I nevertheless wanted to get some general advice, as you have all been so extremely helpful on here and comforting.

I am about to schedule FFS for August 5th, and I thought it would be a good chunk of time as the academic year here doesn't begin until Sept 24th, which would give me 50 days to recover before instruction begins.

However, recently a paper of mine was accepted for a conference, for a talk I'd have to give on Sept 18th, and that seems a little worrisome as it will require me to be presentable 44 days after surgery to give a talk to an academic audience.

Would these considerations be pushing it so much so that I should perhaps postpone FFS for next summer?

I plan to have (1) forehead reconstruction, (2) rhinoplasty, (3) chin/jaw contouring, and (4) trachea shave.

Thanks for your help

[charlotte15]

Huh, if you're anything like me, it's the lecture you should postpone!! The FFS is so important!!

Or you could see with the organisation if you can make a recording?

If you get trach shave like I will, I know I won't be able to speak normally for a while. I think about 1 months. At 6 weeks, I have no idea what you'll be like, maybe just puffed up?

I have the exact same problem of having to be presentable in september, and I was initially planning for much later, but an opportunity opened up in early june and I went for it, since it gave me 3 months to heal.

Maybe you can ask Dr Rossi if there are some cancellations?

[Ever]

Hmm, canceling the conference isn't an option as it's too important to career (getting flown from California to England to give a talk).  Also, I couldn't have the appointment sooner as I teach summer session until end of July.

But you got me thinking that if the issue isn't facial swelling as much as how voice might be impacted by trachea shave, then I could leave out just that one procedure for later?

[Erica_Y]

Ever congrats on your paper being accepted that is wonderful news and a great opportunity. I think that 44 days is a pretty optimistic timeframe to be up and presenting to a group of people as you could be still bruised and quite swollen not to mention still not to your normal self mentally and energy wise. I am not saying it can not be done however formal public presentations are like first impressions and you can not go back. Can you get someone else to present your paper on your behalf like a co author if you have one or some body familiar with the subject matter / material? I have seen that done before on certain occasions.

In any case good luck and may you heal super fast

[Ever]

Thank you! and sadly that's not an option, I'm the only author, and there would be further reason to go out there in and present it myself as that would increase future employment opportunities.  I don't mind postponing the surgery for next summer.

I have been looking at some photos in the forums here, and however, it does seem that around 28-31 days after FFS everyone here is looking very nice and decently presentable; would that just be too uncertain to hope for?

[Obfuskatie]

I had forehead contouring, scalp advancement, rhino, chin and trach. It took me about a month to feel human again, but I was looking ok by the 44 day mark. My issue was having very little energy and a good deal of pain. If you're worried about it interfering, you may want to consider doing half now half later.
I've heard that jaw contouring is one of the most invasive and difficult surgery to recover from, and you'd be on a liquid diet for at least a month after the surgery.
Were I in you shoes, I'd probably get forehead, nose and trach done then wait for next summer to do jaw and chin together.


     Hugs,
- Katie
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ever]

Thank you Obfuskatie! I can work with that: those three procedures

And if the tracheal shave might interfere with voice, I could leave that one as well as the chin/jaw for next summer

That might be an excellent plan, as while the surgeon said the forehead and rhino were necessary for my FFS, he said that the chin/jaw and tracheal shave were optional in my case

That compromise might then give me the combined best of both worlds, leaving me ready in time for the talk and providing me with the most important parts of the FFS for me

[Obfuskatie]

It'll also give your face some time to heal and have a bit of a face lift effect that may alter how much you want either chin jaw or both. I've never heard of anyone losing their voice with the trach shave. The surgeon would have to do something very wrong for it to have an effect lasting longer than a week for simple removal of thyroid cartilage.
If you do any of the voice procedures, the thyroid cartilage is usually removed as part of the procedures manipulating the voice box. Cricothyroid approximations and surgeries like them for voice feminization require about a month of healing before the swelling has reduced enough for you to be able to speak without damaging your vocal chords.
You might scar a little, but there are gels to help minimize it. After my host of procedures, I couldn't talk much for almost a week mostly due to all the pain. But after a week I was eating solid, albeit mushy food. I couldn't eat anything hard or small like rice, popcorn or chips for a few months though.
And no problem, I wouldn't have known what to expect were it not for Dr. Ouster hours book and this forum [emoji6]


     Hugs,
- Katie
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SorchaC]

Hi Ever,

Congrats on the paper and being invited to give the talk I've not had FFS yet so cannot comment on your healing but you're right it is a very individual thing. My friend Dusty (not her real name) had a trach shave with her SRS and I spoke to her about 10 hours after her surgery and apart from natural post op tiredness she said her throat was feeling fine and her voice sounded ok to me. I think 44 days for the voice will be good especially if you give it time to rest right after surgery.

From what you've said this is a very important opportunity for you and one that is maybe too good to make a mess of. First impressions do count and if you're not too concerned about postponing and really believe this chance will make a huge difference to your career then to me it makes sense to err on the side of caution. The other thing to consider is the travel. Have you got enough time to heal and fix up your passport so that the picture is good enough to get through the facial recognition software at the airports? I'm not sure how it works so I could be wrong but you may want to check that one. I've heard folks saying they needed a letter for travel but again I've not done it myself

Good luck with the surgery and the presentation

Hugs

Sorcha