Good Evening members,
Here is Part 2.
Before I tell you about the day before my surgery, I have never known such attention to detail that Facial Team provides to their patients.
Right from the beginning of my dealings with them in London - February 2015, the sheer professionalism I have found quite outstanding.
In fact it has made my dealings with all the transition surgeons that I have been to since 1989 to 2014 look rather poor by comparison.
The hospital where the surgery takes place - HC Hospital in Marbella - has made the NHS hospitals that I have attended these past years for non transition surgery look almost third world.
When I had my forehead revision surgery at London's Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in 2014, the care was fairly good although I was sirred by a nurse twice as I was in the section where there was one small ward with men in it and next door to it, a section with women in it, where I was.
I hardly look like a guy and have not been sirred since 1989 when I transitioned so I was furious and complained bitterly to the ward's sister who apologised profusely. I nearly walked out of the place a day early because of this. To this day I think that the nurse who insulted me was prejudiced against people like us and enjoyed what she said.
Here is a foto of me in 2003 before any facial surgery.
Some of my friends after my original 2004 facial surgery said "What have you done to your face and nose " ( some of these friends back then had no idea about my background). However my forehead needed to be sorted as I hid it with bangs, but the rest was fine except a nose that needed an alarplasty and minor rehaping due to a deviated septum.
My face did change as a result of the original surgery and although I still looked feminine, I felt that I lost some of my face's original character.
When I discussed my FFS with FT, I wanted my nose to return to how it was before 2004, and it has to a great extent thanks to Dr Bellinga's excellent surgery.
Anyway sorry to digress but back to the day before surgery for my pre-op tests and final consultations with the three surgeons who were going to work on me the following day - Dr Simon & Dr Capitan (forehead) and Dr Bellinga (nose and upper lip lift).
FT provide every patient before leaving home by e-mail a Patient Schedule from the day of arrival to the day the person goes home so everyone knows what is going on. My patient co-ordinator Laura was looking after me and she did a great job although at times I must have frustrated her because I can get grumpy at times.
Sorry Laura, it's my senior moments ...
Having fasted since the night before, the same nice driver from the airport picked me up at 8.45am from Carolina Park where I was staying with my friend for the 15 minute drive to the hospital where Laura was waiting for me at 9.00am. My foto with her is back earlier in this thread and you can see happy I was. From that moment on I relaxed into the whole business and let them take me over like going down a production line. It was wonderful to be able to do this knowing that I was now in their safe and caring hands.
I was then taken into the section by one of the hospital's staff to have an anti coagulant injection in my tummy.
Then in the next room they carried out a scan of my chest as well as a cardiogram on my heart.
I might have left something out but don't think so. My excuse is that it's over 3 weeks since that day.
Anyway at 9.30 am, Laura rejoined me and took me over to see the good doctors and for the next 60 minutes, we went over the surgery that I was going to have.
Dr Bellinga told me what he was going to do with regards my nose by rebuilding it to a decent size for my face by taking cartilage from my two ears. I said "Would I land up with Prince Charles ears" ( they stick out rather a lot ) and he laughed but said that they will be even tighter to my head than before, so that was good to know.
He said that he would lift my top lip by up to 8mm !!! Wow
Drs Capitan and Simon then went over my forehead procedure, told me that they would remove the pointless and disfiguring PEEK implants, work on the centre of my forehead as per this video.
http://facialteam.eu/#499-procedures-techniques-ffs-in-3d-videos, reshape and open up my orbital rims that were never worked on before and alter the transition from my forehead to my nose that again was never worked on previously.
They also said that they would make a fresh coronal incision towards the rear of my scalp in the area where my hair is the thickest, a clever decision because my hair is a little thin in the centre and it would have been a disaster waiting to happen hair loss wise if they were to use the existing coronal incision from 2004 and in 2014. They also showed me the 3D model from my May 2015 CT Scan done when I was in Marbella last year.
I then signed all the consent forms and Laura gave me again ( she sent them to me back in the UK earlier) all the information sheets on the forehead, rhinoplasty and upper lip lift procedures. They tell the patient exactly what to do before and after surgery.
I think that's about all, bade farewell to the doctors and I said " See you all tomorrow and don't go to bed too late ", we all laughed and then Laura took me back to the main hospital at around 11.00 am ( FT are in an annexe in the lovely grounds) to wait for the taxi to take me back to my accommodation. However I decided on a change of plan with regards "Jenny's Nest" where I was due to stay from the Friday for seven days. So instead of going there on the Friday after surgery from the hospital with all my cases, Jenny, Laura and I thought it much better if I went back to the apartment to pick up my cases which were already packed with my remaining food as originally I was going to the hospital from there the next day. The food would have been wasted, of course, as there is nowhere to store food in the hospital naturally. A much better plan so a quick drive back to the apartment where I said goodbye to my friend until the Thursday when she popped in to see me after my operation and the taxi then took me to "Jenny's Nest". So I was able to settle in and then Nicola and Jenny showed me around the wonderful villa that they have. I also went food shopping with Nicola and prepared my supper early bearing in mind the early kick off the following day and, of course, obeying the fasting rules. I thought that I would try the pool because I would not be using it after surgery but after dipping my toes in the still chilly water, I thought," Not such a good idea. " ... Then we all went to Marbella by two taxis with all the new patients and old for a meal in a lovely restaurant. Sadly I could not eat as I had already eaten back at the villa and the food did look awesome ...
but it was a good way to meet and talk to my new housemates. I could drink water though up to midnight.
Then back to the villa for an early night,
The story continues tomorrow (hopefully) on my big day.
Here's the restaurant we went to in Marbella Old Town.
The food that Jenny ate (she did give me one bit of meat)
The pool and "Jenny's Nest" villa in the background taken when I arrived
and Facial Team's annexe in the grounds at HC Hospital, Marbella taken the day after my surgery from my room.
Quote from: Paula1 on April 26, 2016, 04:05:24 PM
Sorry everyone but I will post Part 2 tomorrow now as I am going to get an even earlier night this evening as I felt so much better today after last night's excellent rest.
Bye for now
Hugs
Paula
