Forehead Reconstruction Setback Without Rhinoplasty

[Lia]

Greetings. Many years after transitioning I'm having forehead setback surgery. Overall I am happy with my face, but my forehead, especially in profile, is not feminine at all. I'm tired of bangs and ready to fix this issue. A few ffs surgeons have shown no concern about doing surgery without rhinoplasty. But many people here do both and swear that a substandard result would happen otherwise.
I would love to hear from any woman who only had her forehead done.
Is my nose totally feminine in projection or size? Nope. But I like it fine and it's my mother's nose. The radix is fairly far back, and i think if the forehead were only brought to that point it would be a great improvement. But I don't want to do something halfway. Does anyone know if a partof forehead setback includes working on the radix to blend it without a formal rhinoplasty?
Thanks so much to any and all who weigh in. I'm super scared anyway, cause its a fairly aggressive surgery. I don't want to jeopardize a truly good result. But I would also rather not have my friends and coworkers marvelling at a new face or with obvious nose job bruising. And importantly, although it isn't tiny or delicate, its a good nose and I am not nose-dysphoric. At least not yet. Ha.

[fabriziatommasi]

Greetings. Many years after transitioning I'm having forehead setback surgery. Overall I am happy with my face, but my forehead, especially in profile, is not feminine at all. I'm tired of bangs and ready to fix this issue. A few ffs surgeons have shown no concern about doing surgery without rhinoplasty. But many people here do both and swear that a substandard result would happen otherwise.
I would love to hear from any woman who only had her forehead done.
Is my nose totally feminine in projection or size? Nope. But I like it fine and it's my mother's nose. The radix is fairly far back, and i think if the forehead were only brought to that point it would be a great improvement. But I don't want to do something halfway. Does anyone know if a partof forehead setback includes working on the radix to blend it without a formal rhinoplasty?
Thanks so much to any and all who weigh in. I'm super scared anyway, cause its a fairly aggressive surgery. I don't want to jeopardize a truly good result. But I would also rather not have my friends and coworkers marvelling at a new face or with obvious nose job bruising. And importantly, although it isn't tiny or delicate, its a good nose and I am not nose-dysphoric. At least not yet. Ha.

It is very important to do at the same time facing backwards with lowering of the nasal bridge otherwise you risk effect of elephant face! and not be same after nose surgery done because they change proportions and how to move back in front !! insist much on this 🐘

[kittenpower]

Does anyone know if a partof forehead setback includes working on the radix to blend it without a formal rhinoplasty?
Thanks so much to any and all who weigh in. I'm super scared anyway, cause its a fairly aggressive surgery. I don't want to jeopardize a truly good result. But I would also rather not have my friends and coworkers marvelling at a new face or with obvious nose job bruising. And importantly, although it isn't tiny or delicate, its a good nose and I am not nose-dysphoric. At least not yet. Ha.

It depends on the plastic surgeon, but my PS wouldn't remove the bone that would affect the radix without having a rhinoplasty included with my type 3 forehead surgery. Also, you are going to have bruising even if you only choose to have forehead surgery, because the swelling is gravity dependent, and the blood will settle in various areas of your face (around your eyes, cheeks, jaw, etc.) during the healing process.

[oneoftwo]

Greetings. Many years after transitioning I'm having forehead setback surgery. Overall I am happy with my face, but my forehead, especially in profile, is not feminine at all. I'm tired of bangs and ready to fix this issue. A few ffs surgeons have shown no concern about doing surgery without rhinoplasty. But many people here do both and swear that a substandard result would happen otherwise.
I would love to hear from any woman who only had her forehead done.
Is my nose totally feminine in projection or size? Nope. But I like it fine and it's my mother's nose. The radix is fairly far back, and i think if the forehead were only brought to that point it would be a great improvement. But I don't want to do something halfway. Does anyone know if a partof forehead setback includes working on the radix to blend it without a formal rhinoplasty?
Thanks so much to any and all who weigh in. I'm super scared anyway, cause its a fairly aggressive surgery. I don't want to jeopardize a truly good result. But I would also rather not have my friends and coworkers marvelling at a new face or with obvious nose job bruising. And importantly, although it isn't tiny or delicate, its a good nose and I am not nose-dysphoric. At least not yet. Ha.

Have you done a formal in-person consultation with any FFS surgeons ?  What did they tell you ?

If you do that, you should probably take a picture of your mother's face and nose with you, so they can understand what you want.

Generally - - and except in unusual situations - - -  it is probably impossible to do the forehead "right"  and get a good overall result - - without also doing some work on the nose.   It should be done at the same time to get the best result.

[mmmmm]

Although many surgeons wont agree to do forehead reconstruction without the nose at the same time, you can find a surgeons who will. In such case you risk the chance that your nose will look out of proportion, and you will need to have a rhinoplasty done as soon as possible. Its also possible that it wont be a problem. Its impossible to say without seeing good side profile photo, and make a photoshop of forehead work, and see what happens with nose and facial balance. You can post a photo here... or send it privately if you dont want to post it publicly.
It would be a shame to have forehead reconstruction done, and have large incision and scar, and go through recovery just to have it done halfway, instead of proper feminization of forehead and orbital area. 

[RubyAliza]

It makes a lot of sense to do both at the same time from a surgical standpoint. Since they are already using grinders on your orbital rims, they can also use it also to burr down some of nasal bones, which are exposed since it's an open forehead procedure (they also may need to break the nasal bones with a chisel and even sometimes their fingers). It's possible that going from above might be enough and you won't need a more invasive full open rhinoplasty, if that's what you're hoping for.  However it's probably rare where the rest of you nose won't need to have some work to make it match the new bridge. You could ask the surgeon to keep the overall shape of your nose, just with the bridge set back and the rest made a bit smaller to match it. The decision should always be made on a case-by-case basis with you and your surgeon. A second opinion is also great.

My opinion after spending a lot of time thinking about this subject is to agree with you; don't go halfway with this. Spend the extra money for quality if you can, go with a reputable and aggressive surgeon, and try to talk to or at least get the experiences of their previous patients. Listen to your doubts, although don't be afraid because this will be a wonderful change for you.

Best of luck!

- Ruby

[Lia]

Thanks for the input so far, ladies. I appreciate it. I had to laugh at the elephant face warning from one respondent. Is that a term? LOL. I am curious: has anyone seen a photo of a person who only had forehead reconstruction without rhino? I hear people often say it's a bad idea, but I can never see any examples. P.s. I hope I'm replying properly (not to one particular person). I am new to this board. Thanks all!

[mmmmm]

I have seen a lot of photos after only forehead reconstruction over the years. In most cases patients had very feminine nose to start with, primarily already short nose bridge, and very low and backset nasal bone at radix. Most were latin american and asian ethnicity, who generally have lower nasal bridge, especially at radix.
I remember some patients, who didnt want to trust rhinoplasty to their FFS surgeons, and had forehead (and other work) done first with FFS surgeon, and had nose done later with rhinoplasty specialists. You can find one example on this forum, its an older thread, her username was Misty or something like that, she had forehead done by dr. Di Maggio first, and then rhinoplasty with plastic surgeon locally, and then chin and jaw with some other surgeons, I believe Facial team.