Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I've got a consultation with Toby Mayer in Beverly Hills, the same doctor who did MaidOfOrleans' FFS. I went with her to her consultation and I was VERY impressed with him because he is a minimalist when it comes to surgery. He will actually refuse to do certain things if he decides you don't need it.

My brow has been a constant confidence issue for me, and I feel like I've given HRT long enough to do it's thing. Honestly, I feel like with HRT my brow has become a little bit more noticeable- possibly due to skin thinning?

Anyway here is a [fresh out of the shower sans eye makeup] pic of me so you know what I mean
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMDQXtfh.jpg&hash=36e85992948149c7a37fb2c316614003d2fa9bf1)

I've got the classic brow ridge and flat spot just above my nose. I really want to have this fixed, as I feel like it may be the only thing holding me back from feeling confident while going out into public with no makeups.

Additionally I've got some genetically inherited eye bags and deep nasolabial folds that I would LOVE to get rid of or make less noticeable. I've had them basically all my life.. I think the procedure for the under eye bags is called a transconjunctival blepharoplasty. They basically trim down the fat pads underneath the eyes through an incision on the inside of the lower lid- there is not even a need for sutures with this procedure nor is there any visible scar or excising of skin. It is apparently very safe and hairlines & eyelids are two of Mayer's specialties among doing very natural looking rhinoplasties (which I will also ask him about but I'm not too worried about my nose at all).

My biggest concerns are with sensation on the scalp from the brow bone procedure. I've heard it can also cause premature hair thinning and I don't want that to happen. I'm not sure what I am going to do about my naso folds, I don't really want to do fillers- I'm much more inclined to do something permanent. I suppose fat transfer to the folds is my only option- yet for some reason I am a bit weary about it looking lumpy or something.

Jennygirl,

I wish you the successful surgery you want.

Keep us informed.

Hugs,

Jen

All things considered, your brow is not a "tell" as that goes.  But if it is an issue for you, by all means address it.

If you did nothing at all, you would still look great.  Good luck, hon.

Thanks Jen :) I will definitely!

Here is my desired result after a little photoshop

LEFT: before
MIDDLE: difference
RIGHT: after

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FXSEBCUH.jpg&hash=e7d19f766fdc6e04d8f6f676c27611321efd2d4f)

I think a very subtle rhinoplasty would probably be a good compliment to the brow bossing correction, because otherwise it may make my nose look bigger. I've done a little bit of that to the pic too.

What do you think?

Quote from: Gabrielle on November 16, 2013, 07:01:05 PM
All things considered, your brow is not a "tell" as that goes.  But if it is an issue for you, by all means address it.

If you did nothing at all, you would still look great.  Good luck, hon.

Thank you Gabrielle, that does make me feel better about it in the interim. I really appreciate it :)

yeah you will look even more amazing than you already do. i dont think he will recommenced more than like the brow and maybe nose work if you want it. i mean the rest of your facial structure seems to be so good as it is.

Wow Jenny I honestly think you don't need it your brow ridge has nothing on my brow ridge I wish I looked that good from a side view.

Thanks girls for the nice comments :)

Back when I had my trach shave with Dr. O in February, I asked him what else he would do to feminize my face. Here was his list:

• forehead recontouring
• nose
• jaw
• chin

I rolled my eyes at the jaw and chin, but did somewhat agree with him on the forehead and nose. Overall it seemed excessive then and it seems even more excessive now to me. Plus, he wanted $42K for everything. No thank you no thank you!

He also rec'd fat transfer to naso folds. I definitely do want to do something about that. Makeup seems to like to fall in the crack and enhance the look of the wrinkle. It looks masculine at times and I don't like it.

Quote from: Tristan on November 16, 2013, 07:07:38 PM
yeah you will look even more amazing than you already do. i dont think he will recommenced more than like the brow and maybe nose work if you want it. i mean the rest of your facial structure seems to be so good as it is.

Also, it's wonderful to see that you're back here posting again :D

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 16, 2013, 07:02:01 PM
Thanks Jen :) I will definitely!

Here is my desired result after a little photoshop

LEFT: before
MIDDLE: difference
RIGHT: after

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FXSEBCUH.jpg&hash=e7d19f766fdc6e04d8f6f676c27611321efd2d4f)

I think a very subtle rhinoplasty would probably be a good compliment to the brow bossing correction, because otherwise it may make my nose look bigger. I've done a little bit of that to the pic too.

What do you think?

Wow!  Little changes do make a difference.  You have a great eye for that.

What's the current state with endoscopic procedures? What type of forehead reduction are we talking about: type I, II or III? You have a great starting position in regards to profile.

Thanks Gabrielle! Years of professional experience with photoshop pay off in ways one might never expect ;D

Quote from: Nicolette on November 16, 2013, 07:49:03 PM
What's the current state with endoscopic procedures? What type of forehead reduction are we talking about: type I, II or III? You have a great starting position in regards to profile.

The only one who rigidly does endoscopic (that I have found) is Zukowski. From his website, he claims that any forehead can be feminized without use of the open technique (type III I think).

When I sat in for Maid's consult, I asked Mayer about it and he kind of laughed at the open technique as in "why anyone would try to mess with the sinuses- I do not know". That is honestly my only worry, that I have a huge frontal sinus which will limit the amount that can be burred off. Maid's result is nothing short of fantastic, though.

Another thing I really like about Mayer is his technique to hide the scar. When he makes the incision along the hairline, he does it at an angle right on the natural hairline instead of below. The roots are kept intact, and after some months hair starts to grow through the scar itself- completely hiding it. I guess he has been doing hairline work for 35 years and invented this technique. That is something I can get behind!

And the more I look at it and mess around in photoshop, if I can't get a completely flat profile on the brow I think simply lowering the bridge of the nose will help a lot to feminize the profile.

LEFT: before
MIDDLE: difference
RIGHT: after

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FkhRxaHQ.jpg&hash=a9a2ae86c437bbe573d8bfd266b112ce89cce82d)

This version is conservative on the brow bossing adjustment with slight differences for nose too. Actually I think I kind of like this one better. Does it look more natural?

Have you thought about a sightly "concave" nose?

Sort of like this

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.doctorgodfrey.com%2Fimages_Gal_NoseFemale%2Ffullsize%2FRhinoplasty_New_York26_fs.jpg&hash=cff6a63d1f8b1234150f74fceaee677298c434c8)

Yes but I want to avoid the "scoop" effect (something Dr. O is known for giving his patients) at all costs. I like the photo you cited, though. She is beautiful!

I added the slightest bit of concavity. Any more and it looks "done" / fake.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnZ5C3RV.jpg&hash=6a83ae1361d8860d5aa39f887352e6ef06ee6cae)

I'm starting to realize what an incredibly delicate procedure a nose job is. I mean I'm moving things around only by half a pixel and it makes a disproportionately huge difference.

Also, thank you for your feedback. This is really helpful to me!

Also, this is kind of fun.

If anyone wants me to virtual ffs a photo I am sooo down to do a few!

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 16, 2013, 07:02:01 PM
Thanks Jen :) I will definitely!

Here is my desired result after a little photoshop

LEFT: before
MIDDLE: difference
RIGHT: after

I think a very subtle rhinoplasty would probably be a good compliment to the brow bossing correction, because otherwise it may make my nose look bigger. I've done a little bit of that to the pic too.

What do you think?

Ok, let's start from the beginning.  Right now, you look wonderful.  I see your brows as they currently are and they aren't bad.  Work could take them from good to great in the hands of a skilled surgeon.  Then, I see the result of your photoshop.  WOW. I didn't fully appreciate great. 

I've seen maid's pictures and she looks incredible.  You have got to be excited.  I am so happy for you.

Hugs,

Jen

(I PM'd you a message as I don't know how to send pictures.  If you would look at them for me that would be so great.  I've got a consult Wednesday.) 

Wow Jenny, those slight changes just perfect your already beautiful face! I agree that that's the extent you need (and I don't even think you really need that). I'm not just saying that either, truly.

yeah the nose is a job that takes a special touch. but im sure your surgeon can handle what you want in order to meet your expectations.

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 16, 2013, 08:05:32 PM
Thanks Gabrielle! Years of professional experience with photoshop pay off in ways one might never expect ;D

The only one who rigidly does endoscopic (that I have found) is Zukowski. From his website, he claims that any forehead can be feminized without use of the open technique (type III I think).

When I sat in for Maid's consult, I asked Mayer about it and he kind of laughed at the open technique as in "why anyone would try to mess with the sinuses- I do not know". That is honestly my only worry, that I have a huge frontal sinus which will limit the amount that can be burred off. Maid's result is nothing short of fantastic, though.

Another thing I really like about Mayer is his technique to hide the scar. When he makes the incision along the hairline, he does it at an angle right on the natural hairline instead of below. The roots are kept intact, and after some months hair starts to grow through the scar itself- completely hiding it. I guess he has been doing hairline work for 35 years and invented this technique. That is something I can get behind!

You need an xray of your profile to determine the thickness of the bone covering the sinuses to know how much to take off. What I know is they can thin the bone out enough so it becomes pliable and then they can push it further back.

Zukowski can do it, but you'll know that endoscopic won't allow hairline lowering, if you require it. This would be best approach to prevent potential premature thinning of the hair, as this is less invasive.

Do you have larger frontal sinuses than what Maid had? You don't appear to.

Samantha,

I don't think you can really say for sure that Jenny would need reconstruction rather than a shave and fill technique. Her brow ridge looks quite minimal and for her, shave and fill would probably result in a perfectly feminine forehead.

This is a really good overview of male/female foreheads and the different FFS techniques: http://www.virtualffs.co.uk/Forehead.html

That list is pretty good as far as forehead reconstruction goes but I would probably add Dr. Bart in Belgium and the Facial Team in Spain.

And I don't think that 5% figure is accurate - plenty of trans women do not have a very prominent brow and a shave and fill technique is all that is necessary.


Edit:

Oh and Jenny, Dr. Z's claim that any forehead can be feminized with his technique is a bit of a stretch. For people like me who have very prominent brows Dr. Z's shave and fill technique would result in a flat forehead, but it would be quite bulbous because he wouldn't be able to shave down that much due to the sinus cavity. It would result in what is often referred to as the "dolphin" forehead and the VFFS site I linked goes into it in a bit more detail.

Thank you everyone for the words and encouragement

Quote from: Nicolette on November 17, 2013, 11:46:27 AM
You need an xray of your profile to determine the thickness of the bone covering the sinuses to know how much to take off. What I know is they can thin the bone out enough so it becomes pliable and then they can push it further back.

Zukowski can do it, but you'll know that endoscopic won't allow hairline lowering, if you require it. This would be best approach to prevent potential premature thinning of the hair, as this is less invasive.

Do you have larger frontal sinuses than what Maid had? You don't appear to.

Thanks, yeah I do wonder how big my frontal sinus is- I have a feeling it is on the large side extending far into my orbitals. 'Twould be great to know from an xray how much can be done with the shave alone. Honestly with the last version I posted, there is minimal shaving to the brow... Maybe a little bit over 1mm. Even if there is a slight ridge there after, I think ever so subtly changing the nose profile could help balance it.

Quote from: samantha55522 on November 17, 2013, 05:01:45 PM
Dear Jenny, be careful,...do not believe everything you read on the surgeon´s website, ....including the forums. Dr. Z is not the only one who do facial endoscopic surgery, there are many others. At the same time there is very little almost 5% of cases that can be improved with endoscopic technique. Your case needs a complete bone remodeling with osteotomy to get the result you want. Here a list of the best in the world. Find them and do your own analysis. Also go to FFS-support, yahoo foros, there are plenty of examples of all of them.
Dr. O.
Dr. Suporn
Dr. Spiegel
Dr Di Maggio

Mayer offers endoscopic, too, from what I can see. But yes I am well aware of the fact that endoscopic is not feasible for most. Mayer (as far as I know) only does the burring/shave method, because (like Dr. Z) he thinks it's a horrible idea to open and re-close the sinuses under any circumstance. I actually asked him about this while I was at Maid's consultation, and it went kind of like this:

(Me)
"What method of reshaping the bone do you use? Do you remove and reposition the bone or do you shave it?"

(Him)
"What do you think I do? *snarky face*"

long pause

(Me, blushing)
"You shave it and leave the sinuses intact?"

(Him)
"Yes, and I would never do it any other way"

He then went on to explain if there was an accidental perforation or hole, a small amount of bone filler would be used to plug it up. It's almost verbatim what's all over Zukowski's recontouring surgery page.

Quote from: abbyt89 on November 17, 2013, 05:46:29 PM
Oh and Jenny, Dr. Z's claim that any forehead can be feminized with his technique is a bit of a stretch. For people like me who have very prominent brows Dr. Z's shave and fill technique would result in a flat forehead, but it would be quite bulbous because he wouldn't be able to shave down that much due to the sinus cavity. It would result in what is often referred to as the "dolphin" forehead and the VFFS site I linked goes into it in a bit more detail.

I wasn't aware that Dr. Z uses filler if he can't shave enough. Even though my spirit animal is a dolphin and I would totally be one in a heartbeat, I don't want to have a dolphin head.

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 16, 2013, 09:09:35 PM
Yes but I want to avoid the "scoop" effect (something Dr. O is known for giving his patients) at all costs. I like the photo you cited, though. She is beautiful!

I added the slightest bit of concavity. Any more and it looks "done" / fake.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnZ5C3RV.jpg&hash=6a83ae1361d8860d5aa39f887352e6ef06ee6cae)

I'm starting to realize what an incredibly delicate procedure a nose job is. I mean I'm moving things around only by half a pixel and it makes a disproportionately huge difference.

Also, thank you for your feedback. This is really helpful to me!

I think you are already quite lovely
on your way to drop dead gorgeous

Thank you girls :D :D

Gabrielle, you do know that the photo you quoted is altered, right? Haha

Before / After
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMDQXtfh.jpg&hash=36e85992948149c7a37fb2c316614003d2fa9bf1)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnZ5C3RV.jpg&hash=6a83ae1361d8860d5aa39f887352e6ef06ee6cae)

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 16, 2013, 07:14:40 PM
Thanks girls for the nice comments :)

Back when I had my trach shave with Dr. O in February, I asked him what else he would do to feminize my face. Here was his list:

• forehead recontouring
• nose
• jaw
• chin

I rolled my eyes at the jaw and chin, but did somewhat agree with him on the forehead and nose. Overall it seemed excessive then and it seems even more excessive now to me. Plus, he wanted $42K for everything. No thank you no thank you!

He also rec'd fat transfer to naso folds. I definitely do want to do something about that. Makeup seems to like to fall in the crack and enhance the look of the wrinkle. It looks masculine at times and I don't like it.

C'mon honey, you know this is Dr. O's bread and butter, so he'd love to do all that and probably more as long as your bank account can hold up. I think you look fabulous as is, so let's not get all crazy and carried away. It isn't going to add to your quality of life that much. Once you heal up and get the feeling back in your face you will still be you Jenny and any changes will be minimal and probably insignificant at best.

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 17, 2013, 07:53:22 PM
Thank you girls :D :D

Gabrielle, you do know that the photo you quoted is altered, right? Haha

Before / After
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMDQXtfh.jpg&hash=36e85992948149c7a37fb2c316614003d2fa9bf1)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnZ5C3RV.jpg&hash=6a83ae1361d8860d5aa39f887352e6ef06ee6cae)

It was from google images.  I looked up "female rhinoplasty" to find an example of what I was thinking about.
My own would look something more like this:

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.tribe.net%2Ftribe%2Fupload%2Fphoto%2Fb32%2F953%2Fb3295373-43ef-4ff6-8d1c-8064efbd13f2&hash=f561fcfa5ed0d28155606911e76578d12e1f13ab)

Jenny, I would highly, highly recommend getting a virtual FFS assessment done. It costs $50 for a written assessment and then $50 each to have a photo of yourself feminized in photoshop, although you seem to do a good job of that already. :P

Anyway, the lady that does the assessments is incredibly knowledgeable about the differences between male and female faces and the types of procedures that can be done. And unlike surgeons, she is completely objective in her assessments. That for me was the big thing - it was hard for me to determine what I needed, and I also didn't want to rely on what the surgeons told me since as Shan pointed out they want to make as much money on each surgery as they can.

Quote from: Shantel on November 17, 2013, 08:13:51 PM
C'mon honey, you know this is Dr. O's bread and butter, so he'd love to do all that and probably more as long as your bank account can hold up. I think you look fabulous as is, so let's not get all crazy and carried away. It isn't going to add to your quality of life that much. Once you heal up and get the feeling back in your face you will still be you Jenny and any changes will be minimal and probably insignificant at best.

Me, get carried away? No way, no how!! ;) Seriously thanks though, Shan. Really, I think just a little bit will go a long way and I don't want an aggressive surgeon to ever touch my face- if any at all. Personally I feel that most of the cranio maxillofacial surgeons are quite aggressive with the exception of Dr. Spiegel (from what I've read in the past).

Mayer is also known for taking the path of "less is more" and that's a big reason why I am excited to see him. The best reaction I could get from him is that he won't even offer me a brow procedure- rather opting for a slight change to nose profile instead. He is known for turning people away, and I've got my fingers crossed, but I'm sure my orbitals are a giveaway in most overhead lighting situations and without any eye makeup.

The consult is tomorrow so I'll know soon enough! If he turns me away I will be laying this to rest.. at least until the pangs of dysphoria inevitably return again. That's probably the biggest reason I think I may go for it, I'd love to clear my head of it once and for all.

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 17, 2013, 08:30:43 PM
Me, get carried away? No way, no how!! ;) Seriously thanks though, Shan. Really, I think just a little bit will go a long way and I don't want an aggressive surgeon to ever touch my face- if any at all. Personally I feel that most of the cranio maxillofacial surgeons are quite aggressive with the exception of Dr. Spiegel (from what I've read in the past).

Good point, similar to the mentality regarding makeup use, a little is often better!

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 17, 2013, 08:30:43 PM
Mayer is also known for taking the path of "less is more" and that's a big reason why I am excited to see him. The best reaction I could get from him is that he won't even offer me a brow procedure- rather opting for a slight change to nose profile instead. He is known for turning people away, and I've got my fingers crossed, but I'm sure my orbitals are a giveaway in most overhead lighting situations and without any eye makeup.

Oh how I wish that when I had my upper blepharoplasty done years ago that I had known where I'd be now and had the foresight to get mine radiused.

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 17, 2013, 08:30:43 PM
The consult is tomorrow so I'll know soon enough! If he turns me away I will be laying this to rest.. at least until the pangs of dysphoria inevitably return again. That's probably the biggest reason I think I may go for it, I'd love to clear my head of it once and for all.

I'm not sure it ever really goes away for good, kind of like PTSD, you just learn to manage it by recognizing triggers and sidestep them.

I feel good about this surgeon! I'm now waiting to hear the price. We discussed:

• hairline/brow
• under eye bags
• naso folds

He offered to contour the transition between my brow and nose for free, which should let me avoid messing with the nose altogether and skip that surgery. There's no need to have it done at this point according to him.

For under eye bags, he recommended exactly what I thought- transconjunctival blepharoplasty with fat repositioning.

For nasolabial folds, he said he could use the excised forehead tissue as a graft and fill them in- which in his experience works better than fat as a filler which tends to reabsorb and/or migrate.

This is above and beyond what I expected coming here, and I am super impressed!

Now just waiting to hear the cost!

JennyGirl,

That is excellent news.  Confidence in the surgeon is a must; if you don't have it, things will go poorly.  I'm glad you took the time to talk about everything. 

Curious about the price as well.

Hugs,

Jen

I put my deposit down and I am officially scheduled for FFS with Dr. Mayer on Jan 8th!

The list of procedures and their costs-
Lower eyelid blaspheroplasty - $4,450
Hairline / brow lift & shave / radix graft above nose - $7,000 alone / $6,000 in package
Soft tissue to naso folds - $2,475 alone / $1,500 in package

Total: $11,950.

The excitement has barely surfaced, but it's eeking out little by little. What I do know is that I feel great about this doctor, and I can't even describe how relaxed I am about the whole thing. He is awesome. The price is sooo good too. I can hardly believe it.

Wow,

That's not bad considering all that he is doing.  Thinking....... 

Jen

Another item to check off your list!!! Congrats Jenny! That's a really good price too!

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 18, 2013, 05:58:29 PM
I feel good about this surgeon! I'm now waiting to hear the price. We discussed:

• hairline/brow
• under eye bags
• naso folds

He offered to contour the transition between my brow and nose for free, which should let me avoid messing with the nose altogether and skip that surgery. There's no need to have it done at this point according to him.

For under eye bags, he recommended exactly what I thought- transconjunctival blepharoplasty with fat repositioning.

For nasolabial folds, he said he could use the excised forehead tissue as a graft and fill them in- which in his experience works better than fat as a filler which tends to reabsorb and/or migrate.

This is above and beyond what I expected coming here, and I am super impressed!

Now just waiting to hear the cost!

I am going to have to break out my old copy of Grey's Anatomy to just understand what you are talking about!  :P

Thanks Sarah! I thought so, too!

Even with the anticipation I am suddenly very relaxed....breathing a huge sigh of relief deep down. The pressure I feel over makeup is numbered in days. I cannot even comprehend what that's going to be like! I haven't stepped foot out of my door without it in over a year.

Quote from: Gabrielle on November 18, 2013, 08:48:55 PM
I am going to have to break out my old copy of Grey's Anatomy to just understand what you are talking about!  :P

Lol, which part? I'm happy to explain

Congrats Jenny! That's coming up so soon and that's a really fantastic price - especially for a U.S. based surgeon.

Good luck with everything and keep us updated :0

Jenny, you do look great, but I can see what you're after with that photoshop example and I agree. That would make an already beautiful you into a complete knockout! :)

Good luck!

Thanks Abby and Liz!

I had my reconsultation today with Dr. Mayer. He drew on the photos we took Monday to describe exactly what is going to change. It seems like my initial assessment was pretty close- with the exception that I am not getting a nose job and there is only a slight modification to hairline (the shape rather than height) since I was pretty good to start off with. I am happy :)

This is what I will probably end up looking look like according to his drawings
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FsLZ23uu.jpg&hash=b04ca2fe09c9691d1201ddb61ef18eaf542134a9)

I might end up doing a nose job at a later date, but as of now I don't want it! The only big issues I had were brows, nasolabial folds, and eye bags

Jenny, I went to Dr Mayer in May and let me tell you this man knows his stuff... I got rhinoplasty,hairline lowering and orbital bone countering to my brow bone and let me tell you the results are amazing I love what he did for me and how upfront and honest he is also.. Good luck with your surgery you are in good hands...!! ;)

That's great to hear, Mona :) Thanks for sharing and welcome to Susan's!

My only worry has been what a few others have mentioned here- that the brow bone contouring might not make enough of a difference because he only uses the burring technique (type 1). I have a few questions to ask you about the details of your brow shave if you don't mind?

I am sending you a private message with the questions and my email address (since you probably can't reply to PM's yet being a newly registered member). Overall I'm just really glad to hear that you are so happy with your results!

8 days away. So much nervous excitement building.

I've done my blood work, but I still have to get the lateral skull xray...

Everyone cross their fingers that I have a super thick frontal sinus wall! I want that brow bossing gone as much as possible. I'm not counting on it though and I'm admittedly still a bit worried that he won't be able to get that much of the central projection away.

Either way, getting rid of the two humps over the top of my brows will probably be enough to make me happy with the results. Both Mona here and MaidofOrleans have me confident that I'm going to love it.

I noticed the other day that my forehead is basically vertical, which is apparently a very feminine cranial trait. So that is reassuring at the very least...

8 days I'm freakin' out! :D (in a good way)

I can't wait to see the results. Either way, you're going to look beautiful, as you already do now. Keep us updated on your progress and how you're doing.

I noticed that your ticker changed too. At first I thought your date may have been moved for surgery, since before it was kind of tied to Rowan visiting for your surgery, no? Either way, good luck with everything!

Quote from: Jennygirl on December 30, 2013, 03:04:37 PM

8 days I'm freakin' out! :D (in a good way)

No freakin Boo-Boo, you'll do fine!

Quote from: Jennygirl on December 30, 2013, 03:04:37 PM
8 days I'm freakin' out! :D (in a good way)

Jenny,

You look great already.  I can't wait to see your after shots.

I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Hugs,

Jen

Ugh, well I'm 6 days away and I just got a stuffy nose this evening... a lot of my friends have been battling colds recently and I'm a little freaked that I may have caught whatever bug is going around.

Anyone else have experience with having a common cold before surgery? I am worried that Dr. Mayer is going to want to postpone me.

Wish me luck that it's just some stupid 24 hour thing!

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 03, 2014, 01:16:46 AM
Ugh, well I'm 6 days away and I just got a stuffy nose this evening... a lot of my friends have been battling colds recently and I'm a little freaked that I may have caught whatever bug is going around.

Anyone else have experience with having a common cold before surgery? I am worried that Dr. Mayer is going to want to postpone me.

Wish me luck that it's just some stupid 24 hour thing!

Keep it all open and draining!

I wish you the best of luck.  Jenny, what I admire so much about you is your willingness to reach out to others, to consider their experiences and observations, and to share your own.

Just watching you and some of the other gals here have helped me focus on the things I can do to mentally and emotionally further my own growth and understanding.

It's sort of funny.  I am a generation older than you and your contemporaries onsite, yet I am the student here, learning from the masters.  I thank you.  I thank you all.  :)

Quote from: Jamie D on January 03, 2014, 02:05:17 AM
Keep it all open and draining!

I wish you the best of luck.  Jenny, what I admire so much about you is your willingness to reach out to others, to consider their experiences and observations, and to share your own.

Just watching you and some of the other gals here have helped me focus on the things I can do to mentally and emotionally further my own growth and understanding.

It's sort of funny.  I am a generation older than you and your contemporaries onsite, yet I am the student here, learning from the masters.  I thank you.  I thank you all.  :)

Jamie, first of all thank you!! Your feedback throughout my entire transition has been a godsend. From the very beginning, you have been nothing but supportive, constructive, and cautionary all at the right moments. That loop of communication that I have received here (especially from you and Shantel but also many others) has helped me in ways I will never be able to repay back. But, hearing this from you tells me that somehow that I am repaying it back- which nearly brings me to tears. From the bottom of my heart and especially directed at you, thank you so much :)

On the topic of my stuffy nose, I had this hunch earlier that maybe if I stopped my nose from becoming stuffed overnight using a nasal spray... then maybe <<just maybe>> I could keep it from "setting up" and spreading to my throat/ears/lungs... possibly decreasing the duration of the cold or even stopping it altogether.

I did some research on nasal spray, and it turns out that the active ingredient in the 12 hour nasal sprays (oxymetazoline) actually has some kind of antiviral effect to it and helps a ton if used right at the onset of a cold. It doesn't completely kill rhinovirus but it does inhibit it and is much more effective than saline treatments.

So, I immediately hopped in my car and took a quick trip to the 24 hour CVS to get some Sinex 12 hour decongestant. Took two sprays in each nostril... Sinuses are OPEN and draining freely! Ahhhh so nice!

In the morning I am heading to get my xray and also doing another blood count test. When I took my first test I was in the process of getting over a nasty chest cold... the test came back and my white blood cell count was off so I am redoing it at the request of Dr. Mayer (they called me today to ask me about it). Hopefully everything comes back in normal ranges this time, and I am good to go!

Just got a call from the anesthesiologist and they are waiving the second blood test, putting me on another z-pack just to be "better safe than sorry". She said that a low grade anything or common cold would not postpone the procedure..

So I am breathing a huuuuge sigh of relief!! WHEW!

Time to go get xrays and pick up meds!

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 03, 2014, 02:28:18 PM
Just got a call from the anesthesiologist and they are waiving the second blood test, putting me on another z-pack just to be "better safe than sorry". She said that a low grade anything or common cold would not postpone the procedure..

So I am breathing a huuuuge sigh of relief!! WHEW!

Time to go get xrays and pick up meds!

The operative word!!

If your result is anywhere near Jenn's (MoO's), you are going to be super pleased.

The results are in!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fdlf0fq7.jpg&hash=343b1067481405a7c6e53551ae7085843bbe54f0)

Well I do not know how to read an xray, but to my untrained eye it looks pretty darn thick. I can see the bossing above my orbitals, a few fillings, and the permanent suture in my vocal folds from voice surgery.

This is my untrained prediction of what he will be able to remove using my own judgement, which really means nothing but here it is anyway. Red line is the new profile and the bossing has been brightened to better see it.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnZITHSn.jpg&hash=c979dc508a5ebbaaf56db8b69e2e439d3ca8d915)

I've got my meds and I'm cleared for surgery on Wednesday. Very, very excited!!

OMG, you're going to look amazing!!!   Oooh, me next!  I'll be booking an operating room on the 15th if all goes as planned.

Quote from: Jill F on January 03, 2014, 06:06:31 PM
OMG, you're going to look amazing!!!   Oooh, me next!  I'll be booking an operating room on the 15th if all goes as planned.

Thanks Jill!!!

I hope everything works out for you too!

Oh my gosh Jenny you have to be so excited!

Those x-rays do make it appear that the bone is pretty thick in front of the sinus cavity. If you look at my x-rays you can see that mine was way thinner. I think the technique he is doing is going to be perfect for you!!

So happy for you!

Quote from: Me the Girl on January 04, 2014, 05:11:51 AM
It's almost here!

4 days away! More excited with every passing moment!!!

Quote from: abbyt89 on January 04, 2014, 08:03:07 AM
Oh my gosh Jenny you have to be so excited!

Those x-rays do make it appear that the bone is pretty thick in front of the sinus cavity. If you look at my x-rays you can see that mine was way thinner. I think the technique he is doing is going to be perfect for you!!

So happy for you!

I was texting my mom and a few friends "Cross your fingers for a thick frontal sinus wall!!" and I as well had my fingers crossed during the xray... Call me superstitious, but it must've worked ;)

On top of that, last night a trans friend of mine on facebook told me about her Type 1 procedure and sent me before & afters of her profile... Honestly looking at her before/after and my xray I think I can expect even a bit more reduction than I had planned in the last mockup vffs I did (I was trying to keep it conservative and not get my hopes up too high). It was kind of crazy... our pre-op profiles line up exactly.

After all of this, I am now 100% reassured that it's going to be great! It does appear to be pretty darn thick.

And yes, I am a ball of excitement.

From my experience seeing before and after pics, actual FFS is usually a lot more dramatic and feminizing than any VFFS can do. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with your results.

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 04, 2014, 02:35:07 PM
4 days away! More excited with every passing moment!!!

I was texting my mom and a few friends "Cross your fingers for a thick frontal sinus wall!!" and I as well had my fingers crossed during the xray... Call me superstitious, but it must've worked ;)

Couldn't have been any bone-headiness could it?  ;D :D

You'll do well I'm sure hon, post some pix when your ready, can't wait to see the results!

Say Hi to Dr Mayer for me girl, you are going to love your results just take care of yourself and have lots of patience... Good luck

Quote from: Monaluv on January 06, 2014, 02:09:01 PM
Say Hi to Dr Mayer for me girl, you are going to love your results just take care of yourself and have lots of patience... Good luck

Thanks Mona and I will.

I'm about to head in for my pre-op exam. Less than 48 hours away. Eeeee!!!

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 06, 2014, 03:27:49 PM
Thanks Mona and I will.

I'm about to head in for my pre-op exam. Less than 48 hours away. Eeeee!!!

Good luck doll face, we're with you in spirit!

Pre-op exam went well. Standard stuff, we went over the details of all of the procedures and as well decided what style of eyebrow lift I am going to get... I decided to keep the same general shape, so an evenly applied lift.

My surgery is 6:15am PST on Wednesday Jan 8th and it will be a 2.5-3hr procedure with about an hour in recovery. I will be discharged to go home sometime around 10:15am PST.

Nervous excitement to the max is all I have to say! :D

Jenny,

Your have a good bone structure for the surgery and a wonderful doctor.  You have passed all of the pre-op procedures and are a go.  You are going to look fantastic.

Hugs of support and excitement for you!

Jen

The op went extremely well. I am back at home and taking it super easy. I can already see that I am going to love love love love love the results :)

Quite a bit of dull pain around the center of my brows, probably where he took the most off!

I'll keep you updated and pics to come soon!

Get well quick Jenny! We can't wait to see!

Here's to a speedy recovery and looking fab forever!!!  Can't wait to see the new look.

profile shot!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FoGr9ZOQ.jpg&hash=7a0417a3b0bff0712a9ddcc6c54677f5ad9e9e55)

You will SO be putting the XY in sexy.

110% male fail time, so congrats!

Can't wait- my consult is next week.

I need to drop like 25 pounds before I'm ready for the knife, so I'm eating nothing but nothing and doing the cardio thing until then.

Can't wait to see the healing! You're going to look awesome, Jenny! (Hell, you already did pre-surgery, so honestly I don't have any doubts that you're just going to freaking blow the doors off of it now.)

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 08, 2014, 03:42:29 PM
profile shot!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FoGr9ZOQ.jpg&hash=7a0417a3b0bff0712a9ddcc6c54677f5ad9e9e55)

Big hugs and smoochies for you kid!

Oh my gosh you can already see how smooth he was able to make the brow. Congrats!! Keep us updated with more pics!!

Bandages removed! Last night was rough. I think mainly because of the compression bandages and I didn't have any appetite at all so my meds made me feel pretty sick. But now I'm feeling great and probably going to just nap all day :)

Here is a pic!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FR2egJzD.jpg&hash=6334ceb489ad28f4d020072e97cdc39d4693b048)

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 09, 2014, 11:54:18 AM
Bandages removed! Last night was rough. I think mainly because of the compression bandages and I didn't have any appetite at all so my meds made me feel pretty sick. But now I'm feeling great and probably going to just nap all day :)

Here is a pic!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FR2egJzD.jpg&hash=6334ceb489ad28f4d020072e97cdc39d4693b048)

Looks like you've been in a bar brawl, nice smile though sweetie! Can't wait to see how you look when the swelling has subsided and the black and blue goes away. Still, you're such a cute-ster!

I take it back- 200% male fail.

Nobody will ever believe it now.  Nice show and congrats!

Jenny,

Wow.  That looks fantastic!!!

Jugs,

Jen

Thanks Shan, Jill, Abby, and Jen!

Yes I am looking forward to the swelling to go down a bit.. My eyebrows still haven't dropped at all, and my eyes are too swollen to open all the way towards the up... so it's making the eyebrows seem really high to me. They assured me this morning that they would come down in height significantly. I sincerely hope so. Either way I am so so happy... I can't believe the difference the radix graft had on my nose... It's a completely different profile.

Stitches come out on Tuesday!

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 09, 2014, 01:50:43 PM
Thanks Shan, Jill, Abby, and Jen!

Yes I am looking forward to the swelling to go down a bit.. My eyebrows still haven't dropped at all, and my eyes are too swollen to open all the way towards the up... so it's making the eyebrows seem really high to me. They assured me this morning that they would come down in height significantly. I sincerely hope so. Either way I am so so happy... I can't believe the difference the radix graft had on my nose... It's a completely different profile.

Stitches come out on Tuesday!

Are you going to put up before and after shots when you're totally healed?

Quote from: Shantel on January 09, 2014, 01:52:24 PM
Are you going to put up before and after shots when you're totally healed?

Definitely! I'll try to match them up as closely as possible. Very eager to see how close my vffs guess was!

Smooth sailing here... I think tonight is going to be a lot easier than last night :)

I FEEL GREAT today!!

Pain is down to a 2 out of 10 and it's bye-bye swelling as we speak :)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FoLy7e13.jpg&hash=f2b63f5961987ff9e6b0827328df9604b3ce4c1a)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F3EBnRjp.jpg&hash=5f9404574d7f68586a5ca58afda9f470c916abfb)

omg you look great, i cant wait 33 days for me can only hope to have near the results as you way to go sister

Amazeballs to the max!  Score another one for Jennygirl.

I find out next week what can be done to, uhh I mean for... my middle aged mug.  Hell, I'll be happy if I can even look half that good.

Quote from: Jerri on January 10, 2014, 04:38:35 PM
omg you look great, i cant wait 33 days for me can only hope to have near the results as you way to go sister

Aww thanks Jerri!! That 33 days will be up so fast, today will seem like a yesterday when it's time for you to have yours!

Quote from: Jill F on January 10, 2014, 04:43:11 PM
Amazeballs to the max!  Score another one for Jennygirl.

I find out next week what can be done to, uhh I mean for... my middle aged mug.  Hell, I'll be happy if I can even look half that good.

Yay I love scoring points! Lol

Thanks for the feedback Jill :)

Give it until the end of the weekend, you'll be better than new!

After 3-4 weeks most of the swelling and bruising will be gone, at least that's what it was like for me.

Looking great Jenny! Congrats!

Jenny, you were already drop-dead gorgeous before. By the time this is healed, there aren't going to be enough superlatives in the English language to do you justice!

Looking fantastic Jenny! It looks like the swelling/bruising is pretty minimal. I'm happy that your surgery was such a great success, even though I was like "wow, she looks great to begin with"  :)

Willow I hope you are right! Fingers crossed :)

Sarah & Carrie- thanks sweeties! I'm feeling great about it already and even better with all of your lovely comments to say the least!

Ginny- first of all thanks :) And yes it seems the swelling and bruising isn't too bad. I'm especially amazed at the work he did on my smile lines... not an ounce of bruising or swelling there!

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 10, 2014, 09:28:35 PMWillow I hope you are right! Fingers crossed :)

Considering my other friends who have had FFS were fully recovered within 10 days, you should be good with a week or less.

Can't wait to see it all healed up, you're simply gorgeous, girl.

Day 5 update

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FFy2AFDW.jpg&hash=8e16aabb0750ef4192442c14e6e6e0ab112cb8f4)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FjWa4HaA.jpg&hash=546e7509655dc918ced0e61255375f22a6ad75a3)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FDShOaKO.jpg&hash=fb4da6f86c4065438d3a77d8d8af99853196b4f9)

Swelling is starting to subside, forehead skin swelling still feels pretty tight at certain times. In the last picture you can really see it at the top right. Overall, pain is at 1/10 during the day and 2/10 at night so barely anything. I'm on tylenol and pain meds now. Sutures & staples come out at 11:30a tomorrow :) Could not be more happy about that!

The most swelling seems to be around the sutures and in my cheeks, and I'm hoping as that comes down it will allow my eyebrows to relax a little bit. I seem to remember after my trach shave last February that I had quite a bit of swelling and almost immediately after the sutures were removed it dissipated rather quickly. I think my skin doesn't like foreign objects!

I think the reality of the recovery has definitely set in. I have accepted that I won't be looking normal for a while, but wearing a cap and sunglasses hides most of everything... I even went to Roscoe's today with one of my roommates and had lunch there with no problems. He said I just look like a celebrity who does not want to be identified ;D

Jenny,

That is super.

Hugs,

Jen

Hey there Cute Pie, some girls are so insecure they wouldn't be able to show their face so close after post op, I have to hand it to you, Abby and Carolina for being able to let it all hang out for the sake of others with inquiring minds who may be considering similar procedures.  :eusa_clap:

Thanks Auntie Shan!

I don't mind at all for some reason. I've always considered myself someone who lives by "ask me anything" when it comes to transitioning and this recovery is no exception. Ever since I came out I've been an open book to all of those around me including online... Maybe after all of those years holding part of myself back, it makes the release feel even better.

It's also definitely partly due to all the confidence you've inspired in me since the very beginning.. uh oh kleenex ;)

Also even though I am still rough around the edges right now, I can already feel a new sense of calm after having this procedure. It's like a bit of me is more free.. Similar to after I had voice surgery. I'm finding less pressure to appear a certain way, and as the swelling and bruising fades the feeling of relaxation seems to grow exponentially.

So happy with stuff right now :D

Thanks for the kind words Shantel and Jen!

So I had a funny interaction with a girl that came into our space as I was downstairs getting some ice... I think I had met her before but she clearly did not recognize me at all.

As I turned to acknowledge her presence, she caught one glance at me and her expression went from smiling happy to be arriving to saying "Oh my god! Is everything okay?" HAHA

I said "Yes." paused, then "I had a surgery."

She said "Well, did it go okay?" HAHA

I then said "Yes. Believe it or not, very well!"

She said "Okay good!" and sped away

Then I was thinking I should have said... "Yeah! It's totally awesome actually. It's just hidden behind a big balloon held together with staples!"

PATIENCE! One day at a time :)

Your forehead is nicely smooth. Can I see the before pic please.

Quote from: bingunginter on January 14, 2014, 12:23:15 PM
Your forehead is nicely smooth. Can I see the before pic please.

Sure thing. Here it is the morning right before surgery

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FSMk315m.jpg&hash=4ff25e11f07a7e32f005610a27bf966967e4c6cd)

Day 6 update:

So today I got my stitches out, which I was truly excited for!

The stitches and staples are now out, and the hairline incision is absolutely incredible. In the middle near the widows peak you really can't even see that an incision has been there. It's just crazy how smooth it is! Dr. Mayer said even he was surprised at how good it looks right out of the gate :D

What I was not expecting was the severe rush of pain that followed about an hour after suture removal. By the time I got home, my head was literally pounding.

It seems to make sense to me that the swelling located along the incision is the culprit, because it was finally released. As well I'm pretty sure the traffic on the way home did not help at all. I popped a percocet when I returned and passed out for 4 hours.

After waking, the swelling at the hairline had much subsided. But, I was still in a decent amount of pain... So I decided to take a vicodin and now I'm doing a-okay again.

Here's to hoping I am almost once and for all past the pain associated with this procedure. Today came as quite a shock to me and I wasn't expecting it at all, so it kinda knocked me on my butt.

On the bruising front, things are looking better and better and better. I think in about another week I'll be feeling pretty darn good :)

Yes, it's most definitely smoother. It looks great!

Thanks Willow. Yeah it's completely flat. If I touch my brows going across there is no flat depression in between. And the tissue graft he made to the radix makes for an almost vertical drop before it blends into my nose. I think a lot of it is swelling and likely settle down quite a bit in the coming weeks.

Overall everything just feels really smooth, there is waaaay less outer orbital bossing. My skull is now round up there :)

Past the under eye bruising I can see that the under eye fat deposits have been completely displaced to a more smooth position. It looks like it's going to be smooth once all the swelling comes down.

And finally my smile lines are not so completely flattened out which looked kind of weird. The one on my right is still swollen at the top but the left one seems to be doing pretty well in all aspects.

Day 8 update:

Starting to see results is nice, I've still got a lot of swelling though, which is mostly visible to the side. I've gone into public the past 2 days (sunglasses and cap during the day, or cover makeup at night) with no weird looks. Some guy held the elevator open very enthusiastically which is a good sign to me :) :P

Overall I am extremely happy with the results, but I am hoping that my eyebrows continue to relax a bit more and I know they will.

Pain fluctuates, and I feel like it's only due to inflammation which I know is going to take some time to come down.. I am being as patient as possible and using minimal pain meds, following the post-op instructions to the tee!

These photos are with my usual eyeliner added, and some cover makeup over the bruises (which are almost gone anyway)

Swelling (seems to be predominant near the incision, over the brows, and where he added the soft tissue graft to the radix)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FTGt59Ly.jpg&hash=bf8a2923e13c77ee05c5682458c8105c9781179c)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMWD7Ipf.jpg&hash=047d6f39643d8c74e9579c34d06572ff1db318f6)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvrCzcf6.jpg&hash=2bfbcdd7ac31c32af4ef05247563ff6f55a1e50f)

tasteless duck-lip test
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLX1f58c.jpg&hash=35718ab1d41aba3209b9b2dfa40ca6e84a14c34d)

The hairline incision that Mayer performed is unbelievable. I've been showing people where the incision is and they have to get 8" away from my face squinting to see it...

this is with no cover makeup. His work is incredible.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FECqcvxZ.jpg&hash=8f1608c37ff3da733093a786f646779fc949d457)

I don't even see it very well.

I can see already what fantastic work he did, you are going to be something pretty once the bruising goes away. Best wishes on a full and healthy recovery Jenny :))

Quote from: Willow on January 17, 2014, 02:52:25 AM
I don't even see it very well.

Yeah, it's like.. nuts. I cannot believe it. Hopefully it stays that way. I'm being super de duper careful not to tug or expose it to sunlight at all.

Mayer uses a "flap" method where the hair grows through and in front of the scar. It's going to be completely invisible after a year once hair starts popping up there.

Quote from: oh hai! on January 17, 2014, 02:58:44 AM
I can see already what fantastic work he did, you are going to be something pretty once the bruising goes away. Best wishes on a full and healthy recovery Jenny :))

Thank you so much, oh hai to you too! Appreciate the kind wishes very much :D

I think you have sold me on him :)  I live just down in San Diego so he is relatively close and sounds great to work with and good results.  Glad to hear its all going well for you! :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 17, 2014, 02:45:52 AM


The hairline incision that Mayer performed is unbelievable. I've been showing people where the incision is and they have to get 8" away from my face squinting to see it...

this is with no cover makeup. His work is incredible.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FECqcvxZ.jpg&hash=8f1608c37ff3da733093a786f646779fc949d457)

All I can say is gee, it must be nice having hair there, mine has become a hair island  :'( But I am after all older than dirt and had I succumbed to the desire to transition much earlier in life it would not be so. Congrats though hon, you are light years ahead already!

Quote from: Khalysta on January 17, 2014, 10:02:38 AM
I think you have sold me on him :)  I live just down in San Diego so he is relatively close and sounds great to work with and good results.  Glad to hear its all going well for you! :)

Happy to pass along the recommendation! He was recommended to me by two members here who are utterly gorgeous... Vanna and MaidOfOrleans. And congrats and thank you :)

Quote from: Shantel on January 17, 2014, 10:08:02 AM
All I can say is gee, it must be nice having hair there, mine has become a hair island  :'( But I am after all older than dirt and had I succumbed to the desire to transition much earlier in life it would not be so. Congrats though hon, you are light years ahead already!

We will love you just the same no matter what Auntie Shan.. island, peninsula, or continent on top of your head- it matters not. What does matter is who you are, and that's always been strikingly apparent with you. Your good will and kind heart will always shine :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 17, 2014, 01:33:59 PM

We will love you just the same no matter what Auntie Shan.. island, peninsula, or continent on top of your head- it matters not. What does matter is who you are, and that's always been strikingly apparent with you. Your good will and kind heart will always shine :)

Thanks Jenny how sweet! You mean shine like a few places on my noggin? LMAO  :D ;D
It's ok Boo-Boo, I'm big!  :icon_bunch:

Quote from: Jennygirl on November 17, 2013, 07:53:22 PM
Thank you girls :D :D

Gabrielle, you do know that the photo you quoted is altered, right? Haha

Before / After
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMDQXtfh.jpg&hash=36e85992948149c7a37fb2c316614003d2fa9bf1)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnZ5C3RV.jpg&hash=6a83ae1361d8860d5aa39f887352e6ef06ee6cae)

Honestly, just shortin your overall nose length and your good to go. My nose has a sharp point like yours and its one of the few things I will have changed. You look good either way girl!  :D

Jenny,

I'm going to have to talk to him about me.  His results are too good.  I don't know where that will lead, but talk to him I will.

There are a couple of additional things I want to say:

First – You look fantastic.  I am so happy for you.

Second – As I will be getting FFS, your daily log is setting my mind to ease about what is coming.  I was more than a little apprehensive.

Thank you so very much.

Hugs,

Jen

Hmm I didnt realize this post was six pages in! *sigh*


The end results look pretty well on you. Did everything turn out as expected?

Quote from: JLT1 on January 18, 2014, 02:52:04 PM
Jenny,

I'm going to have to talk to him about me.  His results are too good.  I don't know where that will lead, but talk to him I will.

There are a couple of additional things I want to say:

First – You look fantastic.  I am so happy for you.

Second – As I will be getting FFS, your daily log is setting my mind to ease about what is coming.  I was more than a little apprehensive.

Thank you so very much.

Hugs,

Jen

Jen, do also keep in mind that I chose Dr Mayer because I wanted something very subtle and natural to complement what I already had. I remember doing your vffs and I took quite a bit off the brow, I'm not sure if the shave technique would be sufficient. I would highly recommend getting a lateral skull xray and doing a virtual consult with a few other doctors as well like Spiegel and/or Di Maggio... anyone that offers type 3 forehead reconstruction as an option as well. As Abby said earlier, a shave is not for everyone. I also consulted with Dr O and he wanted to type 3 me (as well as nose/lips/jaw/chin) for what it's worth. I disagreed that I needed that much. :O

Quote from: Natallie553 on January 18, 2014, 07:52:27 PM
Hmm I didnt realize this post was six pages in! *sigh*


The end results look pretty well on you. Did everything turn out as expected?

No worries Natallie :) swelling is definitely coming down still. This is only day 11, but I've been out in public with no probs!

As far as how everything turned out as expected, I am already incredibly happy and have received tons of positive feedback from people- some of the most positive reinforcers when I talk to someone and they don't even notice that I had surgery... That's exactly what I was going for and to me a really excellent sign that I made the right choice :D

Being so early on in recovery it's still hard to gauge the final look, there is still quite a bit of swelling over the broad part of my forehead as well as where he grafted soft tissue to my radix. I can press lightly for a few seconds, let go, and the skin stays depressed for a moment and fills back in. Still quite a bit of swelling as I said ;)

Most of it seems to be on my left side, which is probably the side I sleep on the most. But the right side looks equally swollen still. I can feel the bone though and it is completely rounded out! Wonderful!

Also no more under eye bags... He did a smashing job on the lower eye blepharoplasty!

Also just wanted to thank everyone for their continued interest in my recovery process. It's really nice to be able to record it here and know that the info could help someone out a bit!

Hugs and a huge THANKS! :D

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 19, 2014, 02:03:50 PM
Jen, do also keep in mind that I chose Dr Mayer because I wanted something very subtle and natural to complement what I already had. I remember doing your vffs and I took quite a bit off the brow, I'm not sure if the shave technique would be sufficient. I would highly recommend getting a lateral skull xray and doing a virtual consult with a few other doctors as well like Spiegel and/or Di Maggio... anyone that offers type 3 forehead reconstruction as an option as well. As Abby said earlier, a shave is not for everyone. I also consulted with Dr O and he wanted to type 3 me (as well as nose/lips/jaw/chin) for what it's worth. I disagreed that I needed that much. :O

Jenny,

You are quite correct; I need extensive work. I think you appreciate that even better than I. 

You are familiar with what I do in my professional job. This year, I have a number of plant site visits to rollout a series of new but related technologies.  We need to ensure that everything is handled correctly.  I am putting together my traveling schedule for 2014 this week and I will be visiting Irvine and Northridge.  I'll probably be out in that vicinity for a week.  Easy to work in a visit as the rollout schedule is up to me.

The other part of my motivation is Dr Z seems to be having difficulty submitting information to my insurance company.   My insurance company has the necessary information so that they will cover everything we talked about except the belpharoplasty, cheek augmentation and the neck lift – at 90%.  That's a lot of money.  His office just needs to send in the cost figures and they can't seem to get it done. To make the make the March 8 date, it needs to be done quickly.  Just frustrated about that...

I'll start checking other surgeons this week.  Unreal.

Hugs,

Jen

Jen that sounds great, let me know if you would like to meet up! My schedule is more often than not (unless I am working) VERY flexible.

How do you get insurance to cover FFS???! That is amazing! WOW!

Something that hasn't been mentioned much is how the subtle change in your nose also screams "I'm a girl!"

Thank you Jamie! I like the change there a lot, too. I think there is still *quite* a bit of swelling to go down before the final result shows... It's almost like a lot of the swelling coming down from my forehead & brows is getting caught there and it's still really spongy.

I am very excited to see the final result, and so far I feel really good about where things are heading.

Day 13:

So I rediscovered my old glasses last night, they seem to help my eyes while recovering from the lower eyelid stuff. I had been avoiding them for a year because they always made my face look so masculine and I didn't really need them. Anyway, the surgery was done through an incision inside my lower eyelid, and no sutures are necessary... it just kind of heals on its own. My eyes have been a little dry and blurry so the glasses do fix it (my eyesight hasn't changed at all with glasses on).

As far as how the glasses look, well, they look completely different to me now. I don't mind them at all anymore. Actually in this pic they did a pretty good job of hiding almost all of the remaining bruising. Earlier this morning right out of bed, no makeup (bruising doesn't count ;))
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FFFxzhCF.jpg&hash=88ee0373886ca22b73fdf5dbe0f7e10b502b143f)

Bruising and swelling are going down down down and super fast the past 24-48h. I realized if I elevate my head a little bit higher during sleep it is draining out almost twice as fast. Also I've been drinking probably 3 gallons of water a day and eating a high calorie no sugar diet (candida cleanse).

Things are going well, I just can't wait to have full energy back. Today I took a 4hr snooze during the afternoon!

Oh my goodness Jenny,  your results are fantastic.  You were already really pretty before you had the surgery done,  so it obviously didn't take much more than a few millimeters here and there and now you look absolutely amazing.  I just read through this post for the first time, and I'm positively giddy I'm so happy for you.

 

Quote from: SciNerdGirl on January 21, 2014, 11:14:55 PM
Oh my goodness Jenny,  your results are fantastic.  You were already really pretty before you had the surgery done,  so it obviously didn't take much more than a few millimeters here and there and now you look absolutely amazing.  I just read through this post for the first time, and I'm positively giddy I'm so happy for you.

That's so nice of you to say!! Thank you :D I can't wait to see it with the swelling gone, but comments like yours are truly encouraging and uplifting.... because feeling good about it myself is one thing... knowing that others mirror the way I see myself is a different thing, and somewhere around equally important to me. Thank you.

On the swelling, I continue to be shocked just how swollen my face was. I think I got kind of used to the swelling in some areas, haha! Anyway the more elevated my head is during sleep, the faster it seems to go away. You should see the ramp of pillows I've made on my bed :) Having 4 body pillows and a few regular pillows has come in great handy, I've literally been building pillow towers to sleep upon.

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 21, 2014, 03:35:57 PM
Jen that sounds great, let me know if you would like to meet up! My schedule is more often than not (unless I am working) VERY flexible.

How do you get insurance to cover FFS???! That is amazing! WOW!

I would like to meet up.  No schedule yet.  Will post how got FFS paid this weekend.  On cell now

Hugs

Jen

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 19, 2014, 02:03:50 PM...

Also no more under eye bags... He did a smashing job on the lower eye blepharoplasty!

Oh god between that and the nose work I need might be convinced. I have horrible, persistent old European lady circles under my eyes. I've seriously been asked  who hit me before :/

you was beautiful, very natural result and your recovery is not finished :)

Quote from: oh hai! on January 23, 2014, 08:08:19 AM
Oh god between that and the nose work I need might be convinced. I have horrible, persistent old European lady circles under my eyes. I've seriously been asked  who hit me before :/

My bags used to be persistent like that. I had the genetic deformity on both my mom's and dad's side of the family so I was doomed. My mom told me she is super jealous!

Quote from: margaux29 on January 23, 2014, 12:29:41 PM
you was beautiful, very natural result and your recovery is not finished :)

Thank you margaux :D I'll do another recovery update in a few days. The swelling is not prominent at all in most areas, still a bit to go though. I know it takes months to be fully un-swelled too.

Going in for another laser hair treatment today, so I'll probably update when I'm done with pizzafacemode

Jen,

I have had procedure done by Dr Mayer, and I can say that he is one of the best facial surgeons out there. Of course this is my opinion and experience but if somebody wants a perfect result just go to Dr Mayer. He operates on many celebrities, politicians and public figures and that is something not many doctors do.

My concerns about him as FFS surgeon is about him not being aggressive enough. My initial FFS was done by Dr Z as I wanted aggressive work done. The recovery was a rough ride but in the end I was very happy with the results.

I went to Dr Mayer for some touch ups and he did a great job.

When it comes to forehead type 3 reconstruction I don't think somebody even needs it because with burring and additional tissue transfer every forehead can be corrected without opening the sinus.
Opening the sinus can lead to lifetime complications and I would never even think about that as an option.

I am very excited about your surgery and I wish you a very successful one!

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 17, 2014, 02:45:52 AM
Day 8 update:

Starting to see results is nice, I've still got a lot of swelling though, which is mostly visible to the side. I've gone into public the past 2 days (sunglasses and cap during the day, or cover makeup at night) with no weird looks. Some guy held the elevator open very enthusiastically which is a good sign to me :) :P

Overall I am extremely happy with the results, but I am hoping that my eyebrows continue to relax a bit more and I know they will.

Pain fluctuates, and I feel like it's only due to inflammation which I know is going to take some time to come down.. I am being as patient as possible and using minimal pain meds, following the post-op instructions to the tee!

These photos are with my usual eyeliner added, and some cover makeup over the bruises (which are almost gone anyway)

Swelling (seems to be predominant near the incision, over the brows, and where he added the soft tissue graft to the radix)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FTGt59Ly.jpg&hash=bf8a2923e13c77ee05c5682458c8105c9781179c)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMWD7Ipf.jpg&hash=047d6f39643d8c74e9579c34d06572ff1db318f6)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvrCzcf6.jpg&hash=2bfbcdd7ac31c32af4ef05247563ff6f55a1e50f)

tasteless duck-lip test
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLX1f58c.jpg&hash=35718ab1d41aba3209b9b2dfa40ca6e84a14c34d)

The hairline incision that Mayer performed is unbelievable. I've been showing people where the incision is and they have to get 8" away from my face squinting to see it...

this is with no cover makeup. His work is incredible.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FECqcvxZ.jpg&hash=8f1608c37ff3da733093a786f646779fc949d457)

Amazing results.
Dr Mayer is just a great doctor. I have never come across unhappy patient on trans or ordinary forums. BRAVO

Thank you Ms. swan! :) I appreciate your input.

I think in my case the results have been more towards the aggressive side, comparing with some of his other patients. Sometimes the brow lift is barely noticeable. For mine though, it was very noticeable! Almost scary at first. Luckily they are settling down into a place that I am very happy about :D

I definitely notice a big difference right now from the pic you just quoted!

Don't worry about your eyebrows. After my FFS for the first 6 weeks I looked like a witch and couldn't stop crying. It is because of the swelling. Once it subsides, about 3 months post op you will see the final results. I am sure that in 3 months you will like your results even more.
The job he did on you looks aggressive to me and every compliments to Dr Mayer's new techniques, maybe he has seen the critics on susan's and has become more aggressive.  ;)
In general from what I understood about him is that he is trying his best to achieve as natural results as possible. With an aggressive work many patients end up looking "plastic". But if he has found a way to be aggressive with natural looking results like in your case then he is not only the world top facial surgeon but world best FFS surgeon.
On top of it all I think his prices are very acceptable compared to other doctors.... 

Quote from: swan on January 24, 2014, 08:40:43 AM
Don't worry about your eyebrows. After my FFS for the first 6 weeks I looked like a witch and couldn't stop crying. It is because of the swelling. Once it subsides, about 3 months post op you will see the final results. I am sure that in 3 months you will like your results even more.
The job he did on you looks aggressive to me and every compliments to Dr Mayer's new techniques, maybe he has seen the critics on susan's and has become more aggressive.  ;)
In general from what I understood about him is that he is trying his best to achieve as natural results as possible. With an aggressive work many patients end up looking "plastic". But if he has found a way to be aggressive with natural looking results like in your case then he is not only the world top facial surgeon but world best FFS surgeon.
On top of it all I think his prices are very acceptable compared to other doctors....

Thanks for the reassurance. I do tend to get quite impatient about things, and there does seem to still be quite a bit of swelling. I think I can expect them to drop at least one more millimeter which will be perfect. Like I said already, I am very happy with the difference made during the 2nd week of recovery.

I'm still sleeping with my head elevated as to encourage that swelling to go away faster, and it seems to be working :) The difference in the center of my forehead yesterday to today is quite noticeable!

Ew, I just realized if I do a long press on my forehead, it makes and indentation!! Ew ew ew!!!

It takes almost a minute to fill back in. I feel like I could just move it around anywhere :P  ;) EW that is so weird!!

so obviously that is too much swelling.....  ;)
I think your eyebrows will go down between 3 and 4 mm in the end which will give you a perfect position.

You already look good on your before pic. I thought just few mm shaving can't be that significant but your result prove otherwise. I 90% convinced I want it as well  :)

Quote from: bingunginter on January 25, 2014, 06:37:23 AMYou already look good on your before pic. I thought just few mm shaving can't be that significant but your result prove otherwise. I 90% convinced I want it as well  :)

I'm super impressed as well, and despite the high cost of American surgeons, Meyer is one of 4 surgeons I will be consulting.

Wow! You look undeniably perfect now! Gorgeous before, and still unique and beautiful now. You are such an impressive lady <3

swan- I think you are right. I was doing some very light massage last night to try to encourage the swelling to figure it out.. and it worked! Looks like they are almost a full 1mm lower today :D I can still make an indent with the swelling so I know there is more to come.

bingunginter- it is amazing what a few small adjustments can do! Even with the swelling (and probably 1mm thick at that) the contouring result is already quite visible!

Willow- that's great! Let me know when you are in town I would love to meet you :D

muffinpants- thank you so much!!!! :D :D :D

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 25, 2014, 12:42:02 PMWillow- that's great! Let me know when you are in town I would love to meet you :D

I was hoping I could do an email or phone consult, I'm not really up to spending money to go to California, and I don't really have time to, except Spring Break, which is about a month away, and tickets to anywhere warm will be through the roof.

Quote from: Willow on January 25, 2014, 12:52:02 PM
I was hoping I could do an email or phone consult, I'm not really up to spending money to go to California, and I don't really have time to, except Spring Break, which is about a month away, and tickets to anywhere warm will be through the roof.

Oh yeah, duh! Well you'll have to let me know how it goes :)

---

Quote from: FilaFord on January 25, 2014, 01:24:27 PM
I don't know if this has been asked yet, but how much did you pay for everything?  I'm not bashful about asking.  We all know that transitioning is a time consuming and hella expensive thing to go through.  So far my priorities are HRT, Laser Hair Removal, VFS, FFS... but I'm trying to get a decent female voice down so I can swap VFS and FFS...

That list almost exactly parallels what my timeline was.. HRT and laser to start, trach shave, VFS, and finally this FFS. Next step SRS!

The surgery with Mayer was $11,950. I had hairline lowering/forehead lift/brow contour & lift, soft tissue graft to radix, lower eye blepharoplasty, and soft tissue graft to smile lines.

The hairline/forehead/brow procedure was $8,000 on its own but came down to $7,000 when bundled.

I think his prices are extremely competitive, if not less expensive than usual... Also his consults are free for TG patients :)

The only thing he seems to charge a lot for is rhinoplasty, which was $9,000 alone or $8,000 in a package (I opted for no rhinoplasty). His expertise with that procedure shows and if I ever did get a rhinoplasty it would for sure be with him.

Hope that helps!

Here are a few pics today with no makeup. I'm about to head down to san pedro to go sailing!! :D :D

As you can see the brows are coming down quite a lot now! Wooo!!

Day 17:

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FY17hgC8.jpg&hash=4b53e124cbe8aaf61a739c16a10614f48cf2586e)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F0ZAxNwU.jpg&hash=011cef4725a91768b7705f635aa6d83ecebcdb78)

Sooooo crazy for me to feel confident leaving the house without any makeup at all! Eeeee!!!! :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 25, 2014, 01:32:33 PMThat list almost exactly parallels what my timeline was.. HRT and laser to start, trach shave, VFS, and finally this FFS. Next step SRS!

The surgery with Mayer was $11,950. I had hairline lowering/forehead lift/brow contour & lift, soft tissue graft to radix, lower eye blepharoplasty, and soft tissue graft to smile lines.

The hairline/forehead/brow procedure was $8,000 on its own but came down to $7,000 when bundled.

I think his prices are extremely competitive, if not less expensive than usual... Also his consults are free for TG patients :)

The only thing he seems to charge a lot for is rhinoplasty, which was $9,000 alone or $8,000 in a package (I opted for no rhinoplasty). His expertise with that procedure shows and if I ever did get a rhinoplasty it would for sure be with him.

Hope that helps!

Hmm, I may be able to get away with him for under 30K, but I was hoping for around or under 20K.

If I do end up choosing Meyer, I expect you to visit me in recovery! :D

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 25, 2014, 01:42:25 PM
Here are a few pics today with no makeup. I'm about to head down to san pedro to go sailing!! :D :D

As you can see the brows are coming down quite a lot now! Wooo!!

Day 17:

Sooooo crazy for me to feel confident leaving the house without any makeup at all! Eeeee!!!! :)

Jenny,

Each day you look better!  Your posts are making me excited for my surgery.  (Ooooo.. I am taking a day and driving down for a face-to-face with Dr Z to work out a few more details on Feb. 10.)

Thank you Hugs!

Jen

PS - I have a F18 class cat that I play with up on my lake.  Totally fun!!

---

Quote from: Willow on January 25, 2014, 02:28:28 PM
Hmm, I may be able to get away with him for under 30K, but I was hoping for around or under 20K.

If I do end up choosing Meyer, I expect you to visit me in recovery! :D

Duhhh! As a few of my other trans friends online were there for me when I needed it most, I am more than happy to extend the help in any way :)

Quote from: JLT1 on January 25, 2014, 02:56:27 PM
Jenny,

Each day you look better!  Your posts are making me excited for my surgery.  (Ooooo.. I am taking a day and driving down for a face-to-face with Dr Z to work out a few more details on Feb. 10.)

Thank you Hugs!

Jen

PS - I have a F18 class cat that I play with up on my lake.  Totally fun!!

Sounds great! Pretty soon you will have a date booked and you'll be counting down the days! They go by so fast.

Today was great. Actually instead of sailing my friends built a huge platform and erected a 2 story house on it. It was pretty neat!

Quote from: FilaFord on January 25, 2014, 03:44:34 PM
Well you look amazing!  I'm going to need to start saving my money better.  I have about $10k saved up so hopefully that can get me started with the laser and hormones.  Then hopefully by the end of the year I will have the money saved for a trip to South Korea :)

I think I will need a little more work done when it comes to FFS though, and I might need to get hair transplants before then, too, but I am hoping HRT really helps in that department as I am balding pretty badly right now.  :-\

Sounds like you are well on your way to saving up :) That is great!! I would still have to say that bang for buck the VFS made a much bigger difference, but the FFS is gaining traction and fast. Not having to wear makeup is all that I thought it would be and more.

Jenny, hi. May I ask where you had VFS as I'd like to get that very much as well. Have you already posted about this? If you have I'm sorry.... I have to tell you that you look fantastic and the fact that you became your true self in only a year, that's so impressive!
Thanks,
Samantha

Quote from: samantha.mich on January 26, 2014, 08:25:45 AM
Jenny, hi. May I ask where you had VFS as I'd like to get that very much as well. Have you already posted about this? If you have I'm sorry.... I have to tell you that you look fantastic and the fact that you became your true self in only a year, that's so impressive!
Thanks,
Samantha

Hi Samantha! I went to Yeson Voice Center in S. Korea.. you can find the thread about my experience here (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,139439).

Thanks for the kind words :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 26, 2014, 02:23:34 PM
Hi Samantha! I went to Yeson Voice Center in S. Korea.. you can find the thread about my experience here (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,139439).

Thanks for the kind words :)

Jenny I just checked out the link. This helps me so much! Thank you.

3 weeks have come and gone!

The usual.. Swelling is continuing to resolve, and my brows seem to have dropped around 1mm each since my last photo post. I think my left brow still has a little bit more to go as is evident by the swelling still present near the hairline incision on the left side. The swelling atop my nose is considerably less, and I'm starting to see the contours of my face again = yaaayy! I am looking forward to not feeling like a balloon head! :D

Last night I had a bit of pus ooze out near the middle of the incision. I freaked out for a second but then wiped it away with some hydrogen peroxide and then applied some polysporin after it had dried. In the morning all that was left was a small little scab about 1mm wide. You can kind of see it in the first pic, but really it is unnoticeable and I'm pretty sure it was just a trapped hair as Mayer warned me about.

Here is a photo waiting at a red outside of work this morning (sorry for the crazy hair thing going on, I dry it on the way to work by opening up all the windows ;)):
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FWga5ofA.jpg&hash=d19aed8c866bc835b3fbd5f7cee0b571eac20b7d)

And then tonight. Usually I would hate this lighting: strong overhead light that used to cast an enormous shadow over my eyes. Not really a concern I have anymore :)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FHt2JgjV.jpg&hash=edd13d71931d40726f037b33ffbba68593142eb3)

There is still a lot of swelling getting trapped in the very middle of my forehead, the indentation test still works really well.

Getting lots of eye batting from people at work (I just started a short gig on Monday) and I don't think anyone suspects at all that I am trans. A really cute producer (kinda looks like Tom Cruise) sat next to me and was kind of awkward and soft spoken in the most adorable of ways. You could smell the sexual tension in the air. And then... Disaster struck. Later on I overheard him talking to one of the other freelancers about his WIFE. Buzzkill! Oh well :P

Geezo doll baby, looking lovely! Looks like the eyebrows have settled down a lot lending to the very pretty eyes, as the valley girls used to say, totally awesome!

Jenny,

You are looking great.  One thing, the photo of you prior to work...you have beautiful eyes.  Wow.  Most of the photos I have seen are always profile so you can't see them well.  But they are wonderful.

Hugs,

Jen

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 30, 2014, 06:07:27 AM
Here is a photo waiting at a red outside of work this morning (sorry for the crazy hair thing going on, I dry it on the way to work by opening up all the windows ;)):
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FWga5ofA.jpg&hash=d19aed8c866bc835b3fbd5f7cee0b571eac20b7d)

And then tonight. Usually I would hate this lighting: strong overhead light that used to cast an enormous shadow over my eyes. Not really a concern I have anymore :)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FHt2JgjV.jpg&hash=edd13d71931d40726f037b33ffbba68593142eb3)

You are sooo beautiful! Your transition has been nothing short of incredible and such a huge inspiration!

Thank you Shantel, Jen, and Christina. Very sweet of you to say.

It makes me happy to hear that I am able to inspire people, it feels like I'm returning the favor somehow :) I hope to have a new transition video done soon, maybe at around the 15 month mark

Hi Jenny,

Just wanted to say you look so lovely, and that I'm sure to many your sweetness and journey will be a wonderful comfort and reassurance to them. I transitioned 12 years ago and recently had jaw surgery (been waiting for the right time to do it, and now at 30 decided to just get on with it) -- but it's been wonderful to follow your journey and hear your glowing positivity.

Take care,
V xx

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 30, 2014, 06:07:27 AM
3 weeks have come and gone!

The usual.. Swelling is continuing to resolve, and my brows seem to have dropped around 1mm each since my last photo post. I think my left brow still has a little bit more to go as is evident by the swelling still present near the hairline incision on the left side. The swelling atop my nose is considerably less, and I'm starting to see the contours of my face again = yaaayy! I am looking forward to not feeling like a balloon head! :D

Last night I had a bit of pus ooze out near the middle of the incision. I freaked out for a second but then wiped it away with some hydrogen peroxide and then applied some polysporin after it had dried. In the morning all that was left was a small little scab about 1mm wide. You can kind of see it in the first pic, but really it is unnoticeable and I'm pretty sure it was just a trapped hair as Mayer warned me about.

Here is a photo waiting at a red outside of work this morning (sorry for the crazy hair thing going on, I dry it on the way to work by opening up all the windows ;)):
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FWga5ofA.jpg&hash=d19aed8c866bc835b3fbd5f7cee0b571eac20b7d)

And then tonight. Usually I would hate this lighting: strong overhead light that used to cast an enormous shadow over my eyes. Not really a concern I have anymore :)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FHt2JgjV.jpg&hash=edd13d71931d40726f037b33ffbba68593142eb3)

You look absolutely stunning! :o
Good for you Jenny :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on February 01, 2014, 05:22:54 AM
Thank you Shantel, Jen, and Christina. Very sweet of you to say.

It makes me happy to hear that I am able to inspire people, it feels like I'm returning the favor somehow :) I hope to have a new transition video done soon, maybe at around the 15 month mark

Hi Jenny
I have been following your YouTube channel from the start and recently saw you on Susans.
. I loved your voice surgery before and after video...just amazing .
I can't wait to see all your progress in a new clip.
Much respect to you for your courage and determination to be who you felt you are.
I know many of the girls find you inspiring and I can see why .
Blessings to you,
a fellow LA Girl :)=

Ahhh too much! You are all so great :)

Thank you!!

Today is 25 days since the surgery and I definitely have all of my energy back. I've been working like a crazy person to save up for SRS. 74 hours this week!! :icon_boxing:

Attention from guys at work has been kinda nuts- definitely something I never expected and very affirming to say the least. I'm completely stealth without a care in the air and I honestly never fully expected to get to that point. I mean I always had a hope to have the option, but I was fine either way. I don't mind people knowing I'm trans.

Above all I just want to say how it is so super fun to be a nerdy girl with "masculine" interests. I love shocking guys with what I'm into ;) The FFS has been a great success. I've never felt so relaxed and free.

Brows continuing to drop and still in deflation mode but getting closer I think!
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGDPuetY.jpg&hash=53254482b48f215c11a982e8edf54bbaf1af73d1)

Girlfriend, you look stunning :) A great success :)

Thanks swan!! I'm very happy with the results so far :)

Jenny,

I comment on this thread so often that I feel like an on-line stalker......

However, I'm seeing more and more what to expect.  I'm also seeing a beautiful woman shining from the inside.  That is the real reason men are beginning to notice more....

I also have a question.....or I can make another post.  What would the normal recovery time be for someone who gets extensive FFS?  How fast can I get out in the sun???  I'll have the DR opinion next week but they sometimes get a little caried away.

Hugs,

Jen

Quote from: Jennygirl on February 03, 2014, 05:48:21 AM

Above all I just want to say how it is so super fun to be a nerdy girl with "masculine" interests. I love shocking guys with what I'm into ;) The FFS has been a great success. I've never felt so relaxed and free.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGDPuetY.jpg&hash=53254482b48f215c11a982e8edf54bbaf1af73d1)

Wow Jenny, you look fantastic. 

I love being a nerdy girl too.  I just wish I could do it in public like you.

I'm so happy for you.

Janet

Quote from: JLT1 on February 03, 2014, 07:59:48 PM
Jenny,

I comment on this thread so often that I feel like an on-line stalker......

However, I'm seeing more and more what to expect.  I'm also seeing a beautiful woman shining from the inside.  That is the real reason men are beginning to notice more....

I also have a question.....or I can make another post.  What would the normal recovery time be for someone who gets extensive FFS?  How fast can I get out in the sun???  I'll have the DR opinion next week but they sometimes get a little caried away.

Hugs,

Jen

Dawwww :D Thank you Jen!

To answer your question, I have heard the surgeries in the lower regions of the face take a bit longer to un-swell because everything moves down the face and it gets trapped with nowhere to go in the chin/jawline.

I can also imagine having rhinoplasty would increase the swelling considerably. I didn't even have a nose job and my face was still very swollen there.

Quote from: SciNerdGirl on February 03, 2014, 11:34:56 PM
Wow Jenny, you look fantastic. 

I love being a nerdy girl too.  I just wish I could do it in public like you.

I'm so happy for you.

Janet

Thank you Janet. 24/7 nerd is where it's at! I have a feeling you will eventually get there. And besides there's no reason to hide it, being a nerd is IN!

I know early on I was strictly against anything that could gender me male including a lot of my core interests/activities. I've talked to many MtFs who said the same happened to them when they were in transition. At some point though you have to stop caring and have to be the real you- irrespective of what you may feel you need to do in order to "pass". It's funny because at the time it felt like I really would never be interested in certain things anymore, but all of my old interests came rushing back to me in what seemed like a gigantic gust.

Self acceptance really is the major key in a transition. Without it, you end up just pretending to be someone else all over again.

Quote from: Jennygirl on February 04, 2014, 06:30:38 AM

Thank you Janet. 24/7 nerd is where it's at! I have a feeling you will eventually get there. And besides there's no reason to hide it, being a nerd is IN!

I know early on I was strictly against anything that could gender me male including a lot of my core interests/activities. I've talked to many MtFs who said the same happened to them when they were in transition. At some point though you have to stop caring and have to be the real you- irrespective of what you may feel you need to do in order to "pass". It's funny because at the time it felt like I really would never be interested in certain things anymore, but all of my old interests came rushing back to me in what seemed like a gigantic gust.

Thanks for the kind words Jenny.  Being a Nerd in public isn't a problem at all.  I accepted and embraced my nerdness a long time ago (and I am just about as nerdy as they come).   It's being a girl in public that I cannot do.  It took me until just about a year ago to accept my internal gender.  However, because it took so long, I have built a life around being a male to the outside world (wife and 5 year old son, depend on me financially), and since I work for a very conservative company (that pays me a lot of money)  in a very red state, that financial status is dependent on me staying in the closet about my true gender. 

Be that as it may, if I can ever get back my girlish figure (I was pretty thin in my late 20s), I totally am going to go to a convention and cross-play as batgirl (my favorite comic book character).  I figure the cowl will hide my rather prominent brow-bossing, and I can let makeup and padding do the rest. 

Keep Being Nerdy !!!!

Janet (SciNerdGirl)   

Quote from: JLT1 on February 03, 2014, 07:59:48 PM
What would the normal recovery time be for someone who gets extensive FFS?  How fast can I get out in the sun???  I'll have the DR opinion next week but they sometimes get a little caried away.

Hugs,

Jen

Jen,

The recovery is a long process and I guess it will depend on the extend of the trauma applied, the way your body reacts to the surgical trauma, how aggressive the surgery will be.... I understood that you will be having your FFS with Dr Z. If that is the case expect a long recovery. It is not scary but don't expect to see a beautiful woman one week after the surgery. It takes time for everything to heal and start looking normal and be ready to it all. If somebody asked me one week after the FFS I would have said that it was a mistake, from this perspective it was the best thing i have ever done for myself. Good luck sister and have a very successful surgery. 

Quote from: Jennygirl on January 30, 2014, 06:07:27 AM

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FWga5ofA.jpg&hash=d19aed8c866bc835b3fbd5f7cee0b571eac20b7d)

Getting lots of eye batting from people at work (I just started a short gig on Monday) and I don't think anyone suspects at all that I am trans.

Cover Girl material.  :)

She certainly is, but we need to stop this, the poor child's head will get so big she won't be able to get out of that SUV.  :D ;D :laugh:

Well it has been a month and a half (6 weeks), and I'm truly starting to feel way way better than before.

I was definitely nervous about a few things for a while- namely that the reduction was not enough and that my eyebrows were too high. I am still getting used to the different looking me in pictures, but I seem to like the way things are going a lot more with every passing week... and especially after recent events.

Even though I passed most all of the time before FFS, without a doubt I pass with much less effort than before. Makeup wise, I have toned down a LOT. In fact, in more and more situations I tend to feel better withOUT the stuff.. That still boggles my mind a bit.

This past weekend I had some really great experiences that completely pulled me past that small post-op anxiety bit. I saw some people that I hadn't hung out with during transition yet, and not only did they not recognize me... when they did recognize me, I couldn't even seem to get a word in past the shower of loving words and shock in their voices. It was extremely reassuring to hear. And I realized that quite a few friends who hadn't been following my surgery stuff closely forgot I had even had the op! So that to me is quite wonderful to hear :)

On top of that I have had an enormous amount of male attention at work and among friends (even some that knew me pre-transition). Times, they are a-changing... and I love it!

Here are a few pics from just now. I just got back from going out with a few roommates + friends for Korean BBQ which was also followed by Boba. I got a PM asking for an update and figured I would go ahead and do it here!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FmKUF0KU.jpg&hash=70ff9b6cbd14965d3d0402a464db7ef8b6477c27)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fwb9bcHt.jpg&hash=2f101a1da438e7fe1044c8e6ecde8b68d4988be7)

I am extremely impressed with his work. I haven't been wearing any sort of makeup cover on the incision, and I frequently even wear my hair back. I use 70 SPF every 2 hours to keep the sun off of it. So far the incision looks amazing! Hair has grown through nearly the entire thing. I've had a few pimples, but I've been pimple free for about a week and a half.

I hope you like the update. Let me know what you think :)

You are gorgeous , i am so impressed and  happy for you that i can't even be jealous  :D

Thank you Claudia :) That is very very sweet of you to say. I really appreciate it.

Like I said, I'm still getting used to how I look in photos. It seems more subtle to me in person, and obviously something that will just take time to completely get used to!

Quote from: Jennygirl on February 22, 2014, 04:33:47 AM

On top of that I have had an enormous amount of male attention at work and among friends (even some that knew me pre-transition). Times, they are a-changing... and I love it!   
Uh - yeah, why am I not surprised doll face?

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FmKUF0KU.jpg&hash=70ff9b6cbd14965d3d0402a464db7ef8b6477c27)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fwb9bcHt.jpg&hash=2f101a1da438e7fe1044c8e6ecde8b68d4988be7)

I hope you like the update. Let me know what you think :)

You know what I think Jenny and it just gets better and better every time I see your pretty face. kudos for being such a marvelous success with your terrific looks and wonderful personality. Your life in the days and years ahead will surely be blessed!

Jenny,

Beautiful....  You are incredible.

Hugs,

Jen

Even moar NV.
Grrr.

Congrats Jenny!

You look amazing.

This thread has also been great.  I'm nowhere near being ready for FFS, but that hasn't stopped me from doing the research, Dr. Mayer being one of the surgeons I've been looking into.  And this post answered so many of my questions as pretty much confirmed I want him doing my FFS when I'm ready.

Quote from: Shantel on February 22, 2014, 09:32:05 AM
You know what I think Jenny and it just gets better and better every time I see your pretty face. kudos for being such a marvelous success with your terrific looks and wonderful personality. Your life in the days and years ahead will surely be blessed!

I think that your eyebrows are in perfect position and that you look 100% woman. Very natural result. What do you think though?

Quote from: Shantel on February 22, 2014, 09:32:05 AM
You know what I think Jenny and it just gets better and better every time I see your pretty face. kudos for being such a marvelous success with your terrific looks and wonderful personality. Your life in the days and years ahead will surely be blessed!

Thanks Shantel! :) I am definitely better than ever with how this surgery has improved my quality of life. I feel that I have always enjoyed life... but now there is just even less to worry about. Kind of like a weight has been lifted in a lot of respects!

Quote from: JLT1 on February 24, 2014, 09:03:54 AM
Jenny,

Beautiful....  You are incredible.

Hugs,

Jen

Thank you Jen! I'm sorry I haven't had time to do more VFFS yet. Between events with friends and working to save for SRS I have been an extremely busy girl ;) I'm glad you like my results too! You must be getting excited for your FFS!!

Quote from: ColleenCallie on February 24, 2014, 02:31:07 PM
Congrats Jenny!

You look amazing.

This thread has also been great.  I'm nowhere near being ready for FFS, but that hasn't stopped me from doing the research, Dr. Mayer being one of the surgeons I've been looking into.  And this post answered so many of my questions as pretty much confirmed I want him doing my FFS when I'm ready.

That's great Colleen!! I am glad I could help somehow. And I appreciate you helping me out with your feedback as well. I am definitely very impressed with Mayer, and I do highly recommend him for fine tuned adjustments.

Quote from: swan on February 24, 2014, 09:53:12 PM
I think that your eyebrows are in perfect position and that you look 100% woman. Very natural result. What do you think though?

I love it. Honestly, I don't know how I could be happier :D I have relaxed soooo much over the past week or two... it's kind of nuts.

I used to worry quite a lot about my makeup and overall facial presentation. Now that anxiety is a thing of the past, and with every day that feeling of worry is more distant to me. That, to me, is the sign of a successful surgery- and exactly why I got it.

Interactively, the difference I have noticed with friends and randoms alike has been truly remarkable... almost like I've been given a new lease on life. I'm stealth with 95% of my coworkers, and those I have told were flabbergasted to hear that just over a year ago I was totally still "dude"-ing it up bigtime. I'm truly no longer afraid to let the slightly masculine traits of my personality take to the wind, and so far in 2014 I am (by a long shot) doing better than ever professionally. The drive to save for SRS might also have something to do with that ;)

Aesthetically, although I had some post-surgical anxieties to battle early on, I am now in an extremely good place in my head. What I see in the mirror as well as the reactions I regularly receive from randoms especially fuel that headspace. I can't even begin to describe the gratefulness I feel towards modern medical practice... It is just incredible what can be done for people. The difference from before this surgery to after is night and day. The changes were subtle, but I am being treated like an entirely different person. I feel attractive- usually more-so when I have no makeup on. What the heck, is this real? I sure hope so.

Congrats honey!

Jenny you are looking great in these pictures. I am very happy for you!

Hi Jenny,

I'm newly registered on the forum, but I've been reading posts for a while.  I  wanted to thank you for all of the information you've posted.  I've found it to be a huge help!  :)

I'm in the process of getting a few different FFS consultations, but I'm far and away most excited about the skype consultation I have scheduled with Dr. Mayer next week.  I already received an e-mail consultation from him based on photos, so I expect the skype session to go smoothly.  Call me crazy, but based on your experience I went ahead tentatively reserved a mid-April surgery date that opened up.  :o

I haven't done anything surgical yet, so I'll probably be hitting a few things at once.  Do you think Dr. Mayer will also do a good job on the trachea shave?  I'm not interested in his voice surgery technique (I'll probably do Yeson at some point down the road) but I want to make sure I don't risk any damage to my current voice.

Thanks!
-H

Wow, looking amazing, Jenny!

Your success with Dr. Mayer is inspiring!

Quote from: HaleyT on March 13, 2014, 11:04:56 PM
Hi Jenny,

I'm newly registered on the forum, but I've been reading posts for a while.  I  wanted to thank you for all of the information you've posted.  I've found it to be a huge help!  :)

I'm in the process of getting a few different FFS consultations, but I'm far and away most excited about the skype consultation I have scheduled with Dr. Mayer next week.  I already received an e-mail consultation from him based on photos, so I expect the skype session to go smoothly.  Call me crazy, but based on your experience I went ahead tentatively reserved a mid-April surgery date that opened up.  :o

I haven't done anything surgical yet, so I'll probably be hitting a few things at once.  Do you think Dr. Mayer will also do a good job on the trachea shave?  I'm not interested in his voice surgery technique (I'll probably do Yeson at some point down the road) but I want to make sure I don't risk any damage to my current voice.

Thanks!
-H

I saw him in person on Wednesday for a consult after seeing his work on Jenny.  I'm getting a trachea shave done and it is the least of my worries.  There is a video of him doing one on his site I believe.  Also most transgender patient photos list it being done. Something could happen you never know but I think he has done hundreds of them so I wouldn't worry about it.  It's not a bad price either if packaged in with other stuff since they you don't have to worry about paying for anesthesia and stuff again.  I'm definitely far more worried about the other stuff honestly than the trachea shave. :)  If you have questions though make sure you ask because there was so much information from the consult and he was really open about answering questions.  Good luck!

I think he's a great all around doctor, one of the best. He is very much a perfectionist which really contributes to that in my opinion :)

Trachea shave is usually no big deal. There are some people who have affected voices following it, but I doubt Dr. Mayer has had this happen at all to be honest!

I actually decided last night that I want to go back and have my nose adjusted. Since my window to have SRS in May is now out the window, I will be waiting until September. Instead I am going to do rhinoplasty with Dr. Mayer maybe even within the month! :o

I have a follow up appointment with him on Tuesday and I might schedule the rhino then if things go well!

Also here are a few update pics, a little over 2 months since the procedure! Loving the results!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FSdcuynn.jpg&hash=b957e23930455d9db5877873f022285f57b9b855)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Ft1dCC3f.jpg&hash=0db94b5b248190ce3c196aa970dc3ec02e6a49f2)

Jenny, you are looking absolutely amazing!

I think I'm pretty much set on going with Dr. Mayer unless something really surprising comes up during our skype consult next Wednesday.  Assuming all goes well, I'll be getting at least a trachea shave, forehead contouring, and rhinoplasty on April 15th, just a few days before my birthday! :) I think it will be a good present to myself.

I have a friend that had her voice affected after a trachea shave a few years ago, so she has made me extra cautious on that one.  However, she had hers done somewhere in asia, and it was quite a different overall experience.

-H

Quote from: HaleyT on March 16, 2014, 04:18:05 AM
Jenny, you are looking absolutely amazing!

I think I'm pretty much set on going with Dr. Mayer unless something really surprising comes up during our skype consult next Wednesday.  Assuming all goes well, I'll be getting at least a trachea shave, forehead contouring, and rhinoplasty on April 15th, just a few days before my birthday! :) I think it will be a good present to myself.

I have a friend that had her voice affected after a trachea shave a few years ago, so she has made me extra cautious on that one.  However, she had hers done somewhere in asia, and it was quite a different overall experience.

-H

Thank you Haley! :D

Those first few days are the roughest! Are you sure you want to feel like that on your bday? I suppose it has the potential to be great :)

Also on the trachea shave, yes just maybe mention to him that you are concerned about voice. It's what I did with Dr. O. I think he was extra sure about it because I was so adamant about not taking "too" much off.

Don't know how the heck you could possibly think that you need any more improvement. You can't improve perfection. ;)

I have been following this thread for couple of weeks now and the responses here have answered many questions I have had. Its time for me to record my experience so it might be of some help to many other people having similar concerns/questions....so here I am

I had my ffs done by Dr. Mayer last Wednesday(04/12).  I got a few procedures done by him including the trachea shave. From what I can say so far, I am able to talk just fine but it sounds a little funny with my nose all packed after my rhinoplasty. :) However, I am just curious to see how much of a visible scar i get when the bandages come out coming Tuesday.

Also I was wondering if you guys are aware of the fact that all medical insurance providers in California is now required by law to cover SRS....i was not aware of that until a month ago. I was really ecstatic when I heard it  :) 

Quote from: Carrie Liz on March 16, 2014, 10:45:39 AM
Don't know how the heck you could possibly think that you need any more improvement. You can't improve perfection. ;)

Nobody is perfect Carrie! Thank you for the compliment though!

What I seek is improvement only in the form of correction. Dr. Mayer lightly suggested rhinoplasty pre-op, and now that the swelling has come down I seem to think he was right in his assessment.

He does really natural looking noses -none of that "hollywood scoop" stuff- and I just want it to be 1 or 2mm max taken in with the exact same shape otherwise.

Quote from: inspire on March 16, 2014, 07:32:19 PM
I have been following this thread for couple of weeks now and the responses here have answered many questions I have had. Its time for me to record my experience so it might be of some help to many other people having similar concerns/questions....so here I am

I had my ffs done by Dr. Mayer last Wednesday(04/12).  I got a few procedures done by him including the trachea shave. From what I can say so far, I am able to talk just fine but it sounds a little funny with my nose all packed after my rhinoplasty. :) However, I am just curious to see how much of a visible scar i get when the bandages come out coming Tuesday.

Also I was wondering if you guys are aware of the fact that all medical insurance providers in California is now required by law to cover SRS....i was not aware of that until a month ago. I was really ecstatic when I heard it  :) 

That's great! I'm glad the thread has helped to answer some of your questions, and I'm super excited that you are joining in :)

I was aware of the SRS coverage for healthcare in California, but as far as I know you have to stay in state. I really want to go to Brassard, so that means getting it covered by insurance is kind of out of the cards for me.

Thanks Jenny! I have 2 of my girlfriends getting flown down to AZ by Kaiser for their SRS and breast aug with Dr. Meltzer. So veryexcited for them..any particular reason you are considering Dr Brassard?

You look fantastic Jenny!

Quote from: inspire on March 17, 2014, 01:46:28 AM
Thanks Jenny! I have 2 of my girlfriends getting flown down to AZ by Kaiser for their SRS and breast aug with Dr. Meltzer. So veryexcited for them..any particular reason you are considering Dr Brassard?

A large reason is the recovery house, that sounds nice. I always get post-op anxiety (usually about something not having gone quite right) and being around others going through that first week seems like a great idea. I think I would relax a whole lot more and probably recover faster. Also I still have yet to discover an unhappy patient of his... That is probably the main reason.

Quote from: 930310 on March 17, 2014, 02:59:14 AM
You look fantastic Jenny!

Thank you! I definitely feel fantastic on darn near close to a daily basis these days (not unusual for me even before FFS though). There is so much less pressure to use makeup to pass. My friends treat me differently now- probably another result of having to wear less makeup.

For comparison here is a photo from a year ago exactly. If the photo could have brought out the detail, you would see that I was literally having to cake it on to cover beard shadow, and I simply did not pass without eyeliner ;) (Check out the scary pre-surgery photo on page 5 if you don't believe me! Agh!)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FVw5ubLu.jpg&hash=e9e907a3707df7f1f860578a10ea4993e50e92ff)

Also, I am thinking about styling my side bangs somewhat in between what I used to do and what I do now. I kind of like the sweep across a lot :)

Also I just wanted to say looking at the recently post op photos on that page freaks me out.. hahaha

Quote from: Jennygirl on March 17, 2014, 03:21:17 AM
Also I just wanted to say looking at the recently post op photos on that page freaks me out.. hahaha

You did great and I hope that you are really happy with the results. You have changed a lot and you do look like the beautiful young woman you are now!

What I think is amazing about this, is that Mayer didn't go crazy, it looks like he removed material exactly where it needed to be removed and no more. Yet, the result is actually both stunning and natural, which makes me think that he really understands what he is doing. Usually I get the feeling most FFS surgeons are either too conservative and don't make much of a difference or too aggressive and make it obvious you've had work done.

I'm so impressed with the work Dr Mayer did on you!  I may have to reconsider him.

You look great Jenny!  You definitely got me convinced to use him!  3 months to go and hopefully I can get 1/2 your results :)

Quote from: Hikari on March 17, 2014, 09:07:01 AM
What I think is amazing about this, is that Mayer didn't go crazy, it looks like he removed material exactly where it needed to be removed and no more. Yet, the result is actually both stunning and natural, which makes me think that he really understands what he is doing. Usually I get the feeling most FFS surgeons are either too conservative and don't make much of a difference or too aggressive and make it obvious you've had work done.

I definitely have to admit (maybe someone else will go through this too) that initially I was very worried about my eyebrows being permanently too high. One night I even had a nightmare about having a revision surgery, and the revision surgery ended up turning out horridly botched. I woke up shaking and in tears, not a fun one I can assure you. Thankfully, they the eyebrows did indeed settle about 3mm and I am now ecstatic with the placement :)

I feel great in any kind of glasses, even my old pair from 4 years ago- which I've been wear at work doing the sexy librarian thing ;) It used to be that I couldn't pass in most all glasses, unless they were sunglasses big enough to completely cover my eyebrows. It has opened up new channels of confidence I did not have before.

Tomorrow I am having my hairs finally trimmed (it's been 7 months!), and then Wednesday I go in for a check up with Dr. Mayer. I am looking forward to speaking with him about the possibility of correcting my nose the teensiest amount. Depending on his openings and what he suggests considering I just had a surgery, I am going to try to schedule it this month... I have utmost confidence in him as a surgeon- especially when it comes to noses.

Quote from: Melissa_fox on March 17, 2014, 08:19:31 PM
I'm so impressed with the work Dr Mayer did on you!  I may have to reconsider him.

I'm glad you like his work too! Definitely the only surgeon I would want touching my face!

Quote from: Khalysta on March 18, 2014, 01:08:42 AM
You look great Jenny!  You definitely got me convinced to use him!  3 months to go and hopefully I can get 1/2 your results :)

I hope so too :) If you are already semi-passable, he will work wonders.

Also I haven't really talked much about the work he did under my eyes and with my nasolabial folds... I literally have zero eyebags anymore and my face looks younger than it did 5 years ago. It's so subtle nobody would ever notice, but it makes a huge difference to me!

Amazing results. I am sorry to suggest, but on your pre operative pictures i thought that your nose is a must. After the radix implant your nose looks perfect. Maybe a light work on the tip but you can do without it. Maybe a lip lift will make your nose visually smaller. Talk to dr mayer about it.  :-*

Thanks for your input swan! Maybe I'll ask him what he thinks, the thing is both him and Dr. Ousterhout said my upper lip was okay. Plus for some reason I am kind of scared about lip lifts because it is often such a dramatic result.

Don't worry at all about suggesting anything though... No offense taken whatsoever :)

I'd just be much more comfortable with a subtle rhinoplasty where I know exactly what the outcome will look like. I've done a mockup in photoshop and I really like the result!

I got my sutures and nose splint taken out today. Even though very swollen at the moment I am very very happy with the results. Dr Mayer has just done an amazing job and its already looking really good even with all the swelling atm...i really like how even and rounded my forehead looks,  my nose looks very natural and even the trachea shave scar is hardly visible...Dr. Mayer is just such an detailed and amazing surgeon <3. He is one of the surgeons who wont stop working on you face until he knows he has given you the best he can...if u are looking for a natural beautiful results without looking "done" he is the definitely the one...

Good report Inspire, hope you heal quickly. Will you be posting any photos in the future?

i am unable to post any pictures on this forum...i probably don't have enough user rights to do so.

Quote from: inspire on March 18, 2014, 06:28:59 PM
i am unable to post any pictures on this forum...i probably don't have enough user rights to do so.

Oh, I think you have to get 15 posts behind you first, oh well our loss. My best to you, get well honey!

Thanks Shantel! I will post pics as soon as i see that upload button :)

Quote from: inspire on March 18, 2014, 06:28:59 PM
i am unable to post any pictures on this forum...i probably don't have enough user rights to do so.

Currently there isn't an upload feature, so I always just use imgur. The only downside to imgur is if you don't want the pics to be totally public. I think you can make an account with them though so you could take an image down later. Personally for myself I don't mind though :)

If you do use imgur, just copy paste the bb code text to the right after the image uploads. Then your image will pop in once you paste that text and hit post. It's fairly self explanatory but let me know if you have any issues!

I use photobucket.  You can set privacy so no one can see your images even if they go to your photobucket profile, but you can get the image's html code and post via the img bbcode. 

I had a great visit at Dr. Mayer's office today. The office literally seemed to be aglow!

Dr. Mayer had a long talk with me about Dr. Kim at Yeson which was kind of neat. I guess he had attended a conference and heard about the procedure. One of the employees had apparently found my interview video on youtube and they were all very impressed with the results!

Anyway Dr. Mayer was extremely pleased with how I am healing and was flattered when I motioned towards hiring him to do a little bit more work. Apparently in the plastic surgery business it is a really good sign if a patient comes back happily to do more. Well, duh! He's a great doctor!

We went over exactly what he would do to my nose should I decide to have the procedure, and I liked what I heard, so... much to my excitement I scheduled rhinoplasty with him on April 30th :)

I would have to say that it was definitely the best visit I have had with him so far. He was all smiles the whole time. I loved that. Highly recommend this doctor and his staff!

here are a few pix i took right after getting back from the Dr Mayer's Office Tuesday. Even though it's quite swollen  i can certainly tell the difference it has made to my face. Before surgery I was not very confident with my looks without makeup and always worried abt getting clocked and all particularly chopping my hair off ...but now even with all the swelling and no make up I feel i look very feminine.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fnyh5OZt.jpg&hash=d7dce3a6bf988033f34a5c92a550b2bf31ceaf77)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FyixI1oq.jpg&hash=ff3f2aeba1dc5c33ea3e5e0a2ecf10ab47299240)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FDkpqd2M.jpg&hash=310d3fb7556dd97798486ca55d711c734a5e9783)

Following pics were taken the same evening (3/18) (excuse the poor lighting).

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F2GI7Qy3.jpg&hash=f19b3b215bee469ba6b2d76e338a16ba7b01d3ee)

Since then a lot of my swelling has gone down. I will take a few more pix in the next few days.

hey I am scheduled for my VFS with Dr Kim in May. Looking forward to it :)

Looking great already! Can't wait to see the swelling come down I bet? Also your eyebrows look exactly like mine did right after surgery! I think they came down at least 4mm total.

Also congrats on Yeson! Sheesh, it's just crazy how many people are going there now! Too awesome! Congrats on your date with Dr. Kim too :)

Thanks! :) Dr Mayer also indicated it's going to go down within the next few weeks... but I really hope it does not go down a whole lot for I already love the current position. :)

You are inspiring inspire! You look very good and I believe that once the swollenness goes down you'll look great!

Quote from: inspire on March 20, 2014, 02:25:08 AM
Thanks! :) Dr Mayer also indicated it's going to go down within the next few weeks... but I really hope it does not go down a whole lot for I already love the current position. :)

Don't worry. When the swelling comes down you are just going to look better and better!

Don't forget to ice in the early days, it will lessen the swelling a ton! Also I found laying on my back with my head and upper back elevated (almost like laying in a hotel bed) extremely useful in helping the swelling find it's way out.

Seriously though, you're going to love it when the swelling comes down!

Quote from: inspire on March 20, 2014, 01:29:51 AM
here are a few pix i took right after getting back from the Dr Mayer's Office Tuesday. Even though it's quite swollen  i can certainly tell the difference it has made to my face. Before surgery I was not very confident with my looks without makeup and always worried abt getting clocked and all particularly chopping my hair off ...but now even with all the swelling and no make up I feel i look very feminine.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fnyh5OZt.jpg&hash=d7dce3a6bf988033f34a5c92a550b2bf31ceaf77)


Since then a lot of my swelling has gone down. I will take a few more pix in the next few days.

Inspire, you do look extremely feminine and quite pretty. I'm sure when all of the swelling has subsided you will be just gorgeous and I might add that passing will never be a question for you dear. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for your kind words girlfriends :). You girls are amazing <3. I am looking forward to seeing the final results once the swelling subsides and everything falls in place within the next few weeks even though my nose will continue to change for the next 12 months.

As per the swelling, drinking lots of water , getting a lot of rest with the head a little over the heart((using two pillows instead of one), foot soaking with epson salt and baking soda or even a bath has really made quite a difference in a very short time.

I do need to get bangs to hide the hairline incision...do u know how long before I can get a haircut after my surgery?

~Riya

Quote from: Jennygirl on March 19, 2014, 10:18:14 PM
I had a great visit at Dr. Mayer's office today. The office literally seemed to be aglow!

Dr. Mayer had a long talk with me about Dr. Kim at Yeson which was kind of neat. I guess he had attended a conference and heard about the procedure. One of the employees had apparently found my interview video on youtube and they were all very impressed with the results!

Anyway Dr. Mayer was extremely pleased with how I am healing and was flattered when I motioned towards hiring him to do a little bit more work. Apparently in the plastic surgery business it is a really good sign if a patient comes back happily to do more. Well, duh! He's a great doctor!

We went over exactly what he would do to my nose should I decide to have the procedure, and I liked what I heard, so... much to my excitement I scheduled rhinoplasty with him on April 30th :)

I would have to say that it was definitely the best visit I have had with him so far. He was all smiles the whole time. I loved that. Highly recommend this doctor and his staff!

I also had my consultation with him Yesterday (via Skype) and had a great experience!  At one point I mentioned your name and that I've been inspired by your results, and he seemed quite happy to hear the reference.  I guess you were on his mind as well! :) 

I wondered how effective Skype would be, but since I had sent over a variety of photos for him to review a few weeks ago, the whole thing went very smoothly.  He was able to talk in detail about all the procedures he recommended, and answered all of my questions.  I'm sure its not as good as seeing him in person, but  I was able to get to know him, see his personality, and get comfortable with his techniques.  Overall I was impressed and much happier with him than some of the other doctor's I've had consultations with.

I'm all scheduled with him for April 15th and couldn't be more excited!  Gah, I can't believe its less than a month away!!

-H

Here are a few more pics I took at the doc's office this morning. She was seeing me after 3 months and was like you look so different, your hormones are working for you...no one can second guess abt your past....

I was thrilled particularly because she could not tell I have had surgery just a week ago...no visible/obvious scars, natural results..and its still quite swollen. I look just a more feminine version of myself and not someone else and it was very imp for me. I think FFS was the right decision for me particularly when one transitions late as in my case.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUJNVAr4.jpg&hash=a3dc6553fc46d749f9cbb59d0a61848d90ec4af2)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvTvAzZ3.jpg&hash=84fa5216fe21aa7adaf25a160495783b0813ff26)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FtLkVVqH.jpg&hash=761d961b1a467443ddca200d2cb4876034677b16)

~Riya

Quote from: inspire on March 20, 2014, 01:32:18 PM
Here are a few more pics I took at the doc's office this morning. She was seeing me after 3 months and was like you look so different, your hormones are working for you...no one can second guess abt your past....

I was thrilled particularly because she could not tell I have had surgery just a week ago...no visible/obvious scars, natural results..and its still quite swollen. I look just a more feminine version of myself and not someone else and it was very imp for me. I think FFS was the right decision for me particularly when one transitions late as in my case.

~Riya

You are a darling young woman and appear petite, I won't guess at your ethnicity but you look rather exotic. Your name is Riya? Congratulations on your good looks!

Quote from: HaleyT on March 20, 2014, 12:46:16 PM
I also had my consultation with him Yesterday (via Skype) and had a great experience!  At one point I mentioned your name and that I've been inspired by your results, and he seemed quite happy to hear the reference.  I guess you were on his mind as well! :) 

I wondered how effective Skype would be, but since I had sent over a variety of photos for him to review a few weeks ago, the whole thing went very smoothly.  He was able to talk in detail about all the procedures he recommended, and answered all of my questions.  I'm sure its not as good as seeing him in person, but  I was able to get to know him, see his personality, and get comfortable with his techniques.  Overall I was impressed and much happier with him than some of the other doctor's I've had consultations with.

I'm all scheduled with him for April 15th and couldn't be more excited!  Gah, I can't believe its less than a month away!!

-H

April 15th is coming soon! The excitement must be really starting to pick up about now :)

Quote from: inspire on March 20, 2014, 01:32:18 PM
Here are a few more pics I took at the doc's office this morning. She was seeing me after 3 months and was like you look so different, your hormones are working for you...no one can second guess abt your past....

I was thrilled particularly because she could not tell I have had surgery just a week ago...no visible/obvious scars, natural results..and its still quite swollen. I look just a more feminine version of myself and not someone else and it was very imp for me. I think FFS was the right decision for me particularly when one transitions late as in my case.

You are looking SO GOOD! Your eyes are all sparkly and you have the cutest smile.. I love it :D :D

I think it's quite obvious that when the swelling comes down you are going to look fab fab fab! Congratulations!

Thank you girlfriends for being so supportive and loving. You guys are awesome.  I already feel a part of a big group of friends helping each other in our pursuit of happiness and becoming the real gender that we are. Here are a few more pix from tonight...i still have swelling but cant quite tell with the make up on. Met a large group of friends I have not seen in the last 3 weeks and not one of them could tell I got ffs one but got a few compliments never the less :). They thought I look different may be because I cut my hair short or something...I cant stop thanking Dr. Mayer for giving me such natural beautiful results..amazed at how my Trachea Shave scar so not visible at all even if the surgery is soo fresh...i was super concerned about that scar in particular but he was able to achieve it all with just one fine almost invisible incision. Thank you!


(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fxe5HRIs.jpg&hash=d031e1c31c7f9425c09feeb4fed83e1fe699222d)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fob12ISF.jpg&hash=3d7b4c186ded2405042b62321c9bd96a85f2f7e5)


P.S: And yes my name is Riya

Quote from: inspire on March 22, 2014, 03:33:22 AM

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fob12ISF.jpg&hash=3d7b4c186ded2405042b62321c9bd96a85f2f7e5)

And yes my name is Riya

You are truly beautiful and very natural looking Riya, a testimony to your basic good looks enhanced by the great skill of Dr. Mayer.

Riya,

Amazing results. I always knew that dr. Mayer is a great doctor but this time i can only say wow

Thanks for those loving comments.... Even though it is still swollen i am very pleased with his work. He is an awesome surgeon. So if you are planning on getting FFS I would highly recommend Dr. Mayer.

Dr. Mayer's office called to tell me there was a mistake in the books, and they offered to scoot my rhinoplasty date a week sooner or a week later... Well I would have done it next week if given the option, so I decided a week sooner. April 22nd is my date for FFS #2 (rhinoplasty) :) 26 days and counting!

I'm excited about this one, but it feels a lot different from the 1st. This time there is not a worried bone in my body, and I'm not expecting any visually dramatic changes. I like his work with noses because he doesn't go overboard and is an expert when it comes to rhinoplasty. There is no doubt that I trust him completely, especially after round #1 with him in January.

I'll keep you updated with how things progress ;)

And for anyone looking at my avatar thinking "Why the HECK does she think she needs a nose job??" ;)

From the side profile you can see that there is a hump in the middle and a bump on the sides at the top. As the swelling finally went down around the radix graft, the hump seems a bit more noticeable. Also with my brows being taken in, the amount that it sticks out is out of balance

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMMCFGAN.jpg&hash=376f202368d8b57f0ee4191f443fe5b846fcc670)

Basically what he will be doing is carefully smoothing out the sides (shaving down the cartilage/bone that makes that bump on the sides at the top), grafting in below that on the sides (my nose is quite thinner there), working on the tip ever so slightly, and taking it in by 1-2mm max. This is what he recommended at the first consult and he said the same thing the other day- which tells me that he is sure of himself (as I am him).

I might have a go at VFFS tonight, I am curious to see

Wow Jenny, if you are getting a new nose, can I please have your old one  :)

It is so much prettier than the giant honker I have on my face. ::)

Quote from: SciNerdGirl on March 27, 2014, 10:54:12 PM
Wow Jenny, if you are getting a new nose, can I please have your old one  :)

It is so much prettier than the giant honker I have on my face. ::)

Hey get in line girl, I had dibs on it first!

As I am still in the process of researching FFS, is this the Dr. Mayer in San Diego?

Quote from: SciNerdGirl on March 27, 2014, 10:54:12 PM
Wow Jenny, if you are getting a new nose, can I please have your old one  :)

It is so much prettier than the giant honker I have on my face. ::)

Hhaha, sorry I will still need most of it for this operation- at least I'm pretty sure ;) Maybe someday in the future body parts will be like buying a car.. Although that thought kind of grosses me out :P

Quote from: Shantel on March 28, 2014, 10:22:57 AM
Hey get in line girl, I had dibs on it first!

It's true, Shantel did have dibs on it first anyway!

Quote from: Veronica M on March 28, 2014, 11:17:53 AM
As I am still in the process of researching FFS, is this the Dr. Mayer in San Diego?

He is located in Beverly Hills but that is only about 1.5 hours away from San Diego with ideal traffic conditions (3+ hours in usual conditions on the 405 / 5)

Hey Jenny I super like ur new profile pic.... U r so pretty. Xoxo

Quote from: Jennygirl on March 28, 2014, 03:26:32 PM
He is located in Beverly Hills but that is only about 1.5 hours away from San Diego with ideal traffic conditions (3+ hours in usual conditions on the 405 / 5)

Thanks Jenny... And you look wonderful by the way.

Quote from: inspire on March 28, 2014, 04:51:11 PM
Hey Jenny I super like ur new profile pic.... U r so pretty. Xoxo

Thank you :D

Looking at the number of posts you have now, it seems like it's about time for you to get one as well ;)

Quote from: Veronica M on March 28, 2014, 04:51:44 PM
Thanks Jenny... And you look wonderful by the way.

Thanks Veronica!

Nope I still don't see that upload button:(

May b I have to post 1 more

Quote from: inspire on March 28, 2014, 05:02:32 PM
Nope I still don't see that upload button:(

Oof, must be at 20 posts! Might be 15 too, though, I forget. I should know being a moderator, huh? :P ;)

Get to postin' girl!

Quote from: inspire on March 28, 2014, 05:03:09 PM
May b I have to post 1 more

Yes! Wonderful!

I love it! :D :D :D

Yay!!! I did it :)

2.5 weeks post op and the swelling has gone down quite a bit but it's still there. Posting pics ...the eyebrows are coming down a bit but not equally on both sides( not sure if that is normal) and my nose is still swollen but very happy with what i see so far.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FKhyrBzA.jpg&hash=64af97edd4f75e606088b3aea1fae3d8ba429e03)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnsFYwo2.jpg&hash=e5a10f3d25be4bda0b08e4f6dffbf8ed2392ae77)

Quote from: inspire on April 01, 2014, 09:03:37 PM
2.5 weeks post op and the swelling has gone down quite a bit but it's still there. Posting pics ...the eyebrows are coming down a bit but not equally on both sides( not sure if that is normal) and my nose is still swollen but very happy with what i see so far.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FKhyrBzA.jpg&hash=64af97edd4f75e606088b3aea1fae3d8ba429e03)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FnsFYwo2.jpg&hash=e5a10f3d25be4bda0b08e4f6dffbf8ed2392ae77)

Riya,
    You are beautiful honey, all female and very pretty indeed!

Quote from: Shantel on April 01, 2014, 09:06:44 PM
Riya,
    You are beautiful honey, all female and very pretty indeed!

Thanks Shantel :)

It is truly amazing how fast and well your recovery has been, I went with Dr Spiegel in Boston about 6 weeks past, still have swelling in lips and somewhat numb in many places. your hair line seems completly recovered, mine is still very pink. and my scalp is very numb. anyway you look very much content and i would say most exceptionally beautiful,
best wishes
Jerri

Riya looking really great considering just 2.5 weeks out.

Quote from: Jerri on April 02, 2014, 02:57:17 PM
It is truly amazing how fast and well your recovery has been, I went with Dr Spiegel in Boston about 6 weeks past, still have swelling in lips and somewhat numb in many places. your hair line seems completly recovered, mine is still very pink. and my scalp is very numb. anyway you look very much content and i would say most exceptionally beautiful,
best wishes
Jerri

Thanks! I think you are quite beautiful yourself :). Yea the incision at the hairline is healing and I can see hair coming out off the line so in a few weeks i can hide the line with my hair :) and should be able to wear my hair any way i would like including pulling it all back:)

Quote from: Melissa_fox on April 02, 2014, 05:06:59 PM
Riya looking really great considering just 2.5 weeks out.

Thanks Melissa...will post few more pics in the days to come...:)

Quote from: inspire on April 03, 2014, 12:31:08 AM
Thanks! I think you are quite beautiful yourself :). Yea the incision at the hairline is healing and I can see hair coming out off the line so in a few weeks i can hide the line with my hair :) and should be able to wear my hair any way i would like including pulling it all back:)

Thanks Melissa...will post few more pics in the days to come...:)

You look stunning Riya,  what else did you have done with DR Mayer beside hairline lowering ?

Quote from: shedevilcanada on April 07, 2014, 10:08:05 PM


You look stunning Riya,  what else did you have done with DR Mayer beside hairline lowering ?

Thanks! I had my orbital bony contouring, hairline lowering and rhinoplasty.

I'm 1 week away!

My surgery with Dr. Mayer is next Tuesday.  Ahhh!!  Getting excited  :D

Quote from: HaleyT on April 08, 2014, 10:36:44 PM
I'm 1 week away!

My surgery with Dr. Mayer is next Tuesday.  Ahhh!!  Getting excited  :D

Yayy!! its gonna be awesome! you are in such good hands :) all the best.

Quote from: inspire on April 09, 2014, 12:38:17 AM
Yayy!! its gonna be awesome! you are in such good hands :) all the best.

Many thanks Riya! :)

I'm in LA now... pre-op appointment this afternoon, surgery bright and early tomorrow morning!  :o
I'll post updates as I go.  Would it be better to just add them to this thread, or start a new one?

I wish you a very successful surgery ;) I know it will be you are in good hands :)
What are you getting done?

Quote from: HaleyT on April 14, 2014, 01:12:19 PM
Many thanks Riya! :)

I'm in LA now... pre-op appointment this afternoon, surgery bright and early tomorrow morning!  :o
I'll post updates as I go.  Would it be better to just add them to this thread, or start a new one?

Add them to this thread Haley, my best to you hon!

OK, here we go!  I'm just 10 hours away from the next chapter in my story :)

I'm getting a whole bunch of stuff done... basically tackling all the facial bony structures at once. 
The full list, from top to bottom:

• Forehead Contouring with Hairline lowering
• Rhinoplasty
• Cheek Implants
• Lip lift
• Chin Implant
• Trachea shave

The only one that I wasn't sure about at first were the cheek implants, but after a lot of thought and finally seeing the actual implants (small and subtle) I'm going for it!

Here's a set of virtual results that Alexandra at http://virtualffs.co.uk/ did a few weeks ago.  Hopefully reality will come close!
Untouched on the left, virtual results on the right:
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FProfileBA_zpsebf7d27b.jpg&hash=7be60c0bff7583c7c9e58b4e3aee9acb6240760b)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FFrontBA_zps883e15f1.jpg&hash=85aa23d05c8e8f60a9835717fbb03e7764191aa2)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FAngleBA_zpsf28b1733.jpg&hash=96105a75a5128371d1b2ab28d36c73f4a980c493)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FCasualBA_zpsaee6547a.jpg&hash=7333435fa46cb5e6115b94bda5bb9e9e87600896)

Let me know what you girls think!

You actually look good right now.  Your pictures look great!  I'm so excited for you.

Hugs,

Jen

edited for spelling error....

Also, here's the typical skull shot with a red line showing one possibility for reduction. 
My bossing is pretty heavy, but it seems like the bone in front of the my sinus is really thick, so hopefully Dr. Mayer's technique will yield great results!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FSkullwithgoalline_zps5ddc4e87.jpg&hash=9dc23b4a461dbc9fd3c60bce229334bbcc1740a3)

Quote from: HaleyT on April 14, 2014, 01:12:19 PM
Many thanks Riya! :)

I'm in LA now... pre-op appointment this afternoon, surgery bright and early tomorrow morning!  :o
I'll post updates as I go.  Would it be better to just add them to this thread, or start a new one?

Wish you the best tomorrow!  I'm looking forward to your updates and how things go with your surgery :)

Quote from: JLT1 on April 14, 2014, 10:44:20 PM
You actually look good right now.  Your pictures look great!  I'm so excited for you.

Thanks Jen! :)  I've definitely been pretty happy with my progress from hormones alone, but I think FFS will knock it out of the park!

Good luck Haley! I'm sure everything will go great :)

Your xray is indicative of a GREAT result from shaving alone. And the VFFS pictures look amazing!

Let us know how you are feeling when you're up to it and best of wishes for you!

Quote from: inspire on April 09, 2014, 12:38:17 AM
Yayy!! its gonna be awesome! you are in such good hands :) all the best.

You look stunning!!!

I hope everything went well!!

+1

My only complaint is after looking at his before and afters, a lot of them still have masculine brows. They may be smaller, but it's still there. I personally want my forehead flat almost like Dr O's version.

Quote from: absoluteshade on April 16, 2014, 06:48:14 AM
My only complaint is after looking at his before and afters, a lot of them still have masculine brows. They may be smaller, but it's still there. I personally want my forehead flat almost like Dr O's version.

Agreed. That's exactly why I keep stressing if you want extensive work done and you have a thin frontal sinus, he is probably not the best choice of doctor. After all he is reconstructive- not a maxillofacial surgeon like Dr. O. Definitely something to consider: a "type 1" brow shave is not going to work for everyone. I think Dr. O is a great doctor (he did my trach shave and I liked him a lot), but I centered on Mayer because I wanted subtle changes- Dr. O wanted to give me an entirely new face :O

If someone needs extensive work to the brow my own personal recommendation would be Dr. DiMaggio. To me it seems like he is at the top of his game!

Prior to scheduling my ffs appointments with various doctors I had my VFFS done by Alexandra at http://virtualffs.co.uk/. Dr Mayer recommendations exactly matched her advice. ALso Both of them believed my jawline was well within female range and I would not need any changes done to it. However other docs including Dr O and Z in addition to various other things wanted to break my jawline down and give a different look which I was not very comfortable with. I felt any changes to it will make throw my face out of balance. So I decided with Dr Mayer, especially because I personally liked his work with natural no surgical results. Also was impressed by his work on TV especially with Jaime and a few other TS patients on Discovery Health.

At this time I can tell FFS has given me that extra confidence. As the swelling goes down I  notice the changes he has made to my face. No longer I worry about if my face looks feminine or not. I have to use very less make up and have been getting compliments from random strangers on the street. :) So I can say I am very pleased with the results.

Not surprised at all that you're getting random compliments! You're definitely at a 10 on the cuteness scale ;) He did a wonderful job and you look amazing!

I hope Haley is feeling okay, her surgery was yesterday. I'm sure she's just resting up right now!

I'll be in Mayer's office on Monday for my pre-op and my surgery is on Tuesday. Very much looking forward to it, and not a bit of anxiety this time!

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 16, 2014, 05:08:11 PM
Not surprised at all that you're getting random compliments! You're definitely at a 10 on the cuteness scale ;) He did a wonderful job and you look amazing!

I hope Haley is feeling okay, her surgery was yesterday. I'm sure she's just resting up right now!

I'll be in Mayer's office on Monday for my pre-op and my surgery is on Tuesday. Very much looking forward to it, and not a bit of anxiety this time!

Yes Riya is indeed a beautiful woman, no doubt about it she is a perfect 10 in my estimation!

I think Haley is going to be a stunning beauty too, she was already a doll to begin with, but with the extensive number of procedures she was having done, we can assume that she will be down and out for awhile, poor baby we are thinking of you dear!

Hi Shan! I was just thinking this morning how I hadn't seen you post in a while- but perhaps maybe I am just looking in the wrong threads? ;)

Good to see ya! I hope things have been well!

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 16, 2014, 05:33:52 PM
Hi Shan! I was just thinking this morning how I hadn't seen you post in a while- but perhaps maybe I am just looking in the wrong threads? ;)

Good to see ya! I hope things have been well!

Hi thanks honey, the weather's getting better and I've been busy shaping things up around the place and have been spending less time online. Love all my buddy girls and guys though. This is my 6000 gallon Koi pond, it takes some work keeping Jurassic Park in the Garden of Eden looking pristine.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2Fxq90%2F845%2Fjube.jpg&hash=e0edc97257488cc010521e1d8fe2f0e678f97319) (https://imageshack.com/i/nhjubej)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2Fxq90%2F838%2Fa4zy.jpg&hash=ec9016d69444ead33c2ce8498dec6e8ab3298872) (https://imageshack.com/i/naa4zyj)

Quote from: Shantel on April 16, 2014, 06:51:16 PM


Hi thanks honey, the weather's getting better and I've been busy shaping things up around the place and have been spending less time online. Love all my buddy girls and guys though. This is my 6000 gallon Koi pond, it takes some work keeping Jurassic Park in the Garden of Eden looking pristine.

Shantel,

That is a hard post to read when I look outside and it is snowing.  My step daughter called earlier needing help as her car was stuck in her driveway.  It is somewhat miserable here.

On the other hand, that is a beautiful pond.

Hugs,

Jen

Quote from: JLT1 on April 16, 2014, 07:30:37 PM

Shantel,

That is a hard post to read when I look outside and it is snowing.  My step daughter called earlier needing help as her car was stuck in her driveway.  It is somewhat miserable here.

On the other hand, that is a beautiful pond.

Hugs,

Jen

That's how it looks in the summer months, it's warming up here so I'm outside a lot. I don't want to hijack the thread, we need to stay on FFS, thanks though!

Hi everyone!

I'm doing well, recovery has been treating me well, I'm just taking it very easy!  Lots of swelling all over the place... My lips look completely ridiculous, and they probably hurt most out of anything. All in all though, the pain isn't too bad, just a dull soreness all over.

Post op appointment today was great. Nose packing was removed so I can breathe again, and I can see my forehead!!  It looks exceptionally flat at the moment, but I'm sure that's mostly the swelling. I'm hopeful that he was able to shave down a sufficient amount to get really great results. What I can see of everything else under the swelling looks good too :)  I'll get some photos up soon, they just take a little more effort to get uploaded.

Jenny, when is your pre-op appointment on Monday?  I get my stitches out and nose cast removed at 2:15 so maybe we'll run in to each other :)

Riya, I'm so glad to hear that your confidence is only increasing!  From your photos, you look amazing! I'm so happy for you!  I can only hope that I get results half as good as yours. :)

Big Hugs to everyone!
Haley

Quote from: HaleyT on April 16, 2014, 09:25:31 PM
Hi everyone!

I'm doing well, recovery has been treating me well, I'm just taking it very easy!  Lots of swelling all over the place... My lips look completely ridiculous, and they probably hurt most out of anything. All in all though, the pain isn't too bad, just a dull soreness all over.

Post op appointment today was great. Nose packing was removed so I can breathe again, and I can see my forehead!!  It looks exceptionally flat at the moment, but I'm sure that's mostly the swelling. I'm hopeful that he was able to shave down a sufficient amount to get really great results. What I can see of everything else under the swelling looks good too :)  I'll get some photos up soon, they just take a little more effort to get uploaded.

Jenny, when is your pre-op appointment on Monday?  I get my stitches out and nose cast removed at 2:15 so maybe we'll run in to each other :)

Riya, I'm so glad to hear that your confidence is only increasing!  From your photos, you look amazing! I'm so happy for you!  I can only hope that I get results half as good as yours. :)

Big Hugs to everyone!
Haley

So glad to hear everything is going well! Thanks for checking in :) From the looks of your xray, it seems he would have the ability to take a lot of bossing away. I'm sure your result is going to be a great one!

My pre-op is actually at 2:45, that would be so neat to meet you! We'll have to do that if you are feeling up to it.

Keep icing and being awesome to yourself- in these first couple of days that stuff will make a load of difference (I wish I had iced more). Past the 2 day mark it makes less of a difference... it just feels good at that point ;)

Quote from: Shantel on April 16, 2014, 07:32:54 PM
That's how it looks in the summer months, it's warming up here so I'm outside a lot. I don't want to hijack the thread, we need to stay on FFS, thanks though!

I wish I had a koi pond like yours! We have one but it's not nearly as serene & flushed out with the greens. And don't worry about hijacking, that would be my fault for getting off topic! I just wanted to say it's always nice to hear from you

Quote from: HaleyT on April 16, 2014, 09:25:31 PM
Hi everyone!

I'm doing well, recovery has been treating me well, I'm just taking it very easy!  Lots of swelling all over the place... My lips look completely ridiculous, and they probably hurt most out of anything. All in all though, the pain isn't too bad, just a dull soreness all over.

Post op appointment today was great. Nose packing was removed so I can breathe again, and I can see my forehead!!  It looks exceptionally flat at the moment, but I'm sure that's mostly the swelling. I'm hopeful that he was able to shave down a sufficient amount to get really great results. What I can see of everything else under the swelling looks good too :)  I'll get some photos up soon, they just take a little more effort to get uploaded.

Jenny, when is your pre-op appointment on Monday?  I get my stitches out and nose cast removed at 2:15 so maybe we'll run in to each other :)

Riya, I'm so glad to hear that your confidence is only increasing!  From your photos, you look amazing! I'm so happy for you!  I can only hope that I get results half as good as yours. :)

Big Hugs to everyone!
Haley

Dear Haley,

I think you will look sooo amazing cant wait to see u in 4 weeks...take as much rest as you can, drink lots and lots of water sleep head elevated over the heart and the swelling will go down sooner. Sooo happy for you...it's  certainly is quite an exciting phase of the transition where the new face will finally match the inner woman...xoxo.

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 16, 2014, 05:08:11 PM
Not surprised at all that you're getting random compliments! You're definitely at a 10 on the cuteness scale ;) He did a wonderful job and you look amazing!

I hope Haley is feeling okay, her surgery was yesterday. I'm sure she's just resting up right now!

I'll be in Mayer's office on Monday for my pre-op and my surgery is on Tuesday. Very much looking forward to it, and not a bit of anxiety this time!

Thanks Jenny for being so sweet! I am soo excited for you for the upcoming surgery...all the best xoxo I did want to talk to about the voice surgery that is all over the site..makes it even harder to gather some of the info I am looking for. So let me know whts the best way to get a hold of you...is there a chat feature on here? xoxo

Quote from: Shantel on April 16, 2014, 05:25:58 PM
Yes Riya is indeed a beautiful woman, no doubt about it she is a perfect 10 in my estimation!

I think Haley is going to be a stunning beauty too, she was already a doll to begin with, but with the extensive number of procedures she was having done, we can assume that she will be down and out for awhile, poor baby we are thinking of you dear!

Thanks for being such a sweetheart!:)

Quote from: inspire on April 17, 2014, 11:21:09 AM
Thanks Jenny for being so sweet! I am soo excited for you for the upcoming surgery...all the best xoxo I did want to talk to about the voice surgery that is all over the site..makes it even harder to gather some of the info I am looking for. So let me know whts the best way to get a hold of you...is there a chat feature on here? xoxo

Yeah! I've been meaning to do a wiki style page/thread about it because you are absolutely right... The information is spread about through several threads that are tens of pages long. So many people want to know about it, and I'm sure it's daunting to try to find the useful stuff (there is just SO much)!

I don't use chat here (I can't get it to work on mac), but I'd be happy to chat with you over gchat or facebook or something. PM me and I will get ahold of ya ;)

Hi Everyone!

I weaned myself off the pain meds yesterday, so I can finally concentrate enough to use my computer and post a few photos! :) 

Overall recovery has been good, not much pain at all.  The worst part was the feeling of having my face being stretched out in all directions from the swelling and new implants.  The swelling still has a long ways to go, but it has come down a lot in the last couple of days.  My lips still look totally ridiculous, but at least they don't feel stretched beyond belief anymore.

Really looking forward to monday when all the stitches and bandages come off.  I feel like a bit of a monster at the moment, so even with the cabin fever I don't really feel like venturing outside.  Maybe I'll be brave enough for my friend to drive us around town so we can at least see a few sites while we're here!

I'll post more thoughts about the experience later, but without further ado, here are some pictures!

Just before, and just after
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F36067F8D-14F5-4857-9E54-D172D1409CEA_zpsroj6usf6.jpg&hash=a105cbc74abfc785b5564ae413f74a40fe1c7304)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F3BA9EBA3-EE23-4F9A-B5D3-7FC4E5D2EC04_zpsuxstacil.jpg&hash=30b88655069897c0ec6d000f48787145048b3ace)

The first night... mostly icing and sleeping, but a few occasional bouts of goofiness.
Looking back, the amount of swelling I had here was incredible!
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FFC6F3755-44E2-48BD-8C90-C2CEFD6F6D00_zpsagz9jlxj.jpg&hash=3fe1965eee552aa769b327c66784bfa6bd56573e)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-15180756_zps2186aca2.jpg&hash=7e8836ac2016a1a82955fb962f3581e6570c896a)

Day 2... Feeling a bit better already, but still tons of sleeping
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FB83D27BD-04A9-4052-815D-14A055C16478_zps8zz8mxm6.jpg&hash=2840eac5284b3d566def569ea60e5ae48e14e56a)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-17141940_zps744619d5.jpg&hash=52304e7e1b768c05deee2382d0e903d43af6cae7)

Profile and Forehead from today (day 4), just a few minutes ago
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-19122720HDR-2_zpsbc085ddc.jpg&hash=68f559461686988868fa3f936d3f1ee07d87e147)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F951e73c1-8182-4bba-95af-19da1be8919c_zps476cb6d2.jpg&hash=5a9fc23495037fa534f4b0eec72707abf68ab09e)

Quote from: HaleyT on April 19, 2014, 03:11:50 PM


Day 2... Feeling a bit better already, but still tons of sleeping
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-17141940_zps744619d5.jpg&hash=52304e7e1b768c05deee2382d0e903d43af6cae7)

So cute, just darling. Get well soon Haley ((Hugs))

Get well soon Haley! Those forehead pics look super familiar to me!

Wishing a speedy recovery to you and see you soon if you are feeling up to it ;)

Quote from: Shantel on April 19, 2014, 03:27:10 PM
So cute, just darling. Get well soon Haley ((Hugs))

Thanks Shantel, you're awesome! :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 19, 2014, 05:35:27 PM
Get well soon Haley! Those forehead pics look super familiar to me!

Wishing a speedy recovery to you and see you soon if you are feeling up to it ;)

Thanks Jenny, I'm sure the pics do look familiar! :)
I'm definitely game for meeting up.  I sent you a PM to figure out details.

Quote from: HaleyT on April 19, 2014, 03:11:50 PM
Hi Everyone!

I weaned myself off the pain meds yesterday, so I can finally concentrate enough to use my computer and post a few photos! :) 

Overall recovery has been good, not much pain at all.  The worst part was the feeling of having my face being stretched out in all directions from the swelling and new implants.  The swelling still has a long ways to go, but it has come down a lot in the last couple of days.  My lips still look totally ridiculous, but at least they don't feel stretched beyond belief anymore.

Really looking forward to monday when all the stitches and bandages come off.  I feel like a bit of a monster at the moment, so even with the cabin fever I don't really feel like venturing outside.  Maybe I'll be brave enough for my friend to drive us around town so we can at least see a few sites while we're here!

I'll post more thoughts about the experience later, but without further ado, here are some pictures!

Just before, and just after
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F36067F8D-14F5-4857-9E54-D172D1409CEA_zpsroj6usf6.jpg&hash=a105cbc74abfc785b5564ae413f74a40fe1c7304)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F3BA9EBA3-EE23-4F9A-B5D3-7FC4E5D2EC04_zpsuxstacil.jpg&hash=30b88655069897c0ec6d000f48787145048b3ace)

The first night... mostly icing and sleeping, but a few occasional bouts of goofiness.
Looking back, the amount of swelling I had here was incredible!
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FFC6F3755-44E2-48BD-8C90-C2CEFD6F6D00_zpsagz9jlxj.jpg&hash=3fe1965eee552aa769b327c66784bfa6bd56573e)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-15180756_zps2186aca2.jpg&hash=7e8836ac2016a1a82955fb962f3581e6570c896a)

Day 2... Feeling a bit better already, but still tons of sleeping
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FB83D27BD-04A9-4052-815D-14A055C16478_zps8zz8mxm6.jpg&hash=2840eac5284b3d566def569ea60e5ae48e14e56a)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-17141940_zps744619d5.jpg&hash=52304e7e1b768c05deee2382d0e903d43af6cae7)

Profile and Forehead from today (day 4), just a few minutes ago
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-19122720HDR-2_zpsbc085ddc.jpg&hash=68f559461686988868fa3f936d3f1ee07d87e147)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F951e73c1-8182-4bba-95af-19da1be8919c_zps476cb6d2.jpg&hash=5a9fc23495037fa534f4b0eec72707abf68ab09e)

looking good Haley, have a speedy recovery,....what did you have done again?

say hi to Sharon for me

I can see some amazing results here. I wish u speedy recovery

Quote from: HaleyT on April 19, 2014, 03:11:50 PM
Hi Everyone!

I weaned myself off the pain meds yesterday, so I can finally concentrate enough to use my computer and post a few photos! :) 

Overall recovery has been good, not much pain at all.  The worst part was the feeling of having my face being stretched out in all directions from the swelling and new implants.  The swelling still has a long ways to go, but it has come down a lot in the last couple of days.  My lips still look totally ridiculous, but at least they don't feel stretched beyond belief anymore.

Really looking forward to monday when all the stitches and bandages come off.  I feel like a bit of a monster at the moment, so even with the cabin fever I don't really feel like venturing outside.  Maybe I'll be brave enough for my friend to drive us around town so we can at least see a few sites while we're here!

I'll post more thoughts about the experience later, but without further ado, here are some pictures!

Just before, and just after
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F36067F8D-14F5-4857-9E54-D172D1409CEA_zpsroj6usf6.jpg&hash=a105cbc74abfc785b5564ae413f74a40fe1c7304)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F3BA9EBA3-EE23-4F9A-B5D3-7FC4E5D2EC04_zpsuxstacil.jpg&hash=30b88655069897c0ec6d000f48787145048b3ace)

The first night... mostly icing and sleeping, but a few occasional bouts of goofiness.
Looking back, the amount of swelling I had here was incredible!
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FFC6F3755-44E2-48BD-8C90-C2CEFD6F6D00_zpsagz9jlxj.jpg&hash=3fe1965eee552aa769b327c66784bfa6bd56573e)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-15180756_zps2186aca2.jpg&hash=7e8836ac2016a1a82955fb962f3581e6570c896a)

Day 2... Feeling a bit better already, but still tons of sleeping
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FB83D27BD-04A9-4052-815D-14A055C16478_zps8zz8mxm6.jpg&hash=2840eac5284b3d566def569ea60e5ae48e14e56a)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-17141940_zps744619d5.jpg&hash=52304e7e1b768c05deee2382d0e903d43af6cae7)

Profile and Forehead from today (day 4), just a few minutes ago
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F2014-04-19122720HDR-2_zpsbc085ddc.jpg&hash=68f559461686988868fa3f936d3f1ee07d87e147)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F951e73c1-8182-4bba-95af-19da1be8919c_zps476cb6d2.jpg&hash=5a9fc23495037fa534f4b0eec72707abf68ab09e)

Haley,

I am so happy for you. Even though its swollen quite a bit but def can tell that forehead looks amazing :). So happy for you. Take rest as much as you can and get well soon:) You are soo beautiful.

XOXO

Such a fun day. It was so great to meet you Haley! I'm so glad we got to see each other :)

I am 8 hours away from surgery #2 with Mayer (rhinoplasty). Drinking gobs and gobs of water in preparation- per the request of the anesthesiologist. I wonder how much sleep I will actually get tonight... probably not much!

Wish me luck!

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 22, 2014, 01:51:11 AM
Such a fun day. It was so great to meet you Haley! I'm so glad we got to see each other :)

I am 8 hours away from surgery #2 with Mayer (rhinoplasty). Drinking gobs and gobs of water in preparation- per the request of the anesthesiologist. I wonder how much sleep I will actually get tonight... probably not much!

Wish me luck!

A fun day is right!  Was awesome to meet you too Jenny! You're even more fabulous in person than online. ;)

I'll definitely be thinking about you tomorrow, good luck with the surgery!

Quote from: inspire on April 20, 2014, 06:18:51 PM
Haley,

I am so happy for you. Even though its swollen quite a bit but def can tell that forehead looks amazing :). So happy for you. Take rest as much as you can and get well soon:) You are soo beautiful.

XOXO

Thanks Riya!  You're definitely quite inspiring and gorgeous yourself.  :)

Quote from: Angelized on April 20, 2014, 07:01:26 AM
I can see some amazing results here. I wish u speedy recovery

Thank you so much!  Recovery has been good to me so far.

Quote from: shedevilcanada on April 19, 2014, 08:53:19 PM
looking good Haley, have a speedy recovery,....what did you have done again?

say hi to Sharon for me

I'm planning a larger post for later in the week once I'm back home.  I'll go through everything I had done again, along with some thoughts about the process and what I learned along the way.

Unfortunately though, I didn't see you post before I said bye to Sharon :(

And now for some results!  With a little makeup to cover up the bruising, and a well chosen angle to minimize the look of the swelling, you can really see how the new look is stating to come together.

So far, I'm very happy with what I see:

Photo from today on the left, photo with similar pose from about a month ago on the right. (Before any surgery)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FCC4C0C53-7B8F-4755-83E7-61690CEEF0E5_zpstyhrlbnl.jpg&hash=8e52fd694119bf4895fb7b41f58e68658d044532)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FA6ACCE5A-50B7-47E7-BDB3-67846319FA8B_zpsalzelqj1.jpg&hash=559bbab792f04f8c4d1c9301e9d2f4865474aabb)

Everything is looking SO fantastic Haley!

And I couldn't believe how clean the trach shave incision was already healing. I could hardly believe my eyes.

Your nose looks awesome! Excellent results, especially for just a week out.

Good luck Jenny !  :)

Quote from: HaleyT on April 22, 2014, 02:42:28 AM

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FCC4C0C53-7B8F-4755-83E7-61690CEEF0E5_zpstyhrlbnl.jpg&hash=8e52fd694119bf4895fb7b41f58e68658d044532)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FA6ACCE5A-50B7-47E7-BDB3-67846319FA8B_zpsalzelqj1.jpg&hash=559bbab792f04f8c4d1c9301e9d2f4865474aabb)

You look really good, Haley ! :)

Quote from: HaleyT on April 22, 2014, 02:42:28 AM
And now for some results!  With a little makeup to cover up the bruising, and a well chosen angle to minimize the look of the swelling, you can really see how the new look is stating to come together.

So far, I'm very happy with what I see:

Photo from today on the left, photo with similar pose from about a month ago on the right. (Before any surgery)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FCC4C0C53-7B8F-4755-83E7-61690CEEF0E5_zpstyhrlbnl.jpg&hash=8e52fd694119bf4895fb7b41f58e68658d044532)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FA6ACCE5A-50B7-47E7-BDB3-67846319FA8B_zpsalzelqj1.jpg&hash=559bbab792f04f8c4d1c9301e9d2f4865474aabb)

Haley it looks soo good already!! Comparing your before pics def I can tell your features look a lot softer n very feminine. Keep us posted on ur recovery n keep sharing your pics as the swelling goes down. :) xoxo

I'm done, it went well!

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 22, 2014, 03:26:47 PM
I'm done, it went well!

Awesome Jenny! Glad it went well :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 22, 2014, 03:26:47 PM
I'm done, it went well!

That is a great news bravo :)

Quote from: HaleyT on April 22, 2014, 02:42:28 AM
And now for some results!  With a little makeup to cover up the bruising, and a well chosen angle to minimize the look of the swelling, you can really see how the new look is stating to come together.

So far, I'm very happy with what I see:

Photo from today on the left, photo with similar pose from about a month ago on the right. (Before any surgery)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FCC4C0C53-7B8F-4755-83E7-61690CEEF0E5_zpstyhrlbnl.jpg&hash=8e52fd694119bf4895fb7b41f58e68658d044532)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FA6ACCE5A-50B7-47E7-BDB3-67846319FA8B_zpsalzelqj1.jpg&hash=559bbab792f04f8c4d1c9301e9d2f4865474aabb)

WOW. You have already amazing results. I think the chick implants were a bingo in your case. Dr Mayer keeps on surprising me every time a see a new patient of his. I now regret i didn't go to him for my initial FFS.

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 22, 2014, 01:51:11 AM
Such a fun day. It was so great to meet you Haley! I'm so glad we got to see each other :)

I am 8 hours away from surgery #2 with Mayer (rhinoplasty). Drinking gobs and gobs of water in preparation- per the request of the anesthesiologist. I wonder how much sleep I will actually get tonight... probably not much!

Wish me luck!

Jenny best of luck! Your in great hands with Dr. Mayer.

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 22, 2014, 03:26:47 PM
I'm done, it went well!

Cool hon, in good hands and it wasn't Allstate!  ;D

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 22, 2014, 03:26:47 PM
I'm done, it went well!

Hey Girl!!

I can't wait to see the results.

Next Wednesday for me and Dr Z....  It's all set.

Hugs!!

Jen

Quote from: Shantel on April 22, 2014, 06:27:41 PM
Cool hon, in good hands and it wasn't Allstate!  ;D

Shantel u are so funny. Love it!

Quote from: inspire on April 22, 2014, 08:08:33 PM
Shantel u are so funny. Love it!

A little levity to lessen the stress of recovery, it's pretty heavy business for you girls I have to applaud you all!

Thanks for all the warm wishes everyone!!! I'm still in and out of half conscious today, it feels like there is a small section of my brain that still hasn't woken up from anesthesia yet ;)

I was trying to cook some food with my roommate (I'm feeling rather excellent overall) but had to step away because I kept drifting somewhere else... Not exactly a good time to operate an oven!

Here is the offending profile shot right before surgery.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F1mNS5TQ.jpg&hash=15d79f15e5769c0427e905e54fe427e58083ad3d)

And the after (can't really see it yet tho)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGN3hexR.jpg&hash=31dc9afb9b7292c3a5aa67b334e12122232f541a)

Jenny, can't wait to see what it looks like after the swelling is down.

Jenny, I am so excited for you. I wish you a speedy recovery :)

Quote from: JLT1 on April 22, 2014, 07:27:30 PM
Hey Girl!!

I can't wait to see the results.

Next Wednesday for me and Dr Z....  It's all set.

Hugs!!

Jen

wow. That is a great news. I am so excited for you....

Quote from: JLT1 on April 22, 2014, 07:27:30 PM
Hey Girl!!

I can't wait to see the results.

Next Wednesday for me and Dr Z....  It's all set.

Hugs!!

Jen

Hey Jen,
      Are you going to be posting some after photos? I can't wait, good luck hon!

Quote from: Shantel on April 23, 2014, 12:45:18 PM
Hey Jen,
      Are you going to be posting some after photos? I can't wait, good luck hon!

Yeah seriously, I wanna see said after photos too :D :D

Okay went in to the office today to have the packing stuff that he placed in my nostrils removed. Apparently I had been living with a horribly deviated septum for my whole life. So, when this is all said & done I should be able to breathe a million times better. I like the sound of that!

I guess I probably could have gotten insurance to cover it, but oh well. Glad to be done!

Today I am feeling really good, energy levels are a bit low but that is to be expected after general anesthesia. I have absolutely zero pain which shocks me. I haven't even taken tylenol today.

Quote from: JLT1 on April 22, 2014, 07:27:30 PM
Hey Girl!!

I can't wait to see the results.

Next Wednesday for me and Dr Z....  It's all set.

Hugs!!

Jen

How exciting !!! All the best:)

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 23, 2014, 02:37:45 PM
Yeah seriously, I wanna see said after photos too :D :D

Okay went in to the office today to have the packing stuff that he placed in my nostrils removed. Apparently I had been living with a horribly deviated septum for my whole life. So, when this is all said & done I should be able to breathe a million times better. I like the sound of that!

I guess I probably could have gotten insurance to cover it, but oh well. Glad to be done!

Today I am feeling really good, energy levels are a bit low but that is to be expected after general anesthesia. I have absolutely zero pain which shocks me. I haven't even taken tylenol today.

Yea I did have a deviated septum but was not sure if insurance will cover it after it's done.  Very happy that u are doing well.

Quote from: inspire on April 23, 2014, 03:33:58 PM
Yea I did have a deviated septum but was not sure if insurance will cover it after it's done.  Very happy that u are doing well.

Today was easy. It's been so nice to have that paper packing stuff taken out. Just being able to eek the slightest amount of air through the nose makes swallowing and everything less cloggy feeling.

I haven't taken a single pain killer, not even a Tylenol. I have had absolutely zero pain!

Some swelling popped up on the sides of my nose, and I think I'll have some minor bruising in the bags under my eyes. Nothing like after the brow lift, though.

Mentally I must say I'm pretty out of it, feels like I'm still working through some of the anesthetic = bleh. Can't wait to feel like myself again! Also I think the endotracheal breathing tube irritated my vocal cords slightly, my voice is all crackly today (it was almost completely gone yesterday). I think they are just kinda swollen.

All in all, can't believe how easy this one has been. What a breeze!

Hi everyone!
Sorry I've been off the radar for a couple days.  Traveling home on Tuesday was surprisingly tiring, so I was camped out on the couch all day again yesterday.  So glad to be home though!
I'll post some updated pics later.  Swelling continues to go down, but there is still a lot there, especially on my duck lips!

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 22, 2014, 03:07:35 AM
Everything is looking SO fantastic Haley!

And I couldn't believe how clean the trach shave incision was already healing. I could hardly believe my eyes.

Your nose looks awesome! Excellent results, especially for just a week out.

Thanks Jenny!  The trach shave incision is definitely pretty amazing.  Except for a small red dot on the right side, I can barely see it myself.  I'll post a pic for everyone else later, but Dr. Mayer's work is impressive!

I'm so glad your procedure went well!  You're going to hate the stuffiness for the next few weeks, but I'm sure love the result!

Quote from: inspire on April 22, 2014, 12:40:02 PM
Haley it looks soo good already!! Comparing your before pics def I can tell your features look a lot softer n very feminine. Keep us posted on ur recovery n keep sharing your pics as the swelling goes down. :) xoxo

Thanks Riya!  I'll get some more pics up soon.

Quote from: Angelized on April 22, 2014, 04:27:38 PM
WOW. You have already amazing results. I think the chick implants were a bingo in your case. Dr Mayer keeps on surprising me every time a see a new patient of his. I now regret i didn't go to him for my initial FFS.

Thank you so much!  I think you're right about the cheek implants.  Funny, they were that part I had the worst time trying to decide on.  Glad I did them though!

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 23, 2014, 02:37:45 PM
Yeah seriously, I wanna see said after photos too :D :D

Okay went in to the office today to have the packing stuff that he placed in my nostrils removed. Apparently I had been living with a horribly deviated septum for my whole life. So, when this is all said & done I should be able to breathe a million times better. I like the sound of that!

I guess I probably could have gotten insurance to cover it, but oh well. Glad to be done!

Today I am feeling really good, energy levels are a bit low but that is to be expected after general anesthesia. I have absolutely zero pain which shocks me. I haven't even taken tylenol today.

Glad you are doing well and happy to hear that the pain is minimal!!!

All,

It is my intention to post the last couple minutes of a recorded training session I will be giving at work on June 18.  That is about as total as I can get: face, body, voice and mannerisms.

Jen

Quote from: HaleyT on April 24, 2014, 01:31:31 PM

Swelling continues to go down, but there is still a lot there, especially on my duck lips!

LOL. I remember my duck lips. Mine seemed to take forever to go down and I remember thinking what if they stay like this forever! But they do, of course, go down and I'm now very pleased with my beautifully feminine lips. Thanks for the photos Haley, get well soon and I can't wait to see the results. You'll be stunning.

Caroline
x

day 4 feeling good!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGcZwRHR.jpg&hash=f35d21c042f5bcb2e7b6ecbc2e0be176af466d35)

day 7 can't come soon enough! I want this cast off!!  :icon_chainsaw:

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 25, 2014, 03:45:23 PM
day 4 feeling good!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGcZwRHR.jpg&hash=f35d21c042f5bcb2e7b6ecbc2e0be176af466d35)

day 7 can't come soon enough! I want this cast off!!  :icon_chainsaw:

Poor baby, you look so cute and vulnerable there, Aintie Shan gives you a gentle cyber hug!  :icon_bunch:

Literally sitting here staring at a countdown timer

34   hours
2065   minutes
123942   seconds

Quote from: Caroline2000 on April 25, 2014, 12:44:14 AM
LOL. I remember my duck lips. Mine seemed to take forever to go down and I remember thinking what if they stay like this forever! But they do, of course, go down and I'm now very pleased with my beautifully feminine lips. Thanks for the photos Haley, get well soon and I can't wait to see the results. You'll be stunning.

Caroline
x

Thanks Caroline!  It's good to hear another vote of confidence that they'll eventually resemble normal again. :) How long did yours take to go down?  Dr Mayer said to expect about a month.  They do get better each day.  I'm finally starting to be able to move them again and most happily it's no longer painful to laugh because smiling stretched them!  :o

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 27, 2014, 12:34:34 AM
Literally sitting here staring at a countdown timer

34   hours
2065   minutes
123942   seconds

Seriously, I know exactly how you feel!! :) You're going to be so happy once it's off and you get to see it though. It will be amazing!

Day 11 photo update! 

Everything of course looks better each day.  I feel like the most healing goes on overnight while I sleep, so it's always such a happy surprise to check the mirror in the morning and see what's new :)

This angle does seem to minimize the look of the swelling. The lower half of my cheeks are still quite puffy, especially down near my chin, which is very visible in a straight on portrait.  Lips are of course still pretty crazy, but if I stick my lower lip out a bit to match it looks semi reasonable.  Only one small spot of red bruising left under my right eye, I bet it will be totally gone by Monday, though some yellow bruising will probably linger for a few more days, but that's much easier to cover up!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F48FD5D59-8FEB-43CC-B217-86EC48708567_zpshyudw4yw.jpg&hash=6a90ab82a565bf798bacf1e26c15285f0c46e765)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F7FD4F0E6-6235-4B9F-B00F-E80151125AB9_zpsd7yezbd3.jpg&hash=2d0c3cf985f8fe56cdbeb8a58b61d18f193a3eeb)

I've noticed that I seem to be getting a lot more looks when I'm out in public than I used to... It hasn't bothered me, but I can't help but wonder what they're thinking!

You are looking marvelous especially considering only day 11, his work is really starting to show!

Quote from: HaleyT on April 27, 2014, 08:45:26 AM


(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F48FD5D59-8FEB-43CC-B217-86EC48708567_zpshyudw4yw.jpg&hash=6a90ab82a565bf798bacf1e26c15285f0c46e765)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F7FD4F0E6-6235-4B9F-B00F-E80151125AB9_zpsd7yezbd3.jpg&hash=2d0c3cf985f8fe56cdbeb8a58b61d18f193a3eeb)

I've noticed that I seem to be getting a lot more looks when I'm out in public than I used to... It hasn't bothered me, but I can't help but wonder what they're thinking!

They're probably thinking what I'm thinking, "Damn, that girl is just drop dead gorgeous!" When that upper lip finally settles down you will be good to go doll baby. I get why you had it done and it's going to be the perfect touch on a totally lovely female face.

It's great seeing all the success stories.  I'm booked with him on 6/24 and I'm counting down the weeks.  It's kinda scary and all being it will be my first ever operation so I'm nervous and reading up on everything but it is also comforting to see the success stories :)

Quote from: Khalysta on April 27, 2014, 06:14:44 PM
It's great seeing all the success stories.  I'm booked with him on 6/24 and I'm counting down the weeks.  It's kinda scary and all being it will be my first ever operation so I'm nervous and reading up on everything but it is also comforting to see the success stories :)

Congratulations :)

A big reason I went with him was because I'd heard nothing but good things about him.

17 hours until cast removal! Arrgh so impatient! ;)

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 27, 2014, 06:29:33 PM
Congratulations :)

A big reason I went with him was because I'd heard nothing but good things about him.

17 hours until cast removal! Arrgh so impatient! ;)

May I suggest my favorite time killer?   Learn some new songs on the guitar.  Time will fly painlessly.

Quote from: Jill F on April 27, 2014, 06:38:27 PM
May I suggest my favorite time killer?   Learn some new songs on the guitar.  Time will fly painlessly.

Not a bad idea, it's been some time since I showed my guitar some love.

In the meantime though I'm doing some rapid prototyping with the 3d printer sitting in my living room and snuggling with kittens :D

Hey Haley/Riya- Did your cast tape kind of come off a little bit on the very sides of your nose? Like, the tape that is closer to my cheek is fine but I think due to swelling coming down or skin oil it isn't sticking any longer to the skin just outside of my nose. I'm not worried about it just curious. I don't want Dr. Mayer to yell at me ;D

Or snuggling with kittens!   OMG, turbo squee moment...

I miss my cats.  Some days I wish I had a basket full of kitties.

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 27, 2014, 07:11:29 PM
Hey Haley/Riya- Did your cast tape kind of come off a little bit on the very sides of your nose? Like, the tape that is closer to my cheek is fine but I think due to swelling coming down or skin oil it isn't sticking any longer to the skin just outside of my nose. I'm not worried about it just curious. I don't want Dr. Mayer to yell at me ;D

Yeah, the same thing happened to me..  I bet mine was probably even worse then yours!  I had to keep the lip lift incision under my nose coated with polysporin that whole first week, and it ended up soaking in to all of the neighboring tape and loosening it up.  It made for quite a gross looking situation, but neither Dr. Mayer or Francis yelled at me. :)

Quote from: Khalysta on April 27, 2014, 06:14:44 PM
It's great seeing all the success stories.  I'm booked with him on 6/24 and I'm counting down the weeks.  It's kinda scary and all being it will be my first ever operation so I'm nervous and reading up on everything but it is also comforting to see the success stories :)

Don't worry!  It was also my first operation and first experience with general anesthesia.  They take great care of you.  Be sure to make friends with Francis, she rocks!

What are you having done?

Quote from: HaleyT on April 27, 2014, 08:14:26 PM
Don't worry!  It was also my first operation and first experience with general anesthesia.  They take great care of you.  Be sure to make friends with Francis, she rocks!

What are you having done?

Forehead lift
Orbital Bony Contour
Hairline lowering
radix graft
Trachea shave
Chin Reduction
Lip Lift

So quite a bit of work :)

Quote from: HaleyT on April 27, 2014, 08:45:26 AM
Day 11 photo update! 

Everything of course looks better each day.  I feel like the most healing goes on overnight while I sleep, so it's always such a happy surprise to check the mirror in the morning and see what's new :)

This angle does seem to minimize the look of the swelling. The lower half of my cheeks are still quite puffy, especially down near my chin, which is very visible in a straight on portrait.  Lips are of course still pretty crazy, but if I stick my lower lip out a bit to match it looks semi reasonable.  Only one small spot of red bruising left under my right eye, I bet it will be totally gone by Monday, though some yellow bruising will probably linger for a few more days, but that's much easier to cover up!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F48FD5D59-8FEB-43CC-B217-86EC48708567_zpshyudw4yw.jpg&hash=6a90ab82a565bf798bacf1e26c15285f0c46e765)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2F7FD4F0E6-6235-4B9F-B00F-E80151125AB9_zpsd7yezbd3.jpg&hash=2d0c3cf985f8fe56cdbeb8a58b61d18f193a3eeb)

I've noticed that I seem to be getting a lot more looks when I'm out in public than I used to... It hasn't bothered me, but I can't help but wonder what they're thinking!

You look great! , a couple of people may be thinking, damn that girl must have a violent bf! Lol but that's a good thing, they def are thinking "that girl". Lovely results! Making me look forward to mine! But I'm at consultation stage right now.

Please update us again soon Hun . I am amazed at how healed up you look 11 days later! Wow!

Quote from: calicarly on April 28, 2014, 02:12:39 AM
I am amazed at how healed up you look 11 days later! Wow!

When I met Haley (she was at day 7 I think), I couldn't believe how good she looked already. Barely any bruising at all- I couldn't believe it! And comparing then to the 11 day update is another huge difference.

Even Riya looked amazing freshly ffs'd. I think this is partly Dr. Mayer's obsessive attention to detail with his work, and also partly us being extra awesome patients :D

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 28, 2014, 03:02:09 AM
I think this is partly Dr. Mayer's obsessive attention to detail with his work, and also partly us being extra awesome patients :D

I suspect he's probably fairly gentle about how he retracts tissue, has a very quick efficient technique for what he does, and obviously the attention to detail as well.  Has anyone had numbness postop with Dr Mayer yet?

In any case, I've been most impressed with the degree of 7 day post-op swelling I'm seeing. =)

Oh Yes, I remember those lips!  I looked in the mirror and said out loud "What was he thinking?" Dr Bart did mine. But I needn't have worried because gradually the swelling disappeared and they look wonderful now.

You look amazing and such a quick healer. My bruising took weeks to disappear, but I am a bit older than you and healing takes longer.

If you look this good so soon after surgery, I can't wait to see your pix in a couple of weeks' time.

Caroline
x

Quote from: luna nyan on April 28, 2014, 06:30:11 AM
I suspect he's probably fairly gentle about how he retracts tissue, has a very quick efficient technique for what he does, and obviously the attention to detail as well.  Has anyone had numbness postop with Dr Mayer yet?

In any case, I've been most impressed with the degree of 7 day post-op swelling I'm seeing. =)

As he will tell you, he's been doing this for a very very long time ;)

My scalp isn't numb anymore, the past month or two have been very regenerative for me. I can now feel light touch even just behind the hairline incision which is a relief. For a few months there I was really itchy on my scalp, too.... but that seems to be subsiding greatly now which I am relieved about... thought I might start losing hair from scratching :o I'm not expecting to get full sensation back, but it's already dang near close.

Quote from: Caroline2000 on April 28, 2014, 09:52:49 AM
If you look this good so soon after surgery, I can't wait to see your pix in a couple of weeks' time.

Ditto :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 28, 2014, 09:58:28 AM
As he will tell you, he's been doing this for a very very long time ;)

My scalp isn't numb anymore, the past month or two have been very regenerative for me. I can now feel light touch even just behind the hairline incision which is a relief. For a few months there I was really itchy on my scalp, too.... but that seems to be subsiding greatly now which I am relieved about... thought I might start losing hair from scratching :o I'm not expecting to get full sensation back, but it's already dang near close.

Ditto :)

I've had a few procedures done and those severed nerves do regenerate and the ends reconnect, it just takes time.

Four hours OMGGGGG

Casts are evil

Quote from: Shantel on April 28, 2014, 10:00:56 AM
I've had a few procedures done and those severed nerves do regenerate and the ends reconnect, it just takes time.

Usually it's about 9 months you'll get about 90% of what you'll recover.  After that, any additional recovery is good fortune. :D

Words cannot describe how happy I am with the results.

Ahhhh!!!! Somebody pinch me!!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FkgQGFHg.jpg&hash=42ddf34c6b5a5fe6419ef23779d622b5a47da198)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fsxmdi8d.jpg&hash=f9b9743dbed31f691138b53c5df63c1ff833ce0e)

Can't stop smiling!

Consider yourself thoroughly pinched, keep smiling it won't crack your pretty face and gives you such great face value too!

It is exactly what I wanted. I am just so blown away right now.

Dr Mayer is proof to me that there is a god

wow, total dish!  Congrats!!

Looking amazing Jenny. Dr. Mayer's work is so natural.

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 28, 2014, 02:30:31 PM
Words cannot describe how happy I am with the results.

Ahhhh!!!! Somebody pinch me!!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FkgQGFHg.jpg&hash=42ddf34c6b5a5fe6419ef23779d622b5a47da198)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fsxmdi8d.jpg&hash=f9b9743dbed31f691138b53c5df63c1ff833ce0e)

Can't stop smiling!

Thank you Shantel, Ducks, and Melissa! :D

Okay THERE is the swelling! Yup.

Once the cast is removed, the skin it was holding down swells. It took about 4 hours and then hit me out of nowhere.

now
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fn42f9hF.jpg&hash=0b46bc2c23ba1f9c1376f2a105842981d2ebebfa)

The tip grew to probably the same size if not bigger than what it was. Whoa! Okay... more recovery to do ;)

Here is a pic of the profile right after they took the cast off. Dr. Mayer said there is probably close to 2mm of swelling there and that it will take the skin a while to drape down over the new shape of the nasal bone and septum cartilage.

right after cast removal
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FyxiQxbA.jpg&hash=0968d93838456134db3e91d10cc54d8e7b6162e1)

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 28, 2014, 07:45:43 PM
THERE is the swelling! Yup.

Once the cast is removed, the skin it was holding down swells. It took about 4 hours and then hit me out of nowhere.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fn42f9hF.jpg&hash=0b46bc2c23ba1f9c1376f2a105842981d2ebebfa)

The tip grew to probably the same size if not bigger than what it was. Whoa! Okay... more recovery to do ;)

Makes every second of that cast seem worthwhile, doesn't it!
You look amazing!  I'm so happy for you!   Yay!   :laugh:

Quote from: HaleyT on April 28, 2014, 07:51:25 PM
Makes every second of that cast seem worthwhile, doesn't it!
You look amazing!  I'm so happy for you!   Yay!   :laugh:

Thank you! Indeed it is worthwhile :) Even though it is swollen now, I can still notice a difference.

When he took the cast off, it gave such me a rush of excitement all over... I was tingling with relief and happiness as if I shedded another layer of dysphoria. The tingly feeling came to an end later in the afternoon when I could feel blood flowing to my nose.. It wasn't throbbing, but it got really warm and swelled up. I was expecting this to happen! Now it is just a waiting game for the swelling to go back down ;)

Quote from: Khalysta on April 27, 2014, 10:19:53 PM
Forehead lift
Orbital Bony Contour
Hairline lowering
radix graft
Trachea shave
Chin Reduction
Lip Lift

So quite a bit of work :)

Sounds pretty similar to my list, though I threw in cheek implants as well.  So excited for you! :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 28, 2014, 03:02:09 AM
When I met Haley (she was at day 7 I think), I couldn't believe how good she looked already. Barely any bruising at all- I couldn't believe it! And comparing then to the 11 day update is another huge difference.

Even Riya looked amazing freshly ffs'd. I think this is partly Dr. Mayer's obsessive attention to detail with his work, and also partly us being extra awesome patients :D

Oh, its definitely us being awesome patients!  LOL  8)
Seriously though, his attention to detail is awesome.  I can't believe the way he closes his incisions.  I need to post some photos of the incisions for my trachea and chin implant... I already can barely even see them myself.

Quote from: calicarly on April 28, 2014, 02:12:39 AM
You look great! , a couple of people may be thinking, damn that girl must have a violent bf! Lol but that's a good thing, they def are thinking "that girl". Lovely results! Making me look forward to mine! But I'm at consultation stage right now.

Haha, that thought crossed my mind as well!  Luckily I'm down to just one small bruise spot on my cheek... smaller than a dime, and it covers pretty well.  Now they probably just wonder about my swollen lips!

Quote from: luna nyan on April 28, 2014, 06:30:11 AM
I suspect he's probably fairly gentle about how he retracts tissue, has a very quick efficient technique for what he does, and obviously the attention to detail as well.  Has anyone had numbness postop with Dr Mayer yet?

I've got the typical numbness on the top of my head, though I can still feel some pressure.  Also have a little bit of numbness above the incision from my chin implant, but only slightly so.  Neither of them worry me.

you look very pretty Jenny , congratulation , you look so happy too !  ;)

Hi Jenny   you look great. Very natural looking work.

mandy

Thanks Diana and Mandy :)

The swelling today seems a little bit less than yesterday night, so good signs!

I just can't wait until it looks like it did in the office again, but the tip takes a LONG time to go down in swelling. I guess sometimes up to 2 years  :o

70-80% should be gone after two months, though.

I've been comparing my swelling to lots of the rhinoplasty vloggers on youtube, and I seem to have very little- so I am hopeful for a fast recovery (i.e. 6 months instead of 24 would be great)! Fingers crossed :)

You look great, Jenny. I am happy to see you so happy.

Thanks Celia :D

Day 7 no makeup!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FdJlYBKL.jpg&hash=70173e5337ffe88d5d17ad5cc7b1a3a9cc1abfe2)

Heading to bed atop my mountain of pillows (have to keep head propped up) ;)

Looking gorgeous, hon! :D

Day 16!
I'm back to work today.  Its been nice having an excuse to lay low for a couple weeks, but back to reality I suppose  ;)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2Fhaley-headshot-fullsize_zpsbc1e2d9c.jpg&hash=c6c7ba7021658104b7a655122cbc07b1228117e3)

Quote from: HaleyT on May 01, 2014, 02:54:11 PM
Day 16!
I'm back to work today.  Its been nice having an excuse to lay low for a couple weeks, but back to reality I suppose  ;)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2Fhaley-headshot-fullsize_zpsbc1e2d9c.jpg&hash=c6c7ba7021658104b7a655122cbc07b1228117e3)

You look great Haley, the only thing I can imagine you constantly thinking is how your ffs was money well spent, I have seen your before and afters and you look:

Younger
Like a very approachable woman I would probably enjoy being coworkers with
Happier.
Much more adequate all around feminine and improved

Congratulations!

Quote from: HaleyT on May 01, 2014, 02:54:11 PM
Day 16!
I'm back to work today.  Its been nice having an excuse to lay low for a couple weeks, but back to reality I suppose  ;)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2Fhaley-headshot-fullsize_zpsbc1e2d9c.jpg&hash=c6c7ba7021658104b7a655122cbc07b1228117e3)

My but you are pretty and perky looking there Haley. I like the attractive headband, nice touch! Your lips are looking especially pretty, I can see what prompted you to do them too.

Wow!  You look great!

Hope all went well at work, Haley. You're looking very attractive and very feminine.

Caroline
x

Thanks everyone!!

I'm definitely happy with the results of the FFS so far.  I thought I was pretty confident beforehand, but this has really been a huge confidence boost! :)

You are looking better and better and better, Haley! The swelling is really starting to come down a lot :)

Quote from: HaleyT on May 01, 2014, 02:54:11 PM
Day 16!
I'm back to work today.  Its been nice having an excuse to lay low for a couple weeks, but back to reality I suppose  ;)

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2Fhaley-headshot-fullsize_zpsbc1e2d9c.jpg&hash=c6c7ba7021658104b7a655122cbc07b1228117e3)

YOu are looking soo pretty and cute..that swelling is coming down pretty well...all the best and keep posting pretty :) xoxo

Quote from: inspire on May 06, 2014, 11:12:31 AM
YOu are looking soo pretty and cute..that swelling is coming down pretty well...all the best and keep posting pretty :) xoxo

You're both extremely pretty as well as are so many others here. I admire you all for your pluck, determination and drive to achieve such beautiful feminine looks!  :icon_bunch:

Quote from: Shantel on May 06, 2014, 11:46:11 AM
You're both extremely pretty as well as are so many others here. I admire you all for your pluck, determination and drive to achieve such beautiful feminine looks!  :icon_bunch:

You are so sweet xoxo

Well, its been just 2 days shy of 4 weeks.  I thought I'd try to match up my before/after photos with current ones.

I think I was wearing a small amount of makeup in the original photos, but the current photos are makeup free, so please ignore my splotchiness :)
I've also moved since I took the original photos, so can't quite create the same lighting.  Also seems the camera was slightly lower, and shooting at a slight upward angle in the current photos.

The swelling goes down more every day, but these areas are still pretty noticeable:
-The tip of my nose
-Upper lip, up to and including the base of my septum (where the incision was made for the lip lift)
-Below my lower lip, above the chin implant
-Cheeks, all the way down to the jaw line.
Most of the swelling from my forehead and lower neck appears to have dissipated, but there is still probably a small amount.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FFrontBA4_zps78cb6b22.jpg&hash=01cf0eca7b4d641382f02a43c45937a054497a34)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FAngleBA4_zps8ebf9832.jpg&hash=b43234e76e507c05acd0a25e93d07a2632600f31)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FProfileBA4_zps8a71be60.jpg&hash=6e242d3c17226a1319d6c67c51c2c00cf546bcff)

I also thought I'd throw in a closeup photo of the two incisions on my neck from the trachea shave and chin implant.  These have both looked amazing since the dressings were removed, they are simply going to heal up amazingly!  As the stand, the are completely unnoticeable with a light coat of foundation.  Dr. Mayer really did some amazing work closing these!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FHaleyneck4week_zpscbfbaecb.jpg&hash=51dd3d479bf44c201817c2455cce23fd16aae271)

(please forgive the small amount of beard stubble! :( I took these at the end of the day.  I can wait to resume laser removal in another couple of weeks!!)

-H

OK, one more picture of me looking more normal :)   This was taken around the 3 week mark.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FIMG_1873_zpsdd5612fb.jpg&hash=836623dc321a9770b372c1acf6d2284759a6e793)

Wow Haley! Amazing update! I really like how you try to match the before and after photos. And it looks like the results are headed in a direction very close to your vffs pics :)

Keep healin' up and looking forward to further updates!

Thanks Jenny!  :D
I'm definitely impressed with how similar the actual results are to the virtual results.  I'm super happy overall!

Hope your nose is healing up well and giving you just as much enjoyment :)

Quote from: HaleyT on May 12, 2014, 01:53:00 AM
OK, one more picture of me looking more normal :)   This was taken around the 3 week mark.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FIMG_1873_zpsdd5612fb.jpg&hash=836623dc321a9770b372c1acf6d2284759a6e793)

OMG Haley, you are such an angel face, we are all so happy for you!

Looking good Haley! I'm having FFS done next month and I'm hoping I turn out half as good as you! ;)

Quote from: HaleyT on May 12, 2014, 01:46:20 AM
Well, its been just 2 days shy of 4 weeks.  I thought I'd try to match up my before/after photos with current ones.

I think I was wearing a small amount of makeup in the original photos, but the current photos are makeup free, so please ignore my splotchiness :)
I've also moved since I took the original photos, so can't quite create the same lighting.  Also seems the camera was slightly lower, and shooting at a slight upward angle in the current photos.

The swelling goes down more every day, but these areas are still pretty noticeable:
-The tip of my nose
-Upper lip, up to and including the base of my septum (where the incision was made for the lip lift)
-Below my lower lip, above the chin implant
-Cheeks, all the way down to the jaw line.
Most of the swelling from my forehead and lower neck appears to have dissipated, but there is still probably a small amount.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FFrontBA4_zps78cb6b22.jpg&hash=01cf0eca7b4d641382f02a43c45937a054497a34)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FAngleBA4_zps8ebf9832.jpg&hash=b43234e76e507c05acd0a25e93d07a2632600f31)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FProfileBA4_zps8a71be60.jpg&hash=6e242d3c17226a1319d6c67c51c2c00cf546bcff)

I also thought I'd throw in a closeup photo of the two incisions on my neck from the trachea shave and chin implant.  These have both looked amazing since the dressings were removed, they are simply going to heal up amazingly!  As the stand, the are completely unnoticeable with a light coat of foundation.  Dr. Mayer really did some amazing work closing these!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FHaleyneck4week_zpscbfbaecb.jpg&hash=51dd3d479bf44c201817c2455cce23fd16aae271)

(please forgive the small amount of beard stubble! :( I took these at the end of the day.  I can wait to resume laser removal in another couple of weeks!!)

-H

Awee Haley u look so cute. Face is now so much softer n delicate ;). Soo soo happy for you:). Xoxo

Quote from: HaleyT on May 12, 2014, 01:46:20 AM

I also thought I'd throw in a closeup photo of the two incisions on my neck from the trachea shave and chin implant.  These have both looked amazing since the dressings were removed, they are simply going to heal up amazingly!  As the stand, the are completely unnoticeable with a light coat of foundation.  Dr. Mayer really did some amazing work closing these!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FHaleyneck4week_zpscbfbaecb.jpg&hash=51dd3d479bf44c201817c2455cce23fd16aae271)

(please forgive the small amount of beard stubble! :( I took these at the end of the day.  I can wait to resume laser removal in another couple of weeks!!)



-H

Inspire is right, you are so cute! Considering that you are dark haired and the underside of the chin is usually so awfully stubbly you are doing really well and it shouldn't take more than a few treatments to be totally cleared.

Nice work on the trachea and chin implant. I have found that scar tissue and discoloration dissipates rapidly when one uses a small amount of coconut oil or cocoa butter and massages the area when watching TV or reading. I can't attribute it to the properties of the oil, but i think that the massaging works the blood flow into the traumatized areas and helps break down the scar tissue and promote more rapid reattachment of severed nerve ends. I've had several procedures and find that it works well.

Gah!  Looking back at those last comparison shots I was still so swollen and gross!  :P

Things have been a bit crazy at work the last couple weeks, so I've been quiet on here.  I'm sooo happy with my results though, its time to share a few more photos!  These were taken today, about 7 weeks post op.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FHaleyCapitolReef1_zps78d77ba9.jpg&hash=bb35c34f113265584105f4785106c14bdfda3b30)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FHaleyCapitolReef2_zps2169caaf.jpg&hash=7eceb303adc3fc3759dde3f5f59debebcfe24785)

Swelling isn't really noticeable to anyone else anymore, but there still is some around.  I think my lips have just about settled, but the incision from the lip lift at the base of my septum is still a bit swollen and stiff.  The hairline incision is still pretty red, but healing well.  I still usually wear a headband to hide it and protect it from the sun, this was the first time I went out without one!

Overall, the recovery process has been great, I can't complain!  Dr. Mayer is really incredible, I can't recommend him enough!

OMG Haley, you are just movie star pretty, I am so pleased for you honey, your remaining life will be blessed I'm sure!

You look beautiful Haley, what a beautiful results.... you must be so happy

Quote from: HaleyT on June 01, 2014, 09:49:13 PM

I'm sooo happy with my results though, its time to share a few more photos!  These were taken today, about 7 weeks post op.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FHaleyCapitolReef1_zps78d77ba9.jpg&hash=bb35c34f113265584105f4785106c14bdfda3b30)

Oh my goodness Haley,  you look so pretty.  I'm so happy for you!!!  A little jealous too, but mostly just happy.

Hugs,

-J

You are looking great Haley! :)  Glad to hear everything is healing quickly and smoothly!

Haley!! You look wonderful and SO happy!!!

Everything has turned out so well for you too. Thanks for sharing :)

Congrats Haley, such a wonderful transformation, you look so happy and pretty!

Quote from: HaleyT on June 01, 2014, 09:49:13 PM
Gah!  Looking back at those last comparison shots I was still so swollen and gross!  :P

Things have been a bit crazy at work the last couple weeks, so I've been quiet on here.  I'm sooo happy with my results though, its time to share a few more photos!  These were taken today, about 7 weeks post op.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FHaleyCapitolReef1_zps78d77ba9.jpg&hash=bb35c34f113265584105f4785106c14bdfda3b30)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi328.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl353%2Ftruehaley%2FTransition%2FHaleyCapitolReef2_zps2169caaf.jpg&hash=7eceb303adc3fc3759dde3f5f59debebcfe24785)

Swelling isn't really noticeable to anyone else anymore, but there still is some around.  I think my lips have just about settled, but the incision from the lip lift at the base of my septum is still a bit swollen and stiff.  The hairline incision is still pretty red, but healing well.  I still usually wear a headband to hide it and protect it from the sun, this was the first time I went out without one!

Overall, the recovery process has been great, I can't complain!  Dr. Mayer is really incredible, I can't recommend him enough!

Wow, really looking great there Haley. Hopefully Mayer will be around for a while, as I'm still 2-3 years out for FFS, with me not knowing if I want GRS or FFS first. I was debating between him and O, but it seems as if O is retiring this Fall. Also loving the background. It matches great with your wardrobe.  ;D

Haley,

Looking good girl!  Wow...

Hugs,

Jen

You look incredibly pretty and feminine in these last straight on pics! As for the profile, it isn't bad at all but I liked the virtual FFS better than the real result as it shows a better forehead setback like if it was a type 3

This thread is tough for me.  I got a consult with Dr. Mayer the other day and he rubbed me the wrong way.  Don't get me wrong - his results speak for themselves and I'm sure he would do an excellent job but I can't say that I felt comfortable with him - too cocky.  Also - contrary to others' experiences, he recommended one procedure in particular that I really don't think I need, so that left me with a little bit of a strange feeling as well.  It's difficult when I objectively know that he does excellent work but my gut feeling leads me elsewhere.

Contrast this with Leif Rogers (with whom I've placed a deposit) - my gut feeling about him is excellent but he's younger (38?) and as such doesn't have the extensive track record that Dr. Mayer does.  Still, I trust that his vision of beauty (ugh did I actually just say that?) is much more aligned with mine than Dr. Mayer's is, and once you reach a certain threshold of experience, that is really the most important thing, IMO.  Furthermore, I've been at his office multiple times for laser/electrolysis and such - the people there are truly wonderful.

I have a consult with Dr. Pincus this Friday, which hopefully will help shed some light on the situation.  After that I need to make a decision as I'm looking to get something done in early August.  I'll post back with more info this weekend.

Also - Jenny and Haley, you both look amazing!  =)

Thanks everyone for the compliments!  Every one of you warms my heart :)

Quote from: Celia0428 on June 02, 2014, 11:04:05 AM
You look incredibly pretty and feminine in these last straight on pics! As for the profile, it isn't bad at all but I liked the virtual FFS better than the real result as it shows a better forehead setback like if it was a type 3

Celia, thanks for the honest feedback!  Dr. Mayer only does type 1 foreheads, so I went in knowing that I wouldn't get a result as dramatic as possible with a type 3 from another surgeon.  That said, I'm personally very happy with the forehead results I did get... they actually turned out better than my expectation.  While you can see a small amount of prominence remaining in my profile, I feel like I'm now well into the female range and have no problem passing from any angle.  (aside from my 6'1" stature anyway...  :o)

Quote from: the bore worms on June 03, 2014, 11:45:06 PM
This thread is tough for me.  I got a consult with Dr. Mayer the other day and he rubbed me the wrong way.  Don't get me wrong - his results speak for themselves and I'm sure he would do an excellent job but I can't say that I felt comfortable with him - too cocky.  Also - contrary to others' experiences, he recommended one procedure in particular that I really don't think I need, so that left me with a little bit of a strange feeling as well.  It's difficult when I objectively know that he does excellent work but my gut feeling leads me elsewhere.

Contrast this with Leif Rogers (with whom I've placed a deposit) - my gut feeling about him is excellent but he's younger (38?) and as such doesn't have the extensive track record that Dr. Mayer does.  Still, I trust that his vision of beauty (ugh did I actually just say that?) is much more aligned with mine than Dr. Mayer's is, and once you reach a certain threshold of experience, that is really the most important thing, IMO.  Furthermore, I've been at his office multiple times for laser/electrolysis and such - the people there are truly wonderful.

I totally agree.  Any of the well-known, experienced surgeons discussed in this forum are going to do a great job.   In the end it really comes down to your personal preference and making sure that you get along well with the surgeon you choose.  Alignment with "visions of beauty" is a really big deal... you can give all the instructions you want before surgery, but when it comes down to it and you're in the operating room... its the surgeon's vision and technique that are going to guide his work more than anything else.

Can't wait to hear who you end up deciding on!  :D

OMG Haley you looking amazing!!! I am so glad for you. Really really pretty :) xoxo

~Riya

I don't want to derail this thread but sharing a recent dream I had where I took Riya, Haley and Jenny out to lunch at an outdoor restaurant by the ocean, it was a nice sunny day with a slight breeze and everyone was dressed in summer dresses, heels, and fastidiously made up and looking gorgeous. You ladies were seated at a table under a big market umbrella and ordered a bottle of wine as you chatted and perused the menu. I had a seat at another table where I could covertly film the behavior of all the men that couldn't resist flirting with you incredible beauties. It was a goofy dream, but it's something we can all relate to at some level. I suppose that I am pretty impressed with you ladies who have achieved something we can all only hope for.

Congratulations! ~Shan~

It was probably On The Waterfront in Santa Monica. At least that's where I would have recommended for such an occasion ;)

Quote from: Jennygirl on June 07, 2014, 07:26:20 PM
It was probably On The Waterfront in Santa Monica. At least that's where I would have recommended for such an occasion ;)

Been there and it's nice, you're on!

Finally have a chance to update my situation.  Pretty close to making a decision, but still not 100%.   A little background info:

I'm 42 and have been on hormones for just over a year.  I don't think I have any hugely masculine facial features, although I've always had a pretty high hairline and there's been a bit more temporal recession over time.  Here is a shot of me, right now, taken by the light of my iMac.  Note - that is NOT my real hair, although across the front that is about where my natural hairline lies.  Also - cheers!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimgur.com%2FPonoX1g.jpg&hash=8b7de33566ce71f7088222060ba7649e6eb1096c)

My main priorities going in have been nose and forehead/hairline.  Beyond that cheek implants would be nice, although I think this is getting a little more into chasing beauty as opposed to something that would help me pass, so to speak.  Oh and getting breast augmentation at the same time.

I've consulted with three surgeons in Beverly Hills, and each had their pros and cons:

1. Leif Rogers.  My electrologist (Dana Elise, she is wonderful) works out of his office on some days, so I've crossed paths with him a few times.  He's a younger guy with a great demeanor - easy confidence.  He explained things very carefully and I got the sense that he knew what he was doing, although he didn't really offer up any pictures of his previous work, which would have helped.  He is the only one of these three that does the breast aug himself, which I have mixed feelings about.  On the one hand, I'll bet he would do a great job; on the other I like the idea of someone who really specializes in faces doing my nose and forehead.  The most expensive option, by far (see below).

2. Toby Mayer.  I touched on this above, but I was little turned off by him at first.  He is an older guy  and I didn't feel that I related to him as well.  Also, his pitch was a little heavy on descriptions of his revisions of other surgeons' failures.  While this is a fine skill, no doubt, this sort of braggadocio does little for me.  He also recommended a couple of procedures that I didn't really think that I needed (lip lift, pre-jowl implant), although to be fair if I was in his position I would probably do the same.  It's not like I have to do them, and he did present them as the lowest priority.  He definitely has the most extensive FFS track record of those that I consulted with.  The least expensive option.

3. Stephen Pincus.  I liked him a lot.  If the above two were the extremes on a scale, he would be somewhere in the middle.  Younger and more relatable than Dr. Mayer, yet older and (ostensibly) more experienced than Dr. Rogers.  Middle of the road on cost, as well.

My plan is to go for the following procedures:

- rhinoplasty
- brow lift/hairline advancement/orbital bony contour
- cheek implants
- breast augmentation

For this combo, prices are as follows (give or take, I'm sure):

- Mayer $29K
- Pincus $31K
- Rogers $36.5K

I'm currently leaning toward Mayer based both on cost and track record (including this thread - thanks Haley and Jenny!).  If Pincus was a little less, I might go with him but honestly would rather put that $2K toward something else.  It's not like there's not more surgery in my future, right?

Either way, going in around 7/31 - will post back with more info and probably some pics although I'm not as bold as some in that regard.  Hope this thread helps someone else somewhere make their decision somewhere down the line...

I didnt have the problems you did when I visited him.  He was a nice guy, took time to explain why he recommended something and why other facial features didnt need any work.  He never mentioned anything about revisions that I recall.  He showed me a few of his end results similar to what is on the website but that is it.

He recommended the lips for me too.   I was kinda against it initially like you but a friend of mine said my lips were actually my least feminine feature. Males tend to have thinner lips and more space between the lip and nose.  My upper lip is actually pretty thin so I'm having that done even though I didnt initially consider it necessary.

Whatever your choice, I'm sure you are in good hands.  Myself, I appear all set for dr mayer on the 24th of this month.  I'm kinda nervous about it but it's more general nerves about anesthesia and never having had any surgery before.

Quote from: the bore worms on June 13, 2014, 01:32:43 AM
Finally have a chance to update my situation.  Pretty close to making a decision, but still not 100%.   A little background info:

I'm 42 and have been on hormones for just over a year.  I don't think I have any hugely masculine facial features, although I've always had a pretty high hairline and there's been a bit more temporal recession over time.  Here is a shot of me, right now, taken by the light of my iMac.  Note - that is NOT my real hair, although across the front that is about where my natural hairline lies.  Also - cheers!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimgur.com%2FPonoX1g.jpg&hash=8b7de33566ce71f7088222060ba7649e6eb1096c)

My main priorities going in have been nose and forehead/hairline.  Beyond that cheek implants would be nice, although I think this is getting a little more into chasing beauty as opposed to something that would help me pass, so to speak.  Oh and getting breast augmentation at the same time.

I've consulted with three surgeons in Beverly Hills, and each had their pros and cons:

1. Leif Rogers.  My electrologist (Dana Elise, she is wonderful) works out of his office on some days, so I've crossed paths with him a few times.  He's a younger guy with a great demeanor - easy confidence.  He explained things very carefully and I got the sense that he knew what he was doing, although he didn't really offer up any pictures of his previous work, which would have helped.  He is the only one of these three that does the breast aug himself, which I have mixed feelings about.  On the one hand, I'll bet he would do a great job; on the other I like the idea of someone who really specializes in faces doing my nose and forehead.  The most expensive option, by far (see below).

2. Toby Mayer.  I touched on this above, but I was little turned off by him at first.  He is an older guy  and I didn't feel that I related to him as well.  Also, his pitch was a little heavy on descriptions of his revisions of other surgeons' failures.  While this is a fine skill, no doubt, this sort of braggadocio does little for me.  He also recommended a couple of procedures that I didn't really think that I needed (lip lift, pre-jowl implant), although to be fair if I was in his position I would probably do the same.  It's not like I have to do them, and he did present them as the lowest priority.  He definitely has the most extensive FFS track record of those that I consulted with.  The least expensive option.

3. Stephen Pincus.  I liked him a lot.  If the above two were the extremes on a scale, he would be somewhere in the middle.  Younger and more relatable than Dr. Mayer, yet older and (ostensibly) more experienced than Dr. Rogers.  Middle of the road on cost, as well.

My plan is to go for the following procedures:

- rhinoplasty
- brow lift/hairline advancement/orbital bony contour
- cheek implants
- breast augmentation

For this combo, prices are as follows (give or take, I'm sure):

- Mayer $29K
- Pincus $31K
- Rogers $36.5K

I'm currently leaning toward Mayer based both on cost and track record (including this thread - thanks Haley and Jenny!).  If Pincus was a little less, I might go with him but honestly would rather put that $2K toward something else.  It's not like there's not more surgery in my future, right?

Either way, going in around 7/31 - will post back with more info and probably some pics although I'm not as bold as some in that regard.  Hope this thread helps someone else somewhere make their decision somewhere down the line...

Don't go with Mayer, my opinion.  I went with him for hairline, nose, brow bossing, and to make a long story short, I'm lined up with DiMaggio in November for full FFS and revisions to these areas.  If you want to know more, PM me.

Hmm looks like I can't PM you, unless I'm somehow missing where to do it?  Feel free to PM me more info, or for my email.

It takes at least 15 posts to be able to send or reply to a PM, but you can receive them at any post count.

I think Mayer does excellent noses, chins, cheeks, eyes, and hairlines. From my own experience, his ability to close a suture is bar none fantastic.

If you need extensive work done to your brow bone, though, I agree with Mindy. You should look at surgeons who do Type III reconstruction in that case. Mayer can only do a Type I shave. I think I was right on the edge. Some days I look and still see quite a bit of brow, but most days I am very happy. However I have completely forgotten about scars and nobody would ever guess that I had my nose done. He is a magician with noses, and he knows it well (almost to a fault - I've heard him refer to himself as god :P). That cracked me up though. And I do like that he is very proud of his work and knowledge of facial aesthetics.

Also one of the main reason I chose Dr. Mayer was because I wanted subtle changes and was trying to avoid the aggressive approach (a la Dr. O) at all costs.

Quote from: Jennygirl on June 16, 2014, 08:22:37 AM
It takes at least 15 posts to be able to send or reply to a PM, but you can receive them at any post count.

I had a feeling this was the case - thanks for clarification.

My own impression is that my brow is not much of a problem and this has been the opinion of multiple others (professional and otherwise).  I'm sure Dr. O (or whoever) might be able to execute some wizardry that would give an even better outcome, but I don't know that it's worth it, especially when someone like Mayer is in my backyard, obviating the need for travel and allowing me to recuperate with friends.  I'm getting a second consult with him next week will go from there.  Based on the comments and experiences of others, I think I must have caught him on a bad day (either mine or his), and again, there are just too many reports of satisfied patients to ignore.

One more question - has anyone had breast augmentation done by Dr. Mayer's associate, Dr. Hovsepian?  I'm really trying to limit the number of procedures and this seems like the way to do it.  I have very little natural breast growth, but otherwise I think it should be a relatively straightforward procedure - my chest isn't particularly broad or muscular.  I'm meeting with him when meet with Dr. Mayer again next week, so hopefully that will shed some light on things either way.

Quote from: the bore worms on June 16, 2014, 11:31:11 AM
I had a feeling this was the case - thanks for clarification.

My own impression is that my brow is not much of a problem and this has been the opinion of multiple others (professional and otherwise).  I'm sure Dr. O (or whoever) might be able to execute some wizardry that would give an even better outcome, but I don't know that it's worth it, especially when someone like Mayer is in my backyard, obviating the need for travel and allowing me to recuperate with friends.  I'm getting a second consult with him next week will go from there.  Based on the comments and experiences of others, I think I must have caught him on a bad day (either mine or his), and again, there are just too many reports of satisfied patients to ignore.

One more question - has anyone had breast augmentation done by Dr. Mayer's associate, Dr. Hovsepian?  I'm really trying to limit the number of procedures and this seems like the way to do it.  I have very little natural breast growth, but otherwise I think it should be a relatively straightforward procedure - my chest isn't particularly broad or muscular.  I'm meeting with him when meet with Dr. Mayer again next week, so hopefully that will shed some light on things either way.

I messaged you.
It's a personal decision as far as your recover requirements and how far you'd like to go for surgery, of course.  I need my family around me for this and fortunately they are traveling with me to BA, as well as a friend, but that's my situation.  If at all possible, don't let the travel aspect hold you back from the best doctor for you.  Just wanted to express that.

Had my consult with Dr. Mayer today! Again Jenny you inspired me (your posts pointed me to Dr. O'Dea for hormones) XD So thank u!! Your looking so pretty in all your pics you're a big inspiration to me! :)

I don't get the negativity for Mayer, him and his staff were really sweet and kind to me the whole way through.  His prices are very good considering he's a Beverly Hills surgeon. Yes, his nose jobs are expensive, but after looking at several surgeons I do have to say he does do the best and most natural looking noses I've ever seen. No weird looking scoops or upturned 'piggie' noses.  I decided to go with him because of the way he hides the scar at the hairline.  Idk I just value looking as natural as possible, and that's what he looks like he can do.

He was very good to me, he basically puts things into 3 categories: Things you definately need, things that are optional, and things he won't touch even if you ask him too.  At least he did this with me. To me it shows he's at least not interested in taking all the money he can from you by being honest when you don't need something done.  And he basically echoed everything family & friends have told me (just get brow & nose done, leave everything else alone), so seems legit.  Doesn't seem like he does very dramatic forehead/brow work, you'd probably have to go to Dr. O for that one, though I hear really good stuff for Dr. Metzler in Arizona... though for him it's a 6 month wait for a consultation O.o

YMMV I suppose? There's negative feedback for every plastic surgeon out there I suppose.

Won't really be able to go to Dr. O for long if at all. He retires I think fall of this year.

Glad to hear your consult went well, Kristina! Just remember to be realistic about your expectations for brow work. The Type I shave is a really minimal change- as long as that is right for you, then I would say Mayer is the best bet! I do agree, I haven't found any other surgeon that can feminize a nose with such natural results so well. Nobody would guess I had any work done, and the people I have told can't even believe it. Its a non-issue :)

Jenny, thank you for sharing your experience with us. So far, all of the correspondence with Dr. Mayer's office has been wonderful. I haven't experienced any negativity so far. In the creative and artistic professions like I am in, the most confident in their abilities can come off as a little 'boastful.'  Dr. Mayer seems to fit the mold, and that is okay with me. My family is also not too far away from his office, so it makes it a much easier decision to make.

So I've narrowed it down to either Dr. Spiegel, who is a 7 hr drive from where I live, or Dr. Mayer, a cross country flight, but I can stay with my family. I guess it really comes down to who does better noses and brows? Who provides the most aesthetically pleasing results? I am also not looking for an aggressive surgeon.

Well tomorrow is my pre operative consult with Dr Mayer before surgery Tuesday morning.  I'm excited yet really nervous at the same time.  Wish me luck!  And thank you to Jenny for starting this thread and detailing her experience.  Actually, watching everyone's experience has been really helpful!

Quote from: Khalysta on June 22, 2014, 06:07:58 PM
Well tomorrow is my pre operative consult with Dr Mayer before surgery Tuesday morning.  I'm excited yet really nervous at the same time.  Wish me luck!  And thank you to Jenny for starting this thread and detailing her experience.  Actually, watching everyone's experience has been really helpful!

Wishing you all the best!! You are in real good hands. :)

You are all so welcome :) It makes me feel great that the accounts of my experience has been helpful to you. That's the whole idea and hearing it first hand is the best possible validation ;)

Best wishes for you, Khalysta! I will go ahead and second Riya's comment, you're in very very good hands!

Quote from: Khalysta on June 22, 2014, 06:07:58 PM
Well tomorrow is my pre operative consult with Dr Mayer before surgery Tuesday morning.  I'm excited yet really nervous at the same time.  Wish me luck!  And thank you to Jenny for starting this thread and detailing her experience.  Actually, watching everyone's experience has been really helpful!

Have a safe and successful surgery Khalysta

Quote from: inspire on June 22, 2014, 10:44:45 PM
Wishing you all the best!! You are in real good hands. :)

I just wanted to say that I got to see Riya's results in person a couple weeks ago, and she looked just as amazing as in her pictures.   :) Mayer is awesome.

Lucky! I wanna see Riya in person ;D

Quote from: Jennygirl on June 23, 2014, 04:26:40 AM
You are all so welcome :) It makes me feel great that the accounts of my experience has been helpful to you. That's the whole idea and hearing it first hand is the best possible validation ;)

Honestly, this thread (along with all the other positive comments about Dr. Mayer on the internet) would be my primary reason for choosing him - there's really no arguing with something like that.

I had my followup consultation with him today.  It was considerably better but I'm still a little torn.  It's basically his (amazing) track record vs. (somewhat) better rapport with others.  It's frustrating because I'm generally very rational and objectively speaking, he is the best choice.  It should be a no-brainer but I'm not letting myself make it that.

I have a deposit down for surgery on 7/30 so I need to get on making up my mind soon regardless.  =)

Side note - I met with Dr. Hovsepian regarding breasts and he was excellent.  He's obviously worked with a lot of transgendered patients and had a lot of before-and-afters that looked very well done.  Nice guy.

Quote from: ErinS on June 23, 2014, 09:10:02 PM
I just wanted to say that I got to see Riya's results in person a couple weeks ago, and she looked just as amazing as in her pictures.   :) Mayer is awesome.

Hey Erin you are just too sweet:). Thanks ! It was nice running into u unexpectedly:)

Quote from: Jennygirl on June 23, 2014, 09:15:22 PM
Lucky! I wanna see Riya in person ;D

Yessss girl I can't wait to see u too. Let's plan something soon;)

I got home yesterday but wanted to give a quick update.  Everything went really well.  It's been virtually pain free for me.  Some mild numbness and swelling but overall I haven't had to rely on the pain meds.  My forehead looks like Jenny's early post op photos.  The nurse Francis ( who is totally awesome ) said it looked like I had more orbital now with the swelling but it would go down.  My eyes are very swollen but they said thats normal.  I'm glad I have glasses to hold me over since I usually wear contacts.

My other procedures were a trachea shave and chin reduction.  I was told they didnt even put in sutures for these since my skin closed up so well.  I hope that is a good thing :)  I also got a lip lift and fat augmentation.  The lips are a little swollen obviously but the stitching is well hidden.  My lower face is also starting to get back to normal already at least movement wise.  I can tell the chin reduction is going to be really nice once the swelling subsides a bit more.

I stayed at Serenity tuesday night / wednesday morning.  That place is great.  A nurse named Nancy was just phenomenal and their smoothies are the best.  If you go to doctor mayer you should stay at this place post operation for sure.  They keep the cold compresses and ice packs going regularly.  It was just nice to not have to worry about care. 

Wednesday morning I saw Francis for a quick checkup and she went over all the instructions.  She is a very patient lady and very helpful with things.  After I was done with that I drove back to San Diego.  Obviously, it is still early but overall I am very happy so far.  I was expecting way worse in terms of pain and stuff.  Everything is really going smoothly though so hopefully the swelling follows suit!

Congratulations Khalysta, :icon_bunch:

           I think all you gals are so brave, it's going to pay off big time!

Quote from: inspire on June 24, 2014, 12:29:12 PM
Yessss girl I can't wait to see u too. Let's plan something soon;)

I still see you both enjoying lunch out by the seaside in summer dresses, just a suggestion of what I think would be a fun meet up!

Major congrats Khalysta! Can't wait to see those PICS! :D

Quote from: Shantel on June 26, 2014, 01:44:24 PM
I still see you both enjoying lunch out by the seaside in summer dresses, just a suggestion of what I think would be a fun meet up!

And yeah I think you summed up the perfect fun meetup pretty darn well. Yep, you sure did :)

Quote from: Shantel on June 26, 2014, 01:44:24 PM
I still see you both enjoying lunch out by the seaside in summer dresses, just a suggestion of what I think would be a fun meet up!

I think it will be really a fun thing to do :) I am sold!!!

Quote from: Khalysta on June 26, 2014, 12:09:30 PM
I got home yesterday but wanted to give a quick update.  Everything went really well.  It's been virtually pain free for me.  Some mild numbness and swelling but overall I haven't had to rely on the pain meds.  My forehead looks like Jenny's early post op photos.  The nurse Francis ( who is totally awesome ) said it looked like I had more orbital now with the swelling but it would go down.  My eyes are very swollen but they said thats normal.  I'm glad I have glasses to hold me over since I usually wear contacts.

Congrats!! You will continue to see changes to your face for the next 1 year...cant wait to see ur pix :) xoxo

Thanks :)  I you slowly change as the swelling goes down.  I'm already seeing that.  I just wish I could get rid of these black eyes so I could run to the store.  I should have gotten concealer before I did this (rookie mistake I suppose).  I'm not sure about pics though I am kinda camera shy but at the same time it is hard to say its going well without the evidence so we shall see :)

Quote from: Khalysta on June 28, 2014, 07:14:14 PM
Thanks :)  I you slowly change as the swelling goes down.  I'm already seeing that.  I just wish I could get rid of these black eyes so I could run to the store.  I should have gotten concealer before I did this (rookie mistake I suppose).  I'm not sure about pics though I am kinda camera shy but at the same time it is hard to say its going well without the evidence so we shall see :)

Make sure to pick up your complimentary concealer at Mayer's office! They offer it free after any surgery. And the lady is really nice :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on June 28, 2014, 07:25:49 PM
Make sure to pick up your complimentary concealer at Mayer's office! They offer it free after any surgery. And the lady is really nice :)

Yeah that is scheduled as part of my visit on tuesday when I get my stitches out :)

Personal update - I decided to go with Leif Rogers after all for the surgery.  I really felt most comfortable with him and while he doesn't have the decades of experience of someone like Mayer I've been impressed with the work of his that I've seen.  Surgery is scheduled for August 1; I'll probably start a new thread about it sometime afterward.  Thanks for everyone's input.

I also had FFs with Mayer last year and I can not say enough good things about his nose work.. Just amaizing but I wish I'd known about his only type 1 brow/forehead work I feel like I need more work in that area and also some Jaw work to feminize abit more, I knoe Meyer doea not do any Jaw work when ever you bring it up he gives you his Angelina Jolie talk.. But like I said his nose work is great.. Im thinking on goin to dr Lee for more hairline lowering and more brawbone work..

Quote from: Monaluv on July 10, 2014, 04:14:00 PM
I also had FFs with Mayer last year and I can not say enough good things about his nose work.. Just amaizing but I wish I'd known about his only type 1 brow/forehead work I feel like I need more work in that area and also some Jaw work to feminize abit more, I knoe Meyer doea not do any Jaw work when ever you bring it up he gives you his Angelina Jolie talk.. But like I said his nose work is great.. Im thinking on goin to dr Lee for more hairline lowering and more brawbone work..

Seconded about his nose work. My swelling has finally started to subside and the subtle differences he made not only look natural but perfect. Could not be happier.

I am kind of with you on the brow bossing, I do wish it was down a little bit more... But I'm not sure it's enough that I would want to go through that procedure again. Also he did suuuch an amazing job with the hairline suture closure, I would hate to mess it up. This is why I try to stress to people, only go to Mayer for forehead work if you have really minimal brow bossing. The limits of Type I shave are built in, you just have to weigh your pros & cons, because Mayer really is an excellent doctor. I SO wish he was also maxillofacial and not just reconstructive.

Mona you'll have to let me know how it goes with Dr. Lee if you choose to have a revision. I know of one other girl who is having a revision to her brow after first pass by Mayer with Di Maggio this November.

Why is there a perception that Mayer is really expensive? Like, looking at peoples stories, it doesn't seem that Mayer is even close to the cost of doctors like Osterhout but, in other discussions people act like he is. Is it just because of the location or am I only reading about people who spent less than average?

Quote from: Hikari on July 11, 2014, 03:11:48 AM
Why is there a perception that Mayer is really expensive? Like, looking at peoples stories, it doesn't seem that Mayer is even close to the cost of doctors like Osterhout but, in other discussions people act like he is. Is it just because of the location or am I only reading about people who spent less than average?

Mayer's interesting- he charges a LOT for rhinoplasty but minimal for pretty much everything else.  When I went to him I got a quote of like $8K for rhinoplasty but only $7K for hairline lowering & forehead /brow work. By comparison Dr. Z quoted me like $3k for rhino & $5K for all the forehead work combined. This is because Mayer has a reputation for doing the most natural, gorgeous looking noses in the world.

I really pushed for a chin reduction and he was only going to charge me like $3K for that, but I don't know if that's normal or because he said he'd only do minimal stuff.  His prices are slightly inflated against say... Dr. Z or doctors outside of the states but for his reputation and where he is (Beverly Hills) he's really affordable.  As Jenny pointed out though the brow bossing is Type I and thus very minimal. This is what's led me to consider getting other consults- I'd really like more bang for my buck when it comes to my forehead.  No, I don't need much and a Type I would probably do OK, but if I'm gonna pay that much I'd like more of a change... but Mayer is definitely a front-runner on my list right now.

So I suppose I guess it depends on what you're getting done.  I'm currently in the process of trying to get a consult with Dr. Lee, but too much else has been going on in life to make the time. So long story short if you already pass pretty much & your only big issue is your nose and/or hairline, Mayer is a great option because he specializes in those.  However if someone were to need 'the works' or a Type III forehead work, probably look elsewhere.

If you're inquiring about yourself Hikari you look very pretty in your pic and I can't see where you'd need anything  :) But if you feel like you do you may want to check out Mayer because to me you look amazing as u are now.

Quote from: Kristina77 on July 11, 2014, 06:19:21 PM
If you're inquiring about yourself Hikari you look very pretty in your pic and I can't see where you'd need anything  :) But if you feel like you do you may want to check out Mayer because to me you look amazing as u are now.

Thanks, that made my day :) I am thinking I might be able to get by with a type 1 forehead, and I really want a nose....It does seem that if I were only electing for those two procedures, then maybe it wouldn't be all that pricy. I don't really have the money for it right now anyway, but I really want a good nose, and I want it done right, and everyone does say Mayer is one of the best for noses.

Quote from: Hikari on July 12, 2014, 12:05:46 PM
Thanks, that made my day :) I am thinking I might be able to get by with a type 1 forehead, and I really want a nose....It does seem that if I were only electing for those two procedures, then maybe it wouldn't be all that pricy. I don't really have the money for it right now anyway, but I really want a good nose, and I want it done right, and everyone does say Mayer is one of the best for noses.

Awww no problem! <3 Yeah I'd say if you were going to just get those 2 things, Mayer is a great option.  For me getting those 2 things I'd be like $15.5k which is barely anything in the world of FFS, especially in beverly hills.  Good chance I'll go to him, just want to shop around a little first  :)  His staff are very friendly and so is he. I would agree that he's probably the best for noses I've ever seen, and I've looked at stuff from every major FFS surgeon (close to 30 surgeons).  If you're worried about money they do offer financing for Care Credit- if you go also there is a $200 consult fee which goes towards your surgery price if  you go through with it.

Well, I am off to the land of LA in about 1 month for some work by Dr Mayer. It will be an adventure, albeit fraught with pain and swelling, as I am going by myself as my partner of 13 years cannot get the time off from her work at the VA and I have no contacts in LA.

This is something that has been put off for way too long and at some point in the last 5 or 6 weeks ago it was decided to take action.

For a many years it was work x's 4 for me. I am a pilot by trade and simple put business, both flying for others and 2 other rather micro businesses (chief pilot cook and bottle washer, sole proprietor stuff) I had, ahead of personal matters... For many years I flew a week on week off schedule rotating from days then to nights and back again. That can really mess up one's circadian 
rhythm's after a while and I don't miss that part.

SRS for me was a quite a while ago as it was a perfect bit of perfect timing insurance wise and it was covered fully. As I see it now (to borrow a phrase I recently heard) this is my retirement maintenance.

Be safe to all
Elaine

You look incredible Jennygirl! I'm so happy for you.  :D

Thank you Liara! Recovery certainly had its ups and downs, but now things have smoothed out and I cannot remember the last time I worried about passing or felt a lack of confidence. I am not sure how much to equate that to surgery, or just my own good feelings, but one thing is for sure- I don't even think about the fact that I am trans anymore. It is just a part of my past :)

Quote from: Jennygirl on July 11, 2014, 12:58:22 AM
Seconded about his nose work. My swelling has finally started to subside and the subtle differences he made not only look natural but perfect. Could not be happier.

I am kind of with you on the brow bossing, I do wish it was down a little bit more... But I'm not sure it's enough that I would want to go through that procedure again. Also he did suuuch an amazing job with the hairline suture closure, I would hate to mess it up. This is why I try to stress to people, only go to Mayer for forehead work if you have really minimal brow bossing. The limits of Type I shave are built in, you just have to weigh your pros & cons, because Mayer really is an excellent doctor. I SO wish he was also maxillofacial and not just reconstructive.

Mona you'll have to let me know how it goes with Dr. Lee if you choose to have a revision. I know of one other girl who is having a revision to her brow after first pass by Mayer with Di Maggio this November.

Yea I am very happy with Dr Mayers work especially in terms of my nose. I have got many compliments on my nose. I think he does a very natural work on noses and so I don't get asked who did my nose. :) which is wht I wanted. As per the trachea shave I still think i can see it if i turn side ways and by this time the swelling should have gone down. But overall I am very pleased with Dr Mayer's work and his prices are very competitive. I  would certainly recommend him.