Community Conversation => Transitioning => Facial feminization surgery => Topic started by: Stottie Girl on February 02, 2026, 12:06:17 PM Return to Full Version

Title: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Stottie Girl on February 02, 2026, 12:06:17 PM
For any girls who had brow reduction surgery, how long was the recovery? How long did the bruising take to not be visible?

It is the one ffs surgery I am really wanting but it looks like I would have to go abroad and am wondering how much time to factor in before travelling home.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Courtney G on February 02, 2026, 01:00:04 PM
I'm following this because I'm having the procedure done in a little over 4 weeks. As I understand it, the first week is horrible and things start to get considerably better from there. Some folks are able to present themselves reasonably well by the end of week two, albeit with some residual swelling and some discoloration that migrates down from the surgery site.

There are quite a few timeline videos out there.

Of course, healing varies from person to person. I typically heal very quickly, so I'm hoping that's the case, but I'm older and that could work against me.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Charlotte_Ringwood on February 02, 2026, 01:10:45 PM
I'm having type 3 brow bone reduction,  rhinoplasty, upper blepharoplasty and temporal brow lift in Turkey in March. One night in hospital and total 2 weeks stay. I'll be back at work after that but very light desk work only for a few weeks. It takes a couple of months to look reasonable as far as I I've heard. Six months to pretty much healed, up to a year for everything to fully settle to final look.

I'll post pics once I'm out of surgery and look like I've lost a battle with a tiger!

Charlotte 😻
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Stottie Girl on February 02, 2026, 02:11:29 PM
Thanks for the info.

Very exciting times for both of you! Keep us posted!

I've never had surgery of any kind so I am interested in the outcome and the experience.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Lori Dee on February 02, 2026, 03:24:48 PM
Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 02, 2026, 02:11:29 PMThanks for the info.

Very exciting times for both of you! Keep us posted!

I've never had surgery of any kind so I am interested in the outcome and the experience.

I have had a few surgeries, but I slept right through them. No big deal.

🤣
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Stottie Girl on February 02, 2026, 03:29:19 PM
Lol, good one!
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Courtney G on February 02, 2026, 04:07:23 PM
Quote from: Lori Dee on February 02, 2026, 03:24:48 PMI have had a few surgeries, but I slept right through them. No big deal.

🤣

Yeah, my rhinoplasty surgery was a breeze. Waking up with my nose jammed full of packing and staying that way for a week wasn't so much fun.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Charlotte_Ringwood on February 02, 2026, 04:32:22 PM
Quote from: Courtney G on February 02, 2026, 04:07:23 PMYeah, my rhinoplasty surgery was a breeze. Waking up with my nose jammed full of packing and staying that way for a week wasn't so much fun.

I'm dreading this bit as I can barely tolerate having a blocked nose from a cold! Also never had surgery in my life. It'll be interesting for sure and on a foreign country.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Courtney G on February 02, 2026, 04:59:31 PM
Quote from: Charlotte_Ringwood on February 02, 2026, 04:32:22 PMI'm dreading this bit as I can barely tolerate having a blocked nose from a cold! Also never had surgery in my life. It'll be interesting for sure and on a foreign country.

I got mine done and then revised, about 6 months apart and it's crooked!!! And my septum wasn't fixed properly! I'm supposed to have a THIRD revision later this year (by a different doctor, of course).

Not to scare you, though. My surgeon lied to me and should be fined for malpractice.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Stottie Girl on February 03, 2026, 03:11:05 AM
Yikes! That's not good!

Yeah must admit the thought of surgery to the nose doesn't sound to much fun. But you gotta do what you do to look good! Strangely, peeling my forhead back and going at it with a bone saw doesn't seem to bother me! ha ha!

I'm lucky in that I have quite a feminine nose (same as my mums and two aunties) so don't need that doing. I'm not sure how I ended up with that nose, none of the other male mmbers of the family have it genetics are weird!
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Charlotte_Ringwood on February 03, 2026, 04:17:02 AM
Quote from: Courtney G on February 02, 2026, 04:59:31 PMI got mine done and then revised, about 6 months apart and it's crooked!!! And my septum wasn't fixed properly! I'm supposed to have a THIRD revision later this year (by a different doctor, of course).

Not to scare you, though. My surgeon lied to me and should be fined for malpractice.

Oh no...sorry to hear that you had such a rough journey. I hope that you can get it sorted very soon and that your next surgeon is better.

I'm a bit worried as I've not seen any examples of my surgeons forehead reduction work. But they have written papers on it. If the pictures are genuine then I think they can do the rhinoplasty ok, but still nothing is certain.  It's a leap of faith tbh!
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Stottie Girl on February 03, 2026, 04:27:47 AM
Quote from: Charlotte_Ringwood on Yesterday at 04:17:02 AMOh no...sorry to hear that you had such a rough journey. I hope that you can get it sorted very soon and that your next surgeon is better.

I'm a bit worried as I've not seen any examples of my surgeons forehead reduction work. But they have written papers on it. If the pictures are genuine then I think they can do the rhinoplasty ok, but still nothing is certain.  It's a leap of faith tbh!
I would have thought the brow reduction is harder to get wrong. They are just removing, replacing and rounding off the bone rather than forming a new structure and messing with cartlidge but any any surgery has it's risks I suppose. Unsurprisingly I'm not an expert mind!
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Courtney G on February 03, 2026, 12:52:34 PM
Quote from: Stottie Girl on Yesterday at 03:11:05 AMYikes! That's not good!...

...I'm lucky in that I have quite a feminine nose (same as my mums and two aunties) so don't need that doing. I'm not sure how I ended up with that nose, none of the other male mmbers of the family have it genetics are weird!

It's ok. I inherited the larger, humped nose that all of the (Italians) on my mother's side have, and I broke the chain by having my nasal bone cut and reset. That was the "win." Now, to get the rest fixed up.

So great that you have a feminine nose! One less thing to worry about.


Quote from: Charlotte_Ringwood on Yesterday at 04:17:02 AMOh no...sorry to hear that you had such a rough journey. I hope that you can get it sorted very soon and that your next surgeon is better.

I'm a bit worried as I've not seen any examples of my surgeons forehead reduction work. But they have written papers on it. If the pictures are genuine then I think they can do the rhinoplasty ok, but still nothing is certain.  It's a leap of faith tbh!

Thanks!

Mine has been kind of the same. Studied and practiced at reputable facilities, under one of the better surgeons out there. Has been published several times. But he only showed me a few photos (which looked great), pointing out that he was trying to find patients closer to my age. It concerns me, but I need get this done.

Let's hope this leap of faith works for all of us!!
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Dawn Kellie on February 03, 2026, 01:48:39 PM
Most of the surgeries I've had were needed because I said what's the worst that can happen. 2 knee surgeries and 2 rotator cuff surgeries later. I know need 1 more knee sur6and 1 more rotator cuff surgery. 
All that to say no surgery is easy to recover from
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Stottie Girl on February 03, 2026, 02:00:59 PM
ooof, I hear knee surgery is particularly painfull to recover from.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Dawn Kellie on February 03, 2026, 02:16:29 PM
Quote from: Stottie Girl on Yesterday at 02:00:59 PMooof, I hear knee surgery is particularly painfull to recover from.

It wasn't replacement just a scrape and sew. I was walking the same day. The rotator cuff was miserable.  I spent the first few months thinking it was the worst mistake ever. I dread the possibility of doing it again
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Stottie Girl on February 03, 2026, 03:38:21 PM
My mum broke her arm at the ball joint and had to extensive physio on the rotator cuff after the bone healed she said it was excrutiating. I feel for you! Hopefully you will be better for it in the end though.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Dawn Kellie on February 03, 2026, 03:39:36 PM
I hope. Just knowing what to expect makes it far more unnerving
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Tills on February 03, 2026, 09:59:12 PM
I flew home from FFS, including orbital rim reduction, after 7 days which was a big mistake.

The difference in reduction of swelling was astonishing. If I could post the Day 1 and day 7 pics you'd be amazed but I don't think you can upload photos here? Even so, I should not have boarded a long flight so soon after the surgery. My inner ears hurt like hell on the flight and I was taken to hospital as a precaution with a sharp pain in my calf and given an anti-DVT injection.

xx
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Tills on February 03, 2026, 10:08:33 PM
Quote from: Stottie Girl on Yesterday at 04:27:47 AMI would have thought the brow reduction is harder to get wrong. They are just removing, replacing and rounding off the bone rather than forming a new structure and messing with cartlidge but any any surgery has it's risks I suppose. Unsurprisingly I'm not an expert mind!

Well ... I'm no medic but my understanding is that parts of the cranial surface are extremely thin and the sinus cavities sit right behind, sometimes the barest millimetres away, so they have to be extremely careful not to break through.

FFS was the best decision ever for me but the surgery was brutal. 9 hours under General Anaesthetic and wow I looked a mess for a few days. Head was like a basketball.

The biggest problem though was personal. A friend flew out to Bangkok to sit with me after I came out of surgery and be around afterwords. Great, right? The problem was that I then grew dependent on her presence and when she flew back on Day 5 to be with her 20-something daughter, who had kicked off about it, I was left in a miserable state.

It sounds churlish but I'd have been better off sticking to my original plan of having an English-speaking Thai nurse with me at nights ( @warlockmaker has contacts in Thailand for this) and then heading to a Thai place for further recovery.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Tills on February 03, 2026, 10:11:20 PM
Quote from: Charlotte_Ringwood on February 02, 2026, 01:10:45 PMI'll post pics once I'm out of surgery and look like I've lost a battle with a tiger!

Charlotte 😻

Great good luck Charlotte. Wishing you all the best.

Any tips on how to post pics? I can't see how it can be done without posting them somewhere else on the internet first, which I'm not overly keen to do.

xx
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Paulie on February 03, 2026, 11:56:23 PM
Quote from: Tills on Yesterday at 09:59:12 PMMy inner ears hurt like hell on the flight and I was taken to hospital as a precaution with a sharp pain in my calf and given an anti-DVT injection.


Anti-DVT injection? Let's hope it's not DVT. We'll add you to our prayers.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Charlotte_Ringwood on February 04, 2026, 01:32:32 AM
Quote from: Tills on Yesterday at 10:11:20 PMGreat good luck Charlotte. Wishing you all the best.

Any tips on how to post pics? I can't see how it can be done without posting them somewhere else on the internet first, which I'm not overly keen to do.

xx

Thank you very much for the good wishes. I use an image hosting site which like you say is hosted elsewhere. So unfortunately doesn't solve your concern.

Charlotte 😻
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Stottie Girl on February 04, 2026, 02:33:15 AM
Quote from: Tills on Yesterday at 10:11:20 PMGreat good luck Charlotte. Wishing you all the best.

Any tips on how to post pics? I can't see how it can be done without posting them somewhere else on the internet first, which I'm not overly keen to do.

xx
Yeah I've just done that using a image hosting site called imgbb and whilst its a fiddly process, it works. I can understand your reluctance to post personal pictures on there though. Perhaps speak to Danielle about it as she seems to have been using it for a while and might know what the security is like.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Lori Dee on February 04, 2026, 10:17:31 AM
Quote from: Stottie Girl on Today at 02:33:15 AMYeah I've just done that using a image hosting site called imgbb and whilst its a fiddly process, it works. I can understand your reluctance to post personal pictures on there though. Perhaps speak to Danielle about it as she seems to have been using it for a while and might know what the security is like.

The hosting site stores the image, so the storage space is there, not here. Then the link displays it here, even though it is stored elsewhere. Image hosting sites allow you to mark your files as "Private" so they are not visible to the public. However, this is an all-ages public forum that can be seen by anyone, member or not. So posting a link here makes that link public.

If you are not comfortable with it being on the internet, posting it here would not be good, even though it is allowed. We want members to be able to protect their privacy if they choose, and we strongly encourage them to do so for safety reasons.

We let members decide what they are comfortable sharing and when to withhold.
Title: Re: Brow surgery recovery
Post by: Tills on February 04, 2026, 10:34:53 AM
Quote from: Paulie on Yesterday at 11:56:23 PMAnti-DVT injection? Let's hope it's not DVT. We'll add you to our prayers.

Hi Paulie, thanks but it was 10 yrs ago now so all okay :)

xx