I have a consultation scheduled with Dr. Ousterhout in June and would truly appreciate any anecdotal advice or opinions. I strongly identify with his aesthetic and I admire his eye for bone-work but the only thing that worries me is his age. I really would appreciate any advice from girls who have been to Dr. Ousterhout. I have been on IM hormones for a little over five years and had an orchiectomy performed three years ago I am 32.
Hi, I have been a member of the FFS support group on Yahoo for 2 years and the issue of Dr O's age comes up over and over again. Nobody knows what age he is exactly but aparently he is well into his seventies.
I personnally know a girl from Oakland who did surgery with him last August, over 12 hours in one session and I must admit that I thought she was crazy to do this. Even with a younger surgeon 12 hours is huge and it's impossible not to imagine that at some stage, fatigue and a drop off in concentration, expose the patient to unnecessary risk.
Happily no damage was done and the results look fine, but in my opinion, no better than what I have seen from many other surgeons who charge far less than Dr O. My friend paid double what I paid in Europe for much the same procédures and he is typically 2.5 times more costly than a couple of excellent South American surgeons, such as Dr Di Maggio in Buenos Aires.
Hope that helps
Donna
Thank you very much Donna. I am also apart of the yahoo ffs support group, Dr. Dimaggios work is extremely impressive :)
I have seen some of his more recent work lice and in-person... as performed in the last 3 years... and I'm less than impressed compared to the other FF Surgeons out there. Caveat emptor. Do your homework and ask questions. I can afford him, but I'll be using another surgeon based on what I've seen of his work.
I hired him to do my trachea shave, and I am happy with my results. I love his method for trachea shave, which is done under local anesthesia with incision placed under the chin instead of over the neck. Also it had no effect on my voice which was my primary concern!
It did not seem to me that his age would be an issue. I didn't feel weird at all going into the surgery, but then again it was only a 1.25hr surgery. I wasn't even nervous though, I was very comfortable being in his hands. Mira was great, too :)
I would recommend him, and I'm considering going back to have one or two things done (brow and maybe jaw). They say he is the best for the boney work. I mean he did, after all, write the book on it!
Thank you as well Jennygirl. That is extremely reassuring ;D like I mentioned earlier I really identify with his aesthetic and admire his expertise on bonework. Im so happy your Trachea shave went smoothly. Im excited :)
hi!
i had ffs with ousterhout two and a half years ago, so i can speak to a few of these concerns and give my more recent experience, with the caveat that things may have changed in the time since then and wouldn't know.
in any case: dr o is old. there's no way around that fact. i heard that he was going to be cutting his hours down to part time while i was there. i don't know if he went through with that, but i'd believe it.
however, though he was old he in no way seemed to be in poor health or at all senile. guy was sharp, and despite the scheduled 10 hours of surgery he performed it all in about eight.
all that said: it was not a perfect surgery. aesthetically, i couldn't have asked for a better result. other than a small raised scar in my scalp that has to do more with my nasty tendency for hypertrophic scars, and a similar cut on the underside of my chin for the tracheal shave, i made it out just about cosmetically perfect. i was not pretty before, i am pretty now. the right side of my nose and upper lip are at around 50% sensation and are a little bit crosswired, so some of the sensory nerve got messed with there, but it's a tiny area and it's not wholly numb. my only real complaint is with the trachea shave.
my singing voice was pretty damaged by surgery. one of the muscles of my larynx was somewhat weakened, leaving me with slight dextrolateral paresis of the vocal cords, meaning that even now, my voice fatigues quickly, and my vocal range lost a lot of the high end. i have gotten about 80% of it back with a laryngologist and voice therapist and my speaking voice is normal again, but it isn't at 100% functionality and never will be. now, honestly, i don't know if that was something that happened because i was unlucky, or because he's old and can't be trusted. but it's something that has to be considered when checking him out. he wrote the book on ffs, he knows what he's doing, and i would not doubt that he is highly skilled even now. but the possible complications are there.
dr. o is the most aggressive of all the surgeons with bone and tracheal cartilage, as far as what i've seen. for some people, that's what they want and/or need. it's what brought me to him. for others, that's not what they want.
I think it's important to note that when I had my pre surgical consultation with him, I stressed the safety of my voice like 30X over because I had heard that he is aggressive. But, I also knew I needed someone aggressive because I had such a large cartilage protrusion. Still, his expertise and placement of the incision were the main selling points for me.
I think voicing my concerns over and over with him seemed to help. And I still have a bit of a bump there, but it is definitely gender neutral and totally smoothed out. I am fine with it. I'd rather have my voice.
Also to speak about the trach shave scar under the chin.. Mine was super raised for a long time (but even then people didn't notice it). I followed Mira's instructions and I've been rolling it around with my fingers nightly and it's gone down significantly (I'm 3months post op). Now it is barely raised at all, and when I show people where the scar is they can't even see it without looking closely in good lighting. I was really worried with how raised it was at first, though.
thank you Transtrender :) your positive experience with Dr. Ousterhout just reinforces my instinct that he is the surgeon for me. I am looking forward to the consultation though and it will definitely be the deciding factor.
Hi Sophia! How did the appointment go with Dr O?
I read his book but i am also concerned with his age.
OMG Dr. O is truly a genius and an artist. I apologize for taking so long to keep everyone updated. My surgery went flawlessly, Dr. O is truly gifted. I had a type III forehead reconstruction and rhinoplasty on October 2nd I am thrilled with the results and I feel so much more comfortable in my skin. I will post pics soon ;D Today makes one month post op. Love and Blessings
Yay, Sophia!
Big hug! Glad you're happy with the results, hon! Thanks for the update, hugs, Devlyn
Thank you so very much for the support! I am extremely pleased with the results, My profile is extremely feminine . In my humble opinion Dr. O's age is not an issue at all, although he is older he is very youthful and still has a sharp mind and keen observation skills. I am so thrilled with my results in fact that I plan on going back in May to complete my FFS with Jaw mandible reduction, sliding genioplasty and a lip lift. I will be posting a bunch of before and after pics fairly soon ::). Again thank you so much, well done FFS is extremely empowering for Trans women as it removes our masculinized facial features. I have found that just by completing the upper half of my face i suffer far less gender dysphoria in public situations and while seeing my reflection. Peace and love my sisters ;D
Congrats Sophia 8)
I have Dr O and Dr Spiegel on my list. My appt. With Spiegel is on the 13th. Do you think Spiegel,s work is the same? Some people comment this.
I dont know who to choose.
This interview with Dr. O is around three years old, his health and vigor is more of someone in their sixties, he discusses the techniques and the male vs female skull, it's pretty good...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIDGRPWASSI&feature=player_embedded (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIDGRPWASSI&feature=player_embedded)
Do you mind me asking how much he charged?
Congratulations, Sophia!... I wish I could afford him
Quote from: Sophiabutterfly09 on November 02, 2013, 08:22:56 PM
In my humble opinion Dr. O's age is not an issue at all, although he is older he is very youthful and still has a sharp mind and keen observation skills.
Glad to hear it went well! I had FFS with him (first in May 2008, then in January 2009 for the stuff I couldn't initially afford) and I am extremely happy with my results. I had the same feeling when I had my consultation with him back then that he had the spirit of a more youthful man. Even back then there was a lot of talk about his age, but I had no reservations about it as soon as I talked with him.
I'm so happy for you, and I can't wait to see photos of the results :)
Quote from: SarahR on November 04, 2013, 02:37:15 PM
Glad to hear it went well! I had FFS with him (first in May 2008, then in January 2009 for the stuff I couldn't initially afford) and I am extremely happy with my results. I had the same feeling when I had my consultation with him back then that he had the spirit of a more youthful man. Even back then there was a lot of talk about his age, but I had no reservations about it as soon as I talked with him.
I'm so happy for you, and I can't wait to see photos of the results :)
Hi Sarah,
I hear all of this but no matter what way you look at it, and no matter what their "spirit", someone in their seventies (Dr O is very discreet about his age), simply does not have the same power of concentration or physical resistance as someone in their forties or fifites.
Other than that, at the time I did my FFS in August 2012, I was corresponding regularly with an American girl who did her surgery with Dr O at pretty much the same time. Her operation lasted more than twelve hours and that for me was madness. Even for a young surgeon, that is beyond reasonable, both in terms of his/her fatigue and also in terms if the patient recovery. My friend, while almost 20 years younger than me, was totally wiped out for several weeks.
Other than that, she paid twice as much for her surgery as I did (surgery in Europe BTW) and nothing I saw justified such a huge difference in price.
If people want to continue beleiving that Dr O. is worth so much extra, so be it, but based on my pretty extensive survey of the subject, I am very, very sceptical and in terms of post surgery follow up, what I have seen brings me to believe that Dr O. is far less involved with his patients than many surgeons who are more reasonable in terms of price.
My 2 cents worth.
Donna
I've been thinking about Dr. O as well, but I'm not entirely sure of what I need........I think I look masculine as hell - but it's apparently way more than 'other people' think I do, so I'm not really sure. I've had years of high dose testosterone messing me up that my whole self-image is poor.
Even knowing that, I think I'd benefit from FFS a lot, so am looking for 'in the know' opinions
Hi Kelsie, one of the best things you can do is get a virtual FFS assessment.
The lady that runs the website is incredibly knowledgeable about FFS and the minute differences between male and female faces. If you send her pictures she will not only write up a super thorough assessment for you but she can also for additional fees photoshop some pictures of you to give you an approximation of what FFS will look like.
Her site is http://virtualffs.co.uk. I had it done last month and couldn't be happier with it. It's so nice having a completely objective person giving you opinions.
Quote from: Donna E on November 04, 2013, 06:03:53 PM
Hi Sarah,
I hear all of this but no matter what way you look at it, and no matter what their "spirit", someone in their seventies (Dr O is very discreet about his age), simply does not have the same power of concentration or physical resistance as someone in their forties or fifites.
Other than that, at the time I did my FFS in August 2012, I was corresponding regularly with an American girl who did her surgery with Dr O at pretty much the same time. Her operation lasted more than twelve hours and that for me was madness. Even for a young surgeon, that is beyond reasonable, both in terms of his/her fatigue and also in terms if the patient recovery. My friend, while almost 20 years younger than me, was totally wiped out for several weeks.
Other than that, she paid twice as much for her surgery as I did (surgery in Europe BTW) and nothing I saw justified such a huge difference in price.
If people want to continue beleiving that Dr O. is worth so much extra, so be it, but based on my pretty extensive survey of the subject, I am very, very sceptical and in terms of post surgery follow up, what I have seen brings me to believe that Dr O. is far less involved with his patients than many surgeons who are more reasonable in terms of price.
My 2 cents worth.
Donna
I still don't know enough about FFS to have any reasonable idea if Dr. O is worth 'twice' some of the other FFS surgeons. I had a consult with an FFS surgeon who has very good results I've seen but his surgery time is closer to four to five hours for forehead, nose, upper lip, chin, and trachea shave. I have to believe Dr. is using more aggressive techniques? But I don't appear to need overly aggressive work, so a less invasive approach probably makes sense. Just curious why such differences in surgery times, I don't think I would elect to have a 12 hour surgery by anyone, but if I did I would probably prefer Dr. O. For me, experience trumps age as long as they appear in good health. Our life experience influences how each of us feel about the age issue. Growing up, I use to haul hay for local farmers, some of these old timers could run circles around us, what seems physically difficult for us was just everyday life for them.
Quote from: abbyt89 on November 06, 2013, 10:52:45 AM
Hi Kelsie, one of the best things you can do is get a virtual FFS assessment.
The lady that runs the website is incredibly knowledgeable about FFS and the minute differences between male and female faces. If you send her pictures she will not only write up a super thorough assessment for you but she can also for additional fees photoshop some pictures of you to give you an approximation of what FFS will look like.
Her site is http://virtualffs.co.uk. I had it done last month and couldn't be happier with it. It's so nice having a completely objective person giving you opinions.
Thank you, I didn't know about this :)
Quote from: Nikko on November 06, 2013, 12:37:16 PM
I still don't know enough about FFS to have any reasonable idea if Dr. O is worth 'twice' some of the other FFS surgeons. I had a consult with an FFS surgeon who has very good results I've seen but his surgery time is closer to four to five hours for forehead, nose, upper lip, chin, and trachea shave. I have to believe Dr. is using more aggressive techniques? But I don't appear to need overly aggressive work, so a less invasive approach probably makes sense. Just curious why such differences in surgery times, I don't think I would elect to have a 12 hour surgery by anyone, but if I did I would probably prefer Dr. O. For me, experience trumps age as long as they appear in good health. Our life experience influences how each of us feel about the age issue. Growing up, I use to haul hay for local farmers, some of these old timers could run circles around us, what seems physically difficult for us was just everyday life for them.
Yeah from what I know he has a very invasive / aggressive technique, but the man knows everything about how to shape a male skull into a female skull down to the millimeter. He will give you a female skull. That is countered with the vast amount of literature that is out there that shuns the "open" bone technique which exposes the sinuses.
I have considered getting my brow/orbitals done, but I think I would probably go w/ Zukowski in favor of the endoscopic / minimally invasive approach. It would have nothing to do w/ age for me.
QuoteI have considered getting my brow/orbitals done, but I think I would probably go w/ Zukowski in favor of the endoscopic / minimally invasive approach. It would have nothing to do w/ age for me.
I'm leaning toward Dr. Z because of his endoscopic approach, he has some very nice results.
I had my forehead done by Spiegel yesterday and I am already amazed by the results :) can't speak for O but I have seen several of his patients and they all look great!
Sometimes I think they look worked on in a way though. I feel spiegels patients don't as much but this is all rather debatable and controversial
Quote from: PrincessDi on November 13, 2013, 04:59:27 AM
I had my forehead done by Spiegel yesterday and I am already amazed by the results :) can't speak for O but I have seen several of his patients and they all look great!
Sometimes I think they look worked on in a way though. I feel spiegels patients don't as much but this is all rather debatable and controversial
I know this might be intrusive, and I apologize, but when the swelling goes down, would you be averse to posting a picture?
If not, no offense meant - I'm just curious as to difference/scarring
Kelsie
Sure no problem! Super swollen right now though so it'll be a while lol :)
Quote from: PrincessDi on November 14, 2013, 05:14:47 AM
Sure no problem! Super swollen right now though so it'll be a while lol :)
Congrats on getting thru the tough part, hope you have a speedy recovery. :)
Four years ago when I was researching FFS surgeons I ended up going with Dr Z in Chicago. Dr O. was far too expensive for me. Anyhow Dr Z's work is absolutely fantastic and it made such a difference to my self confidence. When I look in the mirror now I don't see masculine features any more, I just see 100% female. You really can't put a price on that.