This post is for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California.
I recently just discovered that my insurance plan with Kaiser Permanante covers Facial Feminization Surgery and was overjoyed. However I do have some minor concerns with this. I have been unable to find any before and after pics or any reviews of FFS done by Kaiser's doctors. I have seen FFS done by doctors who barely change the face at all and that is really not what I want. I am looking for results like those produced by Dr. Spiegel. FFS is very important to me as my face is my biggest source of dysphoriand in my opinion looks very masculine. I want to make sure that the surgeons with Kaiser actually do good work. I am having a baby at the end of next month and my employer (Amazon) will allow me to change my health plan when this happens, as it is considered a life altering event. I have emailed Dr. Keojampa (who trained under dr. Spiegel and who's results I have seen raved about) and was informed that they could get my procedure covered by insurance if I had blue cross or blue shield. I wonder if this is a better course of action because Keojampa is who I really want to go to (actually I originally wanted Spiegel but lack the resources to travel to Chicago, keojampa trained under him so I trust his work). Naturally I want to be sure that switching insurance will not cause any issues with my HRT as well and that I will be able to transfer my prescriptions easily. Please if anyone knows any information on this subject I would love some advice. I'm just very nervous about Kaiser's FFS surgeons as I know nothing about them and I dont want my face ruined or to be disappointed with a lack of change.
i think ur better of with amazon. they offer other trans services too. and i think keojampa has decent work. u might be able to get coverd by Harrison Lee too. good luck with everything!!
Last I knew Dr Spiegel was in Boston, not Chicago? Maybe we're talking about different surgeons.
There's one review of Keojampa on realself.
You may want to ask Michelle_P as she uses Kaiser in the SF Bay area. She just had her FFS done recently. Re: FFS with Drs. Kleinberger & Shih (formerly Dr. Roop Gill), Kaiser NorCal
Quote from: DawnOday on October 10, 2018, 02:01:51 PM
You may want to ask Michelle_P as she uses Kaiser in the SF Bay area. She just had her FFS done recently. Re: FFS with Drs. Kleinberger & Shih (formerly Dr. Roop Gill), Kaiser NorCal
@missmacyrose is looking at Kaiser Southern California. Dr Kleinberger did study and work under Dr Spiegel, and seems to produce similar results. He is associated with Kaiser NorCal, though.
Kaiser SoCal is just getting it's FFS program up and running, with several surgeons in the area.A few people in a private group I follow have had their facial feminization surgery done recently, with no complaints so far.
And you look very lovely. I'm getting so envious. So many getting surgeries and I can't get any other than heart surgeries :icon_help:. My friend Evie had her GSR yesterday with Dr. Bowers. She had her FFS in Marbella Spain a few months ago. So far great results.
I can't tell you whether Kaiser's surgeons do good work because I haven't had the surgery yet, but I can tell you what they will and won't do.
First, I am in Orange County. Kaiser is sending me to San Diego because they do not have a craniofacial surgeon in Orange County.
Kaiser's position is that FFS is a medical procedure for them, not a cosmetic one, so they will do everything they can to undo testosterone damage. What this means is they will take a CT scan of your skull, measure your skull with a micrometer, and do all the work to bring your skull within female norms. For me this means they will do brow ridges, take the back corners off the mandible, and some grinding on the chin. They will also do a hairline advancement because hairline is also testosterone damage. You also get an eyebrow lift as part of the deal if you need it (I definitely do).
They will also do an upper blepharoplasty if your upper eyelids sag down to your lashes (mine do).
They will not do a nose job or any soft tissue work.
So after I am done with Kaiser, I will be shopping for a Newport Beach nose job.
As far as the surgeons, Kaiser usually uses experienced craniofacial surgeons, but how much FFS they've actually done, you'd have to ask during the consult.
I hope this helps with your planning.