Hey everyone, I'm new here on the boards, although I've been a visitor to these forum for quite a while. I'm really thankful for all the wisdom from so many members, thanks to Calicarly for her many informative posts. So I'm getting my FFS with Dr. Rossi in less than a month! June 3rd to be exact. I'll post my own thread with pictures and all that. I'm from San Francisco but I've always wanted to go to Argentina. I get to go on a vacation and get life-changing surgery - how awesome is that?

   Anyhow, Firestarter, you are beautiful and I'm sorry about the issues with the first surgery. I almost went to Mexico for surgery - the same person you originally went to. To be fair, this is a very, very complicated surgery. Type III reconstruction, rhinoplasty, sliding genioplasty - these all carry risks, but with the potential for great rewards. I'm going to T-Change not only because Amanda has a huge heart, but because Dr. Rossi is a maxillofacial surgeon with experience in trauma; he understands these risks very well. I think the outcomes on their site speak for themselves.

   Dr.Dimaggio is another good surgeon in Argentina, but I had trouble communicating with his team. That and I could not afford his prices, which are not terribly expensive, it's just that I don't want take out loans or anything. He has more experience and has developed many of his own techniques. I'm personally excited for the future of T-Change,  Dimaggio's practice, and many other great options for us trans people who want safe and skilled surgeons without having to be rich.

    I'll be on here more hopefully.

- Ruby

Hello Ruby!

Will will you arrive? Did you find a place to stay? On which website? If you have some time before we could totally meet in Buenos Aires!!

I'll get my surgery with DiMaggio on June 1st. I selected him because of good results, good feedback from satisfied clients, etc. I'm very concerned my face wouldn't pass if the surgeon was too conservative. DiMaggio doesn't look too conservative to me.

About Rossi, there's not enough of a trackrecord for me to know how good he'll be. It sure looks good, and if I couldn't have paid for DiMaggio, I would have had to consider that option quite seriously! I guess it would have been a hard choice, partial FFS with DiMaggio, or full FFS with Rossi. I don't know what I've had done.

And yes, I took a loan, but I believe it's more like an investment in myself 

mmmmm, you sure it's DiMaggio himself who personally replies to emails? Wow, that's a great level of service!!!

Anyway, I'll be happy to recommend DiMaggio too, but only when I see the results with my eyes in a mirror. If I'm not too ugly and masculine, I might even share pics to encourage the other girls out here who think their face can't be fixed. At the moment, I just have a lot of hope. And fears.

Unless Dimaggio refers to himself in the third person, it wasn't him.  Besides, he's the main surgeon; I don't think answering every email would be a good use of his time. And if it was him, well then, I made the right decision choosing Dr. Rossi...

I'd rather not talk too much about specifics, why I chose this rather than that person. They're both probably fantastic. Dr. Rossi does amazing forehead and nose work work especially, I think he has plenty of experience judging by the results. I wouldn't have chose him otherwise.

Amanda was amazing and helped me find the right apartment that was close by. I'm a college English instructor and I have to say, her English is incredible. Honestly, when I wire transfer that much money to another country, and when I'm going in for surgery this complex, I need extra reassurance everything will turn out well. Amanda was my lady for that. Can't wait to meet her.

I'm getting everything done and my hope is that I am not only passing, but that I look pretty darn good. I don't look too bad right now, I don't think

I was going to post a pic of myself but I guess I need at least 15 postings. If I could look anywhere near as beautiful as FireStarter or calicarly, I'll be very happy indeed. Since I teach college students, it's important that I don't have problems "passing" or blending in. That and I'm a little vain

Cool thing is Dr. Rossi's wife is a dentist/oral surgeon so she's going to brighten and fix up my smile before my surgery. I think that's a highly underrated set of procedures people could get to look their best.

I read Ousterhout's entire book on ffs. You guys should take a look. You can preview it on Google ebooks. If I could have chosen anyone in the world, it probably would have been him, not only because I live like 15 minutes away from his office, but because he's an artist. Too bad he's mostly retired and was extremely expensive. I've met personally with a former patient of his and was in shock at the life-altering power of this surgery.

I'm trying not to have those kind of expectations with my own surgery. I'm afraid of complications for sure, which is why I read Ousterhout's book. Until I'm mostly healed, I'm going to be a bit afraid too. I trust Dr. Rossi but rhinoplasties are notoriously difficult, regardless of how skilled the surgeon is; These are Ousterhout's words, not mine. According to him, the unique combination of mucosal, highly innervated soft tissue, and cartilage make for often unpredictable healing. One of the biggest factor in how effective the surgery can be is actually the texture and thickness of your nose skin. For that reason, I'm crossing my fingers for my own surgery.

Anyhow, I've taken it upon myself to become an expert on how these procedures are done. If I could have chosen another profession, it might have been to do these kind of surgeries.

I won't mention anything about Dr. DiMaggio again and since this is FireStarter's thread, we really shouldn't. But I was worried about one aspect of his technique; He gets incredible results in reshaping foreheads but according to his website, "in most cases the sinus mucosa is removed, but at the same time without compromising the ducts and function." This is certainly how he gets such aggressive results but I'd rather an FFS surgeon not mess with my sinus tissue. Beauty is important, but not as much as my health. And he recommended I get a lip lift and fillers when I had a plastic surgeon here who studied under Dr. Ousterhout - Dr. Jeffrey E. Deweese - inspect my lips and warn against these procedures for me. Lip fillers are not permanent, and since my teeth are already exposed, that procedure would have necessitated that I get lip fillers the rest of my life. That was just a bad call. It was way too aggressive.

Ruby, just like you, I am so scared about the money transfer!! What if it gets in the wrong account or lost? What if it was just a scam, and they never existed?

And not just that: what if when I arrive in Buenos Aires, they've closed? Or what if the day of the surgery the surgeon has an accident?

That's me in freak out mode. I try to reason myself, but I can't when fear in is control. I guess it's because I know they won't be any do over.

I know I have a trust problem, but it's too late anyway, the money has been wired. And he'll be cutting me open. If I can trust him to do that, I have to try to trust him for the money too!

Anyway, just like you I learnt a lot about the surgery- and not just that, I talked with various people here. mmmmm has been so helpful!! She helped me pass my fear of scars, and provided a lot of good information.

Any girl who goes into this surgery must be very well informed. As you said, it has a life changing power.

Don't worry Charlotte, both of these surgeons are totally legit. I arrive May 29th. Gonna hang out in Retiro with my partner but if you aren't too far, let me know. I'd love to meet you for some camaraderie. Everything is going to turn out fine and Dr. DiMaggio will make you even more beautiful than you already are.

Mmmmm: If it was him, I'm really glad I didn't choose him cause I had trouble reading his email for all the typos. Also he said something rather insulting that I'd rather not say here. But I'm sure it wasn't him. If it was, he should just get a person to help him with his emails, cause for that price, I expect better. After I told whoever was emailing me that I was no longer interested, I kept getting emails every few months asking me if I was reconsidering Dr. Dimaggio haha and every email was full of mistakes. I couldn't have been him, I'm telling you, he's got to be so much better than that.

He's probably a good guy. And maybe I would have taken out a loan. But the whole email business turned me off. And Amanda answered every single question with professionalism and detail. So I went with T-Change. FireStarter's post here makes me feel good about my choice.

I'm not plugging Dr.Rossi haha. I'll post the results here just like FireStarter and I'll let them speak for themselves.

Quote from: firestarter on April 24, 2015, 08:48:15 AM
Its been exactly seven months now since my last FFS with the amazing Dr Rossi. With the swelling now all but gone, I thought it was time to put up two new photos [taken Tuesday 21st of April 2015]. I still need more work done to my nose, chin and jawline, and I am arranging with Amanda and Dr Rossi for that to hopefully happen soon. Anyway I hope you like the photos.

Firestarter, you look amazing in these pictures. Congratulations! I am so happy for you after so much struggle!

Ruby, sure I'd love to meet you there! I'll certainly be in Belgrano, I just don't know where yet. I'll arrive on the 27. I'm scared about plane delays so I've been generously adding 4 days too :-)

When you have 15 messages just contact me by PM. Also, I sent you one with my email - if you see it, just reply there!

About posting the results, it'll depend. If they speak for themselves, it could help other girls. I just don't know yet.

Sounds great Charlotte! I'm leaving early for the same reason. That and I want to see the city a bit first before I am forced to retreat to my apartment for an extended period after surgery I'll try to post here more so I get to those 15 posts soon haha. Amanda got the apartment for me BTW which was cool cause I always worry about the little details.

Quote from: firestarter on May 10, 2015, 10:20:55 AM

Thank you michelle82 and JJohnson for letting me know what you think. Im kinda regretting putting the photos up, as its been very disheartening to only have 2 comments. HeyHo

Don't be put off, I've only just seen this thread due to FFS only just becoming something I want. You look great and should be proud of having the courage to try again after an FFS that didn't work.

I have been considering a trip to the guy you mentioned in Mexico as is my partner. If it's not too painful to recall could you tell me more about what went wrong in a private message please. I'm not looking to dig dirt on anybody but if there are real problems I don't want to spend over $20,000 that has taken years to earn and then look worse than I do now. Living in Sydney the trip to Argentina is no more difficult than one to Mexico

Again you look great and I hope the further surgery goes as well.

Hugs

Sorcha 

Hey SorchaC,

I know you addressed Firestarter but I just wanted to add that I was going to go to get surgery with that doctor too. Sounds like he screwed up real bad for Firestarter and I would be incredibly upset too, but he seems to have decent results with rhinoplasties and chin work. However, as you will see and hear on these forums, that doctor is limited in working with  type III forehead reconstruction which is perhaps the most important procedure. If you have a pronounced brow or want more aggressive results on your forehead you should look elsewhere. The guy in Mexico also seems to loves adding bone cement to give the appearance of a flatter forehead, rather than moving the frontal sinus bone back as far as safely possible. Check the before and afters on his website. You'll see that upper foreheads go out farther than they were before the surgery which means he looks to be "masking" whatever protrusions are left of the browridge. This is probably because he's not a maxillofacial surgeon if you look closely at his credentials. I would personally would go to Dr. Rossi or DiMaggio. They're both much better options. Dr. Rossi's prices are almost exactly the same, although he actually might be a bit cheaper than the guy in Mexico. You'll hear great things about Dr.DiMaggio on this board, but he'll cost you a good deal more (although he has tons of experience). You can't go wrong with either one. BTW you look great in your profile pic

Hi RubyAliza 

Thanks for the compliment. It s the best ever photo of me 

I've had a face to face FFS consultation with Dr Chett after my SRS and sent photo's to Mexico and they both said the same things to me except Chett wants to do an upper lip lift and agreed if I sort out my neck my Trachea will be prominent although not hugely. You don't see where my nose is broken unless I remove my glasses also so I asked the guy in Mexico to quote me on that. If i didn't need forehead work which isn't type 3 but does involve orbital rim work I'd let Chett do it because the price isn't so much different to Mexico and I need an SRS revision anyway so could get that at same time. However when you include the forehead Chett is too expensive and not even loving Bangkok, Chetts staff or my respect for Chett is worth the difference 

I'll read up on Dr Rossi after this and see what I conclude as flight prices are broadly similar to Argentina as Mexico for me so that isn't a consideration.

Thanks for the help

Hugs

Sorcha 

That's funny, because Chett was the first person I emailed about FFS. Fantastic work. I was even thinking about going for my SRS there but Dr. Bowers is nearby and covered under my insurance. Chett quoted me over $20K just for type III forehead and nose work, more than many doctors here in the US. Great results, way too expensive.

Check back here soon to see my results with Dr. Rossi and Charlotte's from Dr.DiMaggio. I'll post details of my entire trip. I rather go to Buenos Aires, Argentina than Mexico personally. Tango and opera

Hope that helps. I'm excited for you!

Quote from: calicarly on May 10, 2015, 12:56:34 PM
Omg Firestarter!!

Is this who I think it is???

You Look AMAZING!! If you are who I think you are/were . You in the UK?

I remember seeing a pic or 2, the damage left behind by you last ffs and how there was virtually no feminization... I can hardly believe this is you...

If anyone would have seen the before pics of you that I remember then they would be amazed like me.  That's why you haven't had meany reactions cause they just don't know! No offense to the way you looked either. But your concerns were real.

Omg girl I am so so happy for you!

You made the right decision going with Dr Rossi.

Wow. Wow . Wow!!!!!

Thank you so much calicarly and Celia for your much valued comments. Yes Carly, it is me in the U.K, formerly the crying chick [cryptic clue], I know you'll work it out !!

Quote from: RubyAliza on May 10, 2015, 07:34:46 PM

Check back here soon to see my results with Dr. Rossi and Charlotte's from Dr.DiMaggio. I'll post details of my entire trip. I rather go to Buenos Aires, Argentina than Mexico personally. Tango and opera

Hope that helps. I'm excited for you!

Well I will sure follow that thread avidly once it is running  I visited Dr Rossi's site and sent in a request for an e mail consultation late yesterday afternoon Sydney time and overnight which would be about noon in Argentina Amanda sent me a lovely friendly e mail so I make that 1 brownie point earned already 

I'm excited for you because it is all booked and you will be so much happier once you are there and have had the treatment done. I've never given much thought to Argentina so now I have to investigate the country further. Travel is a passion of mine so that won't be a hard thing 

looking forward to your thread.

Hugs

Sorcha 

Never been in Argentina, it will be the first time. As a kid, I dreamed about visiting the Tierra Del Fuego. I won't get to do that, but I much prefer what I'm going to do.

Sorcha, if you want I'll take pictures and let you know how I feel about the country

Quote from: charlotte15 on May 11, 2015, 09:50:39 PM

Never been in Argentina, it will be the first time. As a kid, I dreamed about visiting the Tierra Del Fuego. I won't get to do that, but I much prefer what I'm going to do.

Sorcha, if you want I'll take pictures and let you know how I feel about the country

Aww thank you Charlotte I'd love to see some.  When I do FFS I will be alone because we cannot afford for us both to go and it's a quicker less painful surgery than SRS or so I'm told. It is expected I can much easier look after myself than I could post SRS but we will see in the months ahead once I settle on a surgeon

Hugs

Sorcha 

Firestarter you do look amazing! You really do make me feel glad I chose dr javiar rossi. I'm going to buenos aires on the 29th of august. I will document my procedure on here.. just hope I can save the total amount.. its going to be $20000 all up because of Australia's conversion rate an added procedure I've chosen is fat transfer to my hips... really want that hour glass figure.

Chloe

Quote from: bamar86 on May 20, 2015, 08:04:12 PM

Firestarter you do look amazing! You really do make me feel glad I chose dr javiar rossi. I'm going to buenos aires on the 29th of august. I will document my procedure on here.. just hope I can save the total amount.. its going to be $20000 all up because of Australia's conversion rate an added procedure I've chosen is fat transfer to my hips... really want that hour glass figure.

Chloe

Good luck Chloe I've had a really attractive quote from Dr Rossi for some work he thinks I need so provided everything works out I'll probably be heading over early next year

I'll certainly pay close attention to your thread

Hugs

Sorcha 

So many people on this board going to Buenos Aires for their ffs. SorchaC, you'll have plenty of posts to help you make your final decision. I'm still trying to get my 15 posts so I can actually start a thread with pictures because I leave next week. Excited!