OK I have been umming and ahhing as to whether i should make a thread about my surgery.
I am a very private person so making a story or post or log or whatever it is centred around me is very foreign. I am always happy to answer questions or provide input if i believe i am being constructive, but otherwise, just quietly try and move forward as life takes it.
So here i am, doing a post about me...bear with me as i am very very new to this and i am still very uncomfortable posting so openly, candidly and centrally around me as the focus.
The reason for posting in the end came from such marvelous help i read from everyone else's experience in taking this significant step in feeling comfortable in one's own skin.
Deeiche, KarmaGirl, Ruby Eliza, Carrie Liz, Jannike, kitten_lover and many others all spring to mind as people who just opened their lives up to helping me (and all of us) to understand a little bit about what to expect. And particularly for ⓥ for a post that resonated deeply about being able to help even one person on this world to make their lives easier going forward then the reward should outweigh the trepidation.

So let's get formalities out of the way:

I go by Dami, my pronouns are them, they and their in that i prefer neutral gendering. So the feminine and masculine words are both uncomfortable to varying degrees with where i sit on the gender spectrum (one gender significantly more than the other obviously).
Now how i present to the world however is based purely on not wanting any association to do with the masucline gender so my physical journey is with that in mind. How the world physically percieves me in a binary notion (until the day it doesn't...i might be waiting a while) is then obviously of the female gender. But me as a person.... very much non-binary.

So how did i end up here just over 2 weeks out from surgery with Dr Marcello DiMaggio (Dr MDM for short).
well i will skip all the gender related dysphoria bits, chilhood, heartache, loss, loneliness, despair, and longing and land at my story at the point that i wanted to do something about my face so that i could comfortably look in the mirror and not see those certain male traits that just stand out above all else (For me) on my body.
Onwards to the next part...

So my choices (again, for me) were:
Dr Suporn: meticulousness and eye for detail.
Adelaide Cranio Facial Unit: renowned cranio facial unit within Australia and possibly the world with very very very good doctors
Facial Team:Consistently visually good results that can be easily found on the web
Dr Rossi:Deeichie, Ruby Eliza and Jemma's results all generally happy (and Ruby's followup also showing Dr Rossi standing by their work)
Dr Di Maggio: known for very good work for forehead, KarmaGirl's and Jannicke's results and a big help from a fellow Australian who had just had surgery with them who took the time to let me know of their experience and how they felt Dr DiMaggio's work was. I don't know if they are on here or not but a big thankyou to you. (segway...seek other avenues other than this forum for feedback, find testimonials from support groups in your area and/or country if you can, ask the doctor you are seeing if they can provide a name or two as well maybe, also note though that the doctor will seek permission from the patient before providing contact details so it isn't like they break the confidentiality pact although all countries laws will be different around that anyway)

Due to a life changing event for the worse (I love you 'S' and always will, I hope one day you will let me in your life again), Dr Suporn and the Adelaide Cranio Facial unit got ruled out.
Suporn due to time frames (you book nearly a year out for them) and cost, The cranio facial unit, just bad timing (and because...Australia...every consult costs a reasonable amount even with medicare rebate and there were multiple consults with each surgeon that would have added up to more than a plane ticket overseas, so i just couldn't spend the money on the consults at that time to find out what the pathway would have been, it would have been really good for fellow australians however if it was a viable path travelled by at least someone...)

So that left Facial Team, Dr Rossi and Dr DiMaggio.
again due to events, my funds that i had been saving for well over a decade were no longer a given going forward so i had to be more careful about how much i budgeted rather than a cost no option strategy (excluding the US because USD to AUD really hurts).
Facial team were just a bit too much of a stretch with an unknown financial future to feel comfortable...

So Dr Rossi and Dr Di Maggio. in the end, i chose Dr Di Maggio, i believe that i would have been happy with either choice, but i swayed towards Dr DiMaggio due to the timing of when i wanted to book and the testimonials i was able to get.

To help frame my age as i tend to stuggle to find anyone my range that i relate to (here and almost in all aspects of my off line life), i just scraped into the Gen X category by a month and a half. so 1979 is the magical year for me. hopefully that helps someone out there looking to relate to someone around a similar age. I still like the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Darkwing Duck, The Ducktales Tailspin, Jem, the Snorks, the Smurfs, the original NES, SNES (best console ever) and pc games older than 2000. So now i can say i'm on the tail end of the 30 something crowd....not much to go now.

I booked with Dr Di Maggio in late June when i was feeling mentally well enough after the events of the previous year.
unfortunately july wasn't so kind however...and this is another reason why i write this as the loneliness and helplessness have really taken their toll on my wellbeing and mental health since. so a lot of this is again to not isolate myself and find some outlet to just let this verbage out, even if it is incomprehensible.


The things that Dr DiMaggio will be doing are:
Forehead reconstruction (and Orbital Rims)
Hairline adjustment
Rhinoplasty
Jaw and Chin contouring and possibly implant
and about a week later through a partner clinic, hair transplants to fix the receding corners of my hairline

Things that are also included but i have not decided on yet
Lip lift (i assume due to the rhinoplasty)...i want to discuss this in person with Dr Di Maggio
Things quoted but again i haven't decided
Cheek implants, again, i want to discuss in person
Things i have raised but Dr DiMaggio would assess when they see me
upper blephoroplasty



Dr DiMaggio or more specifically Ximena sends some pre surgical tests that you are required to undertake before heading to Argentina.
They ask that you find accomodation in or around Palermo, Belgrano, Almagro, Balvanera or Colegiales
and they ask for a deposit, for me it was 2600 AUD (just over 2000 USD)
and picture identification to book the hospital suite i think.

tests include:
Skull X-Ray front and profile
Chest X-Ray front and profile (for the Australians, this cost here is 280 pre medicare reimbusement)

Full Blood Test:
   Haemoglobin, Haematocrit, Red Blood Cell Count, White Blood Cell Count, differential count, platelet count
   blood group type, factor RH (ABO & RH)
   blood glucose; urea; creatinine
LFT, Liver Panel or Hepatic Function Test
   ALT,ALP,AST,Billirubin,Albumin, Total Protein, GGT
Coagulation Factors:
   Prothrombin Time Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT), Fibrinogen
Hepatitis B HBsAg (Surface antigen)
Hepatitis C Anti-HCV antibody igG (3rd Generation)
HIV (Human Immunodeviciency Virus) antibodies HIV 1/2
And an Echocardiogram

phew.

so I re-applied for my passport in mid July and it arrived at the end of july, WITH GENDER MARKER 'X'!!! (not much of a deal for everyone else i know but for me it is quite comforting i now have a cardinal document where it does not state a gender)
Flights to Buenos Aires were cheapest with LATAM airways around mid july (around 8 weeks before planned flight day of 31 August for those looking to book flights). Journey would be Adelaide->Sydney->New Zealand->Chile->Buenos Aires. Total flight time approx 25 hours, total cost $1690 AUD
In the end because i wasn't confident i would get my passport without complications, i waited until it was in my hand before booking flights.
SO final booking was United Arab Emirates (UAE) Adelaide->Dubai->Argentina (refuel at rio). total flight time approx 35 hours, total cost $2200 AUD.
By the time i was able to book, UAE and LATAM were the same price so it was more what i was comfortable with.
I haven't flown alone before so I took the flight that felt less risky changing airports and what not (sydney dual airport thing frightens me). I don't know what it is like to be on a plane for so long but then both flights in that regard would have been a significant learning experience how to occupy onesself for so long.
I booked a place i think in Recoletta through AirBnB (a first in a long line of firsts here)
I planned to stay in Buenos Aires from 30th August to 26th September. Note Dr DiMaggio mentions that 2 weeks post surgery is enough if one does want to go home, i chose to stay a week longer just to feel ok that i am near the doctor for another week if complications were to develop.
I have taken leave from work as of this week, so 2 weeks away from work to get myself right mentally and emotionally before flying out on the 29th (arrive 30th August).
Surgery on the 5th September
Fly Back on the 26th September (get home on the 28th September)


I had my blood tests today, EKG and X-Rays, I fasted before the blood work (10 Hours), I don't know if it is necessary, but i just do it in case. They took 7 vials!!!! EKG Looks normal, X-Rays are going to my Endo for me to pick up when i see them on monday to pick up the blood test results. NOTE these results need to go to Dr DiMaggio, so one needs to get those results to hand on, i am planning on taking photos of them or even possibly having the slips they come on.

I'm now Starting to think about what i need to take.
Because i haven't done anything like this before, i don't really know where to start.
I hear the power pooints in Argentina are the same as Australia including voltage (well close enough at 220V/50Hz) so that's a positive.
I have an old laptop that i will take with a whole bunch of old games on it (Doom, Hexen, Quest For Glory, Realms of the Haunting, X-Com TFTD, warcraft 3, tomb raider 2, Broken Sword and Another World) as well as my WiiU with a whole bunch of virtual console games on it which i might use for the flight over and back. I am hoping i can get out to explore Argentina however as i won't get a chance like this again.
I have about 5 days to prepare before the surgery in Argentina so in that time i need to find a laundromat, a farmers market so i have plenty of food for the week after surgery when i assume i will be mostly house bound, and any visiting and additional tests and consultations with doctors.
Any other suggestions on what i need for that week following surgery would be grand, as mentioend, i have never done something like this before so i have no idea really how to prepare.

I am not getting afraid of the surgery as time gets closer to fly out date, but i am significantly concerned and frightened sh*tless about loneliness and potential depression. I am really hoping this 2 weeks will help to forget about my situation at work, deal with my feelings somewhat towards the love of my life not being here(this one is constantly on my mind ), forgetting the frustrations and stuggles of recognition of non binary gendered records and salutations, finding a way to cope with being alone, and generally just trying to get in a positive mindset. I am aware of surgery causing deeper depression, from the anesthesia and of potentially looking in the mirror to see a sight not akin to a positive image, of being alone and helpless in a foreign country and not knowing much of the native language either to ask for help (assuming they don't turn away from me due to recent surgery scarring and swelling).
I am trying to learn some basic spanish in the hopes i can at least ask for basic directions and use pleasantries in the native language, and let someone know how i am feeling if i am in pain at any point.
I am frightened but i don't really know where to have an outlet to talk with someone, again i can't seem to relate to anyone around me.

thanks for opening up, it's a good prelude for moving on with this part of your life.

I've continued to stay engaged here, even though it's been almost a year.

I was in BA by myself, some people say they could never do it alone, others do fine.  The first couple days post surgery you need videos/movies/audio streams to zone out on.  My eyes were pretty swollen for the 1st 3-4 days, was pretty hard to do anything on my laptop.  I'm an electronic junkie, took 2 laptops, my smartphone and a chromecast.  One laptop I used for regular email and web surfn', the other one I used for streaming music from radio stations from home, also it worked better for SkypeOut to my 80something parents.  The smart phone for Skype to my partner, alarm clock app for meds, Netflix streams when I was trying to go to sleep.  Then when I was up and about, I used smart phone with chromecast to watch Netflix and a couple cable channels which stream o the apartment TV.

Staying awhile after surgery sounds like a good idea, I stayed because I had hair transplants 2.5 weeks after surgery.  Unfortunately the complication I had, infection under chin, did not really manifest itself until I was off antibiotics for a week or two.  BTW, I completely recovered from that infection within 2 weeks of returning home.

Hi Dami, beautiful name btw.

Best of luck with your upcoming surgery. After reading all your posts, I think you should be fairly confident that everything will turn out very well. You mentioned loneliness, depression, not being able to relate well with others -  if you do feel these, remember they don't define you. I felt that too and still do sometimes but I know those thoughts/feelings pass. Rather your courageous choice to be who you are will define you. To be open about it here is even more admirable, and I join deeiche in thanking you for doing so. These forums can be a wonderful opportunity to chat and even meet others. Feel free to message me for any reason You seem pretty cool! Your list of old games was awesome (Tomb Raider 2? haha I remember playing that on the first Playstation right when it came out. And I got my Wii U, still waiting for the new Zelda!).

- Ruby

Thankyou Ruby And Deeiche, your comments mean a lot more than you may realise, it is very heartening.
Just a quick update today as i count down to a week to flying out and 2 weeks to surgery (ignoring time-zones and whatnot).
Got all of my blood results and x-ray's back from my doctor today and have sent them off to Dr MDM just to make sure i don't need any last minute tests. I suspect i might have to do the xrays again as they kind of missed my jaw but then it might just be the brow bone that Dr MDM is really looking for.
Hopefully these images will work...(in other news, i need to find another image uploading service, photobucket is a bit blegh)
I have halved my androcur dosage which i let my Endocrinologist know about as a precaution for this 4 week period, again to stave off any potential depressive side effects which androcur is known to effect (without all the other complications on top of it).
Haven't started packing yet...that one will require a bit.


gosh x-rays really lay everything out bare about your structure.
Good to see i still have a shiny spot on my forehead even on xrays...

Quote from: confused_very on August 22, 2016, 04:19:00 AM
Thankyou Ruby And Deeiche, your comments mean a lot more than you may realise, it is very heartening.
Just a quick update today as i count down to a week to flying out and 2 weeks to surgery (ignoring time-zones and whatnot).
Got all of my blood results and x-ray's back from my doctor today and have sent them off to Dr MDM just to make sure i don't need any last minute tests. I suspect i might have to do the xrays again as they kind of missed my jaw but then it might just be the brow bone that Dr MDM is really looking for.
Hopefully these images will work...(in other news, i need to find another image uploading service, photobucket is a bit blegh)
I have halved my androcur dosage which i let my Endocrinologist know about as a precaution for this 4 week period, again to stave off any potential depressive side effects which androcur is known to effect (without all the other complications on top of it).
Haven't started packing yet...that one will require a bit.


gosh x-rays really lay everything out bare about your structure.
Good to see i still have a shiny spot on my forehead even on xrays...

Thanks for sharing your impressions. You'll do just fine in Buenos Aires. The city is very European and has a welcoming athmosphere. Being situated in Belgrano will make things a lot easier for you and MDM & team.
It is also a quiet part of the town.  Make sure you get some help the first days after surgery in your appartment. I arranged to have a nurse through Dr Di Maggio to look after me for three days-Pamela would come 3-4 times a day. That was a very wice decision-it would have been difficult without her.
Dr Di Maggio and his team are very skilled and they do care. I do hope you get great results from your surgery. Having FFS can be a real game-changer..as it was for me.
Say hello to Dr Di Maggio and his team from me.

I wish you all the luck in the world.

Hugs Jannicke

Thankyou Jannicke, is it safe to assume that you are still satisfied with your results now that everything has had time to heal for yourself?
Just paid the final balance today, that is a very weird feeling sending what equates to a house deposit to another country without really knowing if you haven't sent your money to some scheme that takes it all from you like those email scams. I hope not, that is my only chance at this and represents my life savings. It is especially more concerning that it is a different bank account than the first. But i am sure it is ok, just paranoia sneaking in.
Next step is to work out if cheek implants and upper blepheroplasty are recommended.

I'm very excited for you.  You'll find that Dr. DiMaggio and his amazing team rock!  Don't be afraid to voice your concerns. He can seem a little intimidating, but he's a sweetie. Just my two cents.

Have fun if you have a chance too.

Hugs!

Quote from: confused_very on August 23, 2016, 09:11:01 PM
Thankyou Jannicke, is it safe to assume that you are still satisfied with your results now that everything has had time to heal for yourself?
Just paid the final balance today, that is a very weird feeling sending what equates to a house deposit to another country without really knowing if you haven't sent your money to some scheme that takes it all from you like those email scams. I hope not, that is my only chance at this and represents my life savings. It is especially more concerning that it is a different bank account than the first. But i am sure it is ok, just paranoia sneaking in.
Next step is to work out if cheek implants and upper blepheroplasty are recommended.

Positive, I would do it again if I had to. It has CHANGED my life. I was looking for an aggressive but natural result with must of the work being done on the upper part of my face. Dr Di Maggio and his team seemed the best choise out there for me(Do believe me... I did a most thourough ressearch over several years)..and I was right. Today I feel nothing but relieved and I really love my face in a way I haven't done before.
Important to prepare extensively before by living a healthy life and continue with that afterwards.
The only ting I was afraid of right afterwards was loosing my sensation on top of my head, but even that is returning beautifully.

All the best,

Jannicke

I'm starting to panic a little bit. The money went through ok last night and Ximena and Dr MDM are reassuring me everything will be ok. My AirBnB Host has even been wonderful to just help me with little things, but i just cant shake the feeling of not having the person i love with me or anyone in my life for that matter that seems to care about this. The nights are becoming more sleepless as i question everything that has culminated to this point. Of how much the cost has been, emotionally, with the loss of friends and my loved one, the ability to find a job where the employer doesn't look for ways to terminate me at what seems like every opportunity and of the rollercoaster of a society that just doesn't let me be me and insists on calling me and gendering me how they want to instead of how i state it.
This surgery won't change any of that either, friends won't return, work will still treat me with contempt, the one i love is long gone. I am doing this for me, something i have always wanted to do to feel right and better about myself when i look in the mirror and be more confident when facing the world, yet there is no support from anyone close around me to just help give that positive encouragement or even a hug to just provide some sort of comfort. I know this is the right thing to do for me but not having anyone to share what should be a blossoming journey with is getting really hard. 3 days until i fly out. I really need to get my head in a good place.
Thankyou KarmaGirl and Jannicke (and Allie) for the comments, they will help when i see Dr MDM in person, i just need to get to that point in one piece.
Dami

I'm so happy for you! I want to have my FFS with MDM, but my schedule seems to be conflicting and since I'm not "out" as a transwoman nobody really knows my desire to be a woman. I'm considered an effeminate gay male so this is so frustrating for me. I wish it was easier. I'm not even sure how people at work will respond when i return  after the surgery. I guess I can just say I got a nose job as nobody else would bother to think I had my forehead set back. lol

Anyhow, you will be in great hands!

Quote from: confused_very on August 25, 2016, 06:48:28 PM
I'm starting to panic a little bit. The money went through ok last night and Ximena and Dr MDM are reassuring me everything will be ok. My AirBnB Host has even been wonderful to just help me with little things, but i just cant shake the feeling of not having the person i love with me or anyone in my life for that matter that seems to care about this. The nights are becoming more sleepless as i question everything that has culminated to this point. Of how much the cost has been, emotionally, with the loss of friends and my loved one, the ability to find a job where the employer doesn't look for ways to terminate me at what seems like every opportunity and of the rollercoaster of a society that just doesn't let me be me and insists on calling me and gendering me how they want to instead of how i state it.
This surgery won't change any of that either, friends won't return, work will still treat me with contempt, the one i love is long gone. I am doing this for me, something i have always wanted to do to feel right and better about myself when i look in the mirror and be more confident when facing the world, yet there is no support from anyone close around me to just help give that positive encouragement or even a hug to just provide some sort of comfort. I know this is the right thing to do for me but not having anyone to share what should be a blossoming journey with is getting really hard. 3 days until i fly out. I really need to get my head in a good place.
Thankyou KarmaGirl and Jannicke (and Allie) for the comments, they will help when i see Dr MDM in person, i just need to get to that point in one piece.
Dami

Dear Dami,

You'll do just fine 

I wish you a pleasant journey, a nice stay and an excellent result from your surgery.


All the best,

Jannicke

We all get those pre op jitters.  You will be fine! Hugs!

flight is in 4 hours, my parents are taking me out for my 'last dinner' in an hour, then off tothe airport.
The WiiU didn't fit into the baggage
and apparently i need to bring ice packs for after surgery so i have packed some of them also.
Hand luggage is just over 7 KG, stupid 3.2 KG laptop, i really need to find a newer old laptop that weighs much less.
Had a wonderful conversation with my former partner's sibling today, they helped to just talk though some of the loss related issues and encouraged me as much as possible to make this journey about re-finding myself which i hopefully will.
Well hopefully everything is ready, i haven't forgotten anything (reciprocity fee is paid) and this next bit goes smoothly until i land in argentina 36 hours later.
SMILE DAGNABBIT

Quote from: confused_very on August 29, 2016, 03:10:18 AM
flight is in 4 hours, my parents are taking me out for my 'last dinner' in an hour, then off tothe airport.
The WiiU didn't fit into the baggage
and apparently i need to bring ice packs for after surgery so i have packed some of them also.
Hand luggage is just over 7 KG, stupid 3.2 KG laptop, i really need to find a newer old laptop that weighs much less.
Had a wonderful conversation with my former partner's sibling today, they helped to just talk though some of the loss related issues and encouraged me as much as possible to make this journey about re-finding myself which i hopefully will.
Well hopefully everything is ready, i haven't forgotten anything (reciprocity fee is paid) and this next bit goes smoothly until i land in argentina 36 hours later.
SMILE DAGNABBIT

Yay! So happy and excited for you!!! Keep us posted!

well I made it.
Mental note for next time, get one of those pillows that go around your neck, not being able to lie down for that length of time is just a yuck feeling. Also bring lip gloss/moisturiser, the plane really dries them out (I bought hand/face moisturiser though). Strangely I only watched one movie in that whole entire time (the jungle book), the majority of the time was just spent trying and trying to just doze off in some contorted position.
Was picked up By Ximena last night without any hitches (the plane arrived early but that was about it), when you come off of the international flight if you are coming in via Pistarini EZE airport, just after you collect your bags and walk to the exit, there is a McDonalds and Mc Cafe just to your right, this is where I met them ( I took a picture of me before I left and sent it to them so they knew what I was wearing and who to look for which made it easier for them and less panicky for me)
Communication up to now has been through WhatsApp so given I don't have mobile coverage, I am very much reliant on the wifi network of the airports and the apartment (dubai and adelaide were free, i used some open network at Pistarini but I don't know if it was the official one).
They dropped me to where I am staying in the AirBnB apartment which I again met with my host Gabriela who was super nice and rushing around to do things to the apartment to get it right for me.
Sleeping was a bit hard for a few reasons despite arriving in the evening,
1 the timezone difference between  Adelaide and Buenos Aires is 12.5 hours so despite being run down and exhausted from the flight, I don't think my body was ready for sleep when it thought it was time to get up
2 I have never slept in an inner city apartment and am very much not used to traffic noise...this might take a little bit of getting used to, the noise is non stop throughout the night but I assume this is normal for living in places like this.
3 lots of thinking and talking things through with myself (one of the signs of insanity apparently)

I have an appointment with Dr MDM this afternoon, I really have to think of some questions to ask as I hadn't really thought about it, Ximena gave me the authorisation forms and they have enough scary words to make you reconsider everything about what you have looked to for so long, something to be aware of after you have paid for everything.
Also on the agenda for today: going out to look for food, water, laundromat and other points of significance to prepare myself for the next few days/weeks.
Apart from point 3 above, the mental health is about the same as monday before I got on the plane, there is the realisation that I am doing this, but numbness to the consequences. Certain thoughts of the past year keep rushing back and that sense of longing isn't far away but it is mostly forward thinking step by step over how to deal with the next few days before surgery, this is where my mind seems to have focused.

Ximena took me out to do some basic grocery shopping yesterday.
They use the standard $ sign for pesos so the numbers look familiar. the conversion to AUD is easy to as it is kind of 10:1. So if olive oil was $560 pesos, then I could interpret that as $5.60 AUD.
also walked around the streets of Recoletta. WOW What an eye opener is on how large this place is compared to Liddle ole Adelaide. I didn't do too much as I had to be back for a meeting with Dr MDM later that day, but from where I am, I could literally walk in any direction and there will be something to see, I have to be careful with m money as I have only budgeted a certain amount for the trip but hopefully it will all last and I can be a bit spendthrift in the last week.
The language barrier is somewhat daunting but everyone smiles, hopefully they will have patience for me when I work out what they are saying and what I am trying to say in return.
The meeting with Dr MDM was in my apartment, it kind of had 2 parts to it, the part where we both got to learn a little more about each other, and the part where they poked and prodded at my face to determine what needed to be done.
They looked at the x-rays that I bought with me and like every person in their speciality, was quite intently drawn to them (I bought a set of CT scans of my face along as well where they were able to really look at the front sinus cavity and showed me what the mental nerve was around my jaw.). They come across as someone who knows what they are talking about, actually doesn't offer the world and doesn't upsell you with the extra fries. they are confident in what they do and they know what they can achieve. As for my concerns for the cheek implants and lip filler, well they recommended it as not necessary so that kind of alleviated my concern for those two parts of the surgery in the end anyway . As for the Blepheroplasty, well we will reassess that when I go in for the hair transplant 10 days later but in the initial surgery, it will not be done. The Thyroid Cartlidge might not be super smooth as mine is very prominent and apparently I don't have much neck fat to hide it in, but they were up front about it, 'you won't get an excellent result but it will be a very good improvement'. Overall they said that I already blend in very well around the streets of Buenos Aires so the surgery will refine what I have and smooth out what I don't like. They did speak about surgeries where they have had trouble but the patients either had unrevealed prior facial trauma issues or issues developed potentially independent of the surgery many years later. But it was reiterated that this wasn't just a do the job, wipe your hands of anything kind of approach, they stress to keep in contact to let them know how everything is progressing not just immediately after surgery but weeks, months, years to come, and to just talk if there are any concerns and they will fix issues I am concerned with and also communicate with local surgeons unfamiliar with these types of procedures if there is a need. So overall feeling in safe hands going into monday.
So for the next few days, I am now off to see what this wondrous city has to offer, try some local cuisine, see some shopping complexes, try and find some parks and gardens, look at some of the architecture, generally try and take the doctors orders of relaxing as much as possible and being as healthy as possible leading up to the day.
One small side note that I want to document in here for prosperity was that my apartment host came around to drop off some furniture while I was having my consult with the doctor (I am not fussed if people know of my gender diversity, being open about it helps to normalise and educate anyone that wants to learn) and as they left they did say that I didn't need any surgery and I already looked beautiful. This was probably the first time I had really heard  those words and let it sink in, especially from someone that barely knew me, it is so nice to have such a compliment from someone. they really have been so nice to me through this whole 'adventure'.