Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for the heads up on what the grafting procedure can look like.  Helps to know what I might be getting into.

As to what you're seeing in the mirror... you ain't seen nothin' yet.  Your nose is going to settle down.  There's bony swelling that takes months to dissipate.  The bruising and puffiness will linger for several more weeks.  And obviously there's going to be a wait on your hairline -- iirc, it takes a couple months for such grafts to fall out, followed by a year of growth.  You're still in transition.

We see before and after shots, it looks instantaneous, but it really isn't.  It takes a while.  I actually had to have revisions on my jawline six months after the fact, as everything hadn't quite settled evenly. 

And memories fade. 

Think of this as a mountain you've climbed.  You're on the downslope now, it really does get easier, though you still need to be careful not to trip and fall.  Because there's still this giant mountain to descend before you finally get to the other side of it.  So go easy on yourself.  Ya hear?

Don't worry, once the face isn't so swollen you will see a lot more!  Just take care of yourself. It'll be a little rough for a while and then it will all settle.  I am just barely starting to the results without the swelling. Sometimes it takes up to 6 or 8 months to see the final results.
There a part of me that misses my swollen face.  Because you can't see any wrinkles that way! LOL

I'm so happy to see you doing well. 
Many HUGS!
KG

Looks like my appointment might be coming up pretty fast.
I hope it's ok for me to ask you some questions about the stay in buenos aires.

Are you able to withdraw money while you are there or did you have to plan ahead and bring everything in cash?
Looks like apartments have to be paid cash if you take the option to book them trough amanda. Do you pay in peso or USD? Can you exchange other currencies for USD anywhere there?

Did you get any kind of travel insurace for your trip?
I looked into it but elective surgery seems to be a reason for cancellation pretty much everywhere and i can't find a plan that would cover me even for things not related to surgery like theft.

I never really travel abroad so i am a complete idiot regarding this stuff.
I see a visa is not needed for a stay of under 3 months.
Did they ask you for the purpose of your stay at the EZE airport?

Lastly what's the weather like there this time of year?

Quote from: Blueberry on November 01, 2016, 02:02:24 PM
Looks like my appointment might be coming up pretty fast.
I hope it's ok for me to ask you some questions about the stay in buenos aires.

Are you able to withdraw money while you are there or did you have to plan ahead and bring everything in cash?
Looks like apartments have to be paid cash if you take the option to book them trough amanda. Do you pay in peso or USD? Can you exchange other currencies for USD anywhere there?

Did you get any kind of travel insurace for your trip?
I looked into it but elective surgery seems to be a reason for cancellation pretty much everywhere and i can't find a plan that would cover me even for things not related to surgery like theft.

I never really travel abroad so i am a complete idiot regarding this stuff.
I see a visa is not needed for a stay of under 3 months.
Did they ask you for the purpose of your stay at the EZE airport?

Lastly what's the weather like there this time of year?

I brought everything that I needed in US dollars which is probably the best way to go if you can. I had a lock box in my room in which I kept all of my reserves to the only time that I was carrying a lot of cash was on the trip down. Of course, I wired the main fee beforehand. I did see a lot of cash machines on Florida street and they probably would have worked just fine, but I don't know what limits there would have been, and those probably would have been for withdrawals in Argentine pesos. Everything expensive here is paid for in USD. And yes, that is true for the people who live here. Agentina currency is very weak and falling. Therefore people keep their savings in USD and buy big items (cars and real estate) in USD.

When you buy groceries or food at a restaurant you pay in Argentine pesos which you end up exchanging on the street. Amanda will show you how to do this without having a problem or getting counterfeit. I ended up spending less about $200 over the course of 3 weeks in cash exchanges.

I purchased travel insurance along with my airfare through Delta, I think it was. I have purchased it independently in the past. I don't always get travel insurance, it's sort of a personal choice. The main thing it covers you for is if you have to cancel the trip because of something out of your control.

I did not find BA to be particularly unsafe as a really huge city, but of course you will want to be as cautious as you would be in New York or Los Angeles which is pretty darn cautious. Amanda warned to keep the zipper closed on my purse while walking the streets which I faithfully did and didn't mind the reminder. Every big city has pickpockets.

Yes, you pay in cash for your apartment but my apartment and landlady were great.

No one official ever asked me the reason for my stay. There was no need for a visa. Immigration was a breeze. I am in the airport waiting to leave now and they didn't ask me on the way out either. They only asked me how I enjoyed my stay and how I liked Buenos Aires, etc. Guess they just assumed that I was a tourist. I was prepared to tell them that I had a facelift in case they asked. 

It's been a colder spring than usual. It's been in the high 60s and low 70s. It should start warming up because summer is getting close. I brought a sweater and I wore it most days. By the time you come, perhaps it will be a bit warmer. Amanda says by now mostly people are in t-shirts. I did see people wearing warmer weather clothing but because of the surgery, I felt that I needed an extra layer even if there was a breeze.

I hope all of this helps! Buenos Aires is really quite an amazing city and I wish that I could have enjoyed it more instead of being inside so much. I really do hope to visit it again someday.

Good luck on your trip and surgery if you end up going! Please tell Amanda "Hola" for me.

Quote from: KarmaGirl on October 31, 2016, 03:44:41 PM
Don't worry, once the face isn't so swollen you will see a lot more!  Just take care of yourself. It'll be a little rough for a while and then it will all settle.  I am just barely starting to the results without the swelling. Sometimes it takes up to 6 or 8 months to see the final results.
There a part of me that misses my swollen face.  Because you can't see any wrinkles that way! LOL

I'm so happy to see you doing well. 
Many HUGS!
KG

Oh yes! My old friends, the wrinkles! A few of them have started to reappear and so I know that others are sure to come back. Well, it's not so bad, if I were to look too young how could I get anyone to respect me? 

I will be happy to see the swelling go down though because it is uneven on the right and left side of my face. I probably notice it more than other people, but then I spend all this time staring in the mirror....

I'm glad that you're still seeing improvement, Karmagirl. It must be nice seeing more and more of your new face emerge each month, kind like Christmas or your birthday every month?

Looks like my flight is about to board to the USA.

Adios Buenos Aires!

I hope you made it home alright and you are recovering from the flght.

Quote from: Rhonda Lynn on November 01, 2016, 05:01:46 PM
Good luck on your trip and surgery if you end up going! Please tell Amanda "Hola" for me.

Thanks i will make sure to. Looks like my surgery date will be the last of this month.

Here are the 20 day before / after photos. There is a little make-up in the afters which is cheating, but I was headed to the airport so it couldn't be helped.

http://imgur.com/Wif4nKn

http://imgur.com/xC2cMvy

http://imgur.com/TF8S03T

Thats iimpressive you look so much much younger I always thought you looked 100% female before but that surgery has feminised you even more !  and it wjll only get better as for for any  wrinkles botox does wonders
Its a great result makes me consider  your surgeon for .myself 

November 22, 2016 - 6 weeks post-FFS

http://imgur.com/RCtJTdE

It's been a little while since I've posted any sort of update. Tomorrow will be six weeks since my surgery.

There is still swelling and I have some areas that need healing, but the bruising is pretty well gone. Yea!!

One thing that I will say, and this may not be the last time I say it - a lot of the changes that Dr Rossi made to my face were not that large in size, but the difference that they made are profound. When I look at myself now, I only see female anymore. It gives me a wonderful feeling that I can only describe as serenity.

A week ago I had lunch with a cis girlfriend. She is the only person, outside of family, that I told about FFS. She was extremely complimentary about my results, which was so nice to hear. She specifically talked about my chin and forehead - actually she went on about it for a while. Normally I would have been self-conscious, but after so many weeks of bandages and bruising, it was nice to have some positive attention.

She also said that I still looked "like me" and that since I've lost so much weight (over the last year I've lost about 20 lbs) a lot of people might chalk up my appearance change to the weight loss. It will be interesting. I'm thinking of starting to play tennis again around the holidays so I'll see some friends that I haven't seen in a long time.

Over the holidays I'll see some family so it will be interesting and good to see how people respond to the whole new me. I'm looking forward to it really.

So happy for you! Just be patient.  You will continue to see changes for 6 to 8 months.  I'm still seeing changes and I had my surgery in May.  Keep massaging your trachea so you don't get any scar tissue forming. Massage your face when you can too. You may go through a period where you might see bumps on your forehead but that will change as time goes by.
Some FFS patients have problems seeing the changes, so taking pics as time goes by might be good for you.
Your face after a few months might go through an adjustment.  My skin got kinda weird for a few weeks and then it eventually got better and healthy looking.  Remember everything is reconnecting itself as you are connecting to your new identity!
I'm very happy for you.

Cheers!

Quote from: KarmaGirl on November 22, 2016, 06:48:40 PM
So happy for you! Just be patient.  You will continue to see changes for 6 to 8 months.  I'm still seeing changes and I had my surgery in May.  Keep massaging your trachea so you don't get any scar tissue forming. Massage your face when you can too. You may go through a period where you might see bumps on your forehead but that will change as time goes by.
Some FFS patients have problems seeing the changes, so taking pics as time goes by might be good for you.
Your face after a few months might go through an adjustment.  My skin got kinda weird for a few weeks and then it eventually got better and healthy looking.  Remember everything is reconnecting itself as you are connecting to your new identity!
I'm very happy for you.

Cheers!

Thanks KarmaGirl. It is hard to be patient, but I'm trying.

I definitely need to massage more regularly. With all this rain, there is plenty of time for it and it's actually pretty relaxing. Massaging isn't something that Dr Rossi brings up but I've heard about it elsewhere and it certainly makes sense for increasing blood flow for healing. I've done it a little and will be doing it more regularly.

Quote from: Rhonda Lynn on November 22, 2016, 09:02:39 PM
Thanks KarmaGirl. It is hard to be patient, but I'm trying.

I definitely need to massage more regularly. With all this rain, there is plenty of time for it and it's actually pretty relaxing. Massaging isn't something that Dr Rossi brings up but I've heard about it elsewhere and it certainly makes sense for increasing blood flow for healing. I've done it a little and will be doing it more regularly.

I hear that. I'm just past 3 weeks now and so impatient lol. Yeah Dr D didn't say a word about massaging so I've had to ask a lot of questions about it and stuff

Quote from: Rhonda Lynn on November 22, 2016, 05:59:11 PM
November 22, 2016 - 6 weeks post-FFS

http://imgur.com/RCtJTdE

It's been a little while since I've posted any sort of update. Tomorrow will be six weeks since my surgery.

There is still swelling and I have some areas that need healing, but the bruising is pretty well gone. Yea!!

One thing that I will say, and this may not be the last time I say it - a lot of the changes that Dr Rossi made to my face were not that large in size, but the difference that they made are profound. When I look at myself now, I only see female anymore. It gives me a wonderful feeling that I can only describe as serenity.

A week ago I had lunch with a cis girlfriend. She is the only person, outside of family, that I told about FFS. She was extremely complimentary about my results, which was so nice to hear. She specifically talked about my chin and forehead - actually she went on about it for a while. Normally I would have been self-conscious, but after so many weeks of bandages and bruising, it was nice to have some positive attention.

She also said that I still looked "like me" and that since I've lost so much weight (over the last year I've lost about 20 lbs) a lot of people might chalk up my appearance change to the weight loss. It will be interesting. I'm thinking of starting to play tennis again around the holidays so I'll see some friends that I haven't seen in a long time.

Over the holidays I'll see some family so it will be interesting and good to see how people respond to the whole new me. I'm looking forward to it really.

Wow you look great and very happy ☺

Quote from: markie on November 29, 2016, 07:18:25 AM
Wow you look great and very happy ☺

Thank you, Markie. 

Quote from: Debra on November 25, 2016, 01:57:59 PM
I hear that. I'm just past 3 weeks now and so impatient lol. Yeah Dr D didn't say a word about massaging so I've had to ask a lot of questions about it and stuff

OOOhhhh lordy! Don't talk to me about patience..LOL I have little to NO patience...it's been so hard to sit and wait for the results as the months pass by.  It's kinda like that commercial when they are saying "How 'bout now...now? ...now?"

But yeah, it's rough.  Just take pics as the months go by and you'll see those little changes in your face.

HUGS,
KG

Quote from: KarmaGirl on December 02, 2016, 07:02:18 PM
OOOhhhh lordy! Don't talk to me about patience..LOL I have little to NO patience...it's been so hard to sit and wait for the results as the months pass by.  It's kinda like that commercial when they are saying "How 'bout now...now? ...now?"

But yeah, it's rough.  Just take pics as the months go by and you'll see those little changes in your face.

HUGS,
KG

ugh right?!?! it's SO HARD! Yeah I am trying to take pics everyday ...it helps

Quote from: KarmaGirl on December 02, 2016, 07:02:18 PM
OOOhhhh lordy! Don't talk to me about patience..LOL I have little to NO patience...it's been so hard to sit and wait for the results as the months pass by.  It's kinda like that commercial when they are saying "How 'bout now...now? ...now?"

But yeah, it's rough.  Just take pics as the months go by and you'll see those little changes in your face.

HUGS,
KG

The time seems to just drag out doesn't it?  Surgery seems like it happened a long time ago, but it hasn't even been 7 weeks yet.

It has been a long time since I posted. However, I realized that I reached my six-month FFS anniversary and thought that I should post a pic and give an update.

I created a before/after composite. I'm actually a bit amazed looking at this, because in my mind's eye, I only see the changes in my appearance as small. Probably because it takes such a long time to happen, I had forgotten what the image in the mirror really used to look like.




http://imgur.com/CpbYXth

Overall, I'm really pleased with how my face has turned out as I continue to heal. I like very much what Dr Rossi did for my chin and forehead especially. I have no regrets about getting FFS and going to Dr Rossi. I can't even begin to describe how much more relaxed and confident I feel about my appearance now. I really feel like people can see my real face now and the old face was just not quite right.

At this point, there is still some numbness below my mouth and chin but that seems to get better as time goes by. I've heard that it can take up to a year or so for all the numbness to go away, so I think that it's doing fine. It's only a little bit noticeable to me now. My scalp itches above the hairline. I don't know whether this is healing from the incisions, from the hair transplants or a combination of both.

As of January, I've gotten back to playing tennis which has allowed me to see a lot of friends that I had not seen in a while. Surprisingly, the girls at the tennis club haven't said anything about the difference in my appearance with the exception of one friend who knows my past and knew about my surgery plans. One friend noticed my eye and wondered whether I had injured it. I told her that it was injured in my bike wreck which was true, to an extent, I did have to have stitches above and below my eye after a bike crash about a year ago.

I've been wearing a hat when I play tennis which covers my still growing hair transplants. They are just over an inch long now and starting to blend in more with the longer hair. Still, they are not quite as long as regular bangs so that is going to take a couple of more months before they are a length that I like. The thickness of the transplants is great though. Below is a close-up. Dr Syzferman does an amazing job. He and his team spent so many hours on me. 

http://imgur.com/6WoXSFs

One issue that I have is that I still have an eyelid asymmetry. That is, that my two eyelids don't open evenly. I don't blame Dr. Rossi for this as the swelling on my left eye was quite heavy and I have read that trauma can cause this. I'm still going to wait a couple more months, at least, before considering ptosis surgery.



I guess that's all for now.

-Rhonda

Hey Rhonda!

Looking great my friend!!! I'm glad all is well and moving in the right direction!

Hugs!

A:)

Yay  Ronda  you look fab 😉