Narrowed my search to two surgeons for in-person evaluations. One in Boston, one in Spain. I also considered Argentina. The list I came up with might not be the right answer for others as we each have different situations, goals, genetics.
Seattle to London to Málaga. Arrived after sleeping Seattle to London coach on Virgin, then Sleepless on EasyJet.
I'm glad EasyJet doesn't offer surgery... they follow safety regulations but anesthesia might be interrupted every 45 minutes with advertising announcements, as they did on my flight.
To avoid risk of a late flight I arrived the night before, stayed near Málaga airport - headed into town on the subway. FacialTeam arranged a car & driver to meet 9am in the hotel lobby. On the map it looked like a 30 minute drive but took nearly an hour - traffic wasn't stopped but a bit slow along a beautiful coastline.
Marbella's HC Hospital looks a bit like a spa, very nice area a few blocks from the ocean. FacialTeam is one of three operations there - the other two are fertility and oncology.
The meeting is to evaluate exactly where things are right now, so I didn't wear any makeup this morning.
10am met with Sonja, patient coordinator. Very polite and efficient. One thing I noticed and like is she's assigned to stay as primary contact all the way through recovery, instead of being bounced among several contacts.
Filled out forms on their tablet and a very short paper form. HC Hospital has a fast free internet connection. Sonja took photos with a two cameras in the FacialTeam office. One was a gizmo with a pair of laser dots to align distance, directly connected to a PC - I think that one measures 3D/surface contours.
Then back across the lawn for cat scans at HC's facility. Remove earrings for that.
Prep work was about 45 minutes, then a break before 11am with Dr. Simon.
I had Alexandre at
VirtualFFS do a full set of photos earlier this year, I brought those to the meeting. I heard FacialTeam provides a set of VFFS simulations with an in-person eval but I felt it would be useful to bring what I already have.
Dr. Simon went over the CT scans and checked the shape of soft tissue on my face with his hands. I didn't realize until later he was carefully observing how I speak, facial expressions - based on that he said I might not need a lip lift - he is leaning against it. Those are things you can't gain from a static photograph. A Skype call is not 3D, he can't reach through a Skype call to check skin elasticity or run a CT scan. He also suggested I avoid a tracheal shave unless that's bothering me (it isn't).
He spent quite a bit of time explaining potential areas for FFS. He placed a clear plastic page over the CT scans and drew where he would make changes - I learned quite a bit, for example testosterone during growth phase changes some but not all sections of the skull. He showed me the natural seams that are literal dividing lines. He looked carefully through the VFFS photos from Alexandra (on my iPad in the photo below) and used those to help explain some options. Yep those are scans of my skull on the table.
I was previously aware of FacialTeam's unique hair incision/grafting method that seems like an excellent idea - don't waste follicles from the main FFS incision. I suppose a potential downside is a less radical change in eyebrow position since the tension/incision is further back, but that's what I prefer. I wasn't aware of their jaw-work methods which sound quite good. He uses an ultrasound cutting tool instead of a saw to minimize impact on surrounding tissue - apparently that became available 5 years ago. For the incision inside the mouth, instead of a long arc he makes three shorter cuts to improve healing time.
I definitely want a nose job and he brought in Dr. Bellinga - he focuses on that area. They went over the different incision methods. I had assumed any nose job requires a cut across the lower nose line but that's only if combined with a lip lift. They prefer to work on the nose with an incision between each nostril, a very small incision and virtually invisible once it heals.
I was surprised the meeting with the surgeons was more than one hour. I never felt rushed and didn't feel like any part of this was a sales pitch.
I made my decision, I'm going with FacialTeam for FFS. Current waiting list is a half year - I'll be returning June or July 2018.
After the meeting they arranged a taxi at their expense to run back to Málaga - did my makeup in the car. I took a train from Málaga to Seville. The center part of Seville is amazing - definitely recommend if you're in the area.
