Facial feminization surgery or FFS is the cosmetic modification of one’s facial features. Commonly pursued by people who are assigned male at birth or trans people to lessen their masculine features, but is also likeable to cisgender women.
Facial feminization surgery mostly targets improving the bone structure as per the demand. Other than that face, and neck lifts are also common.
How Are Facial Features Improved?
Often insured as an elective cosmetic procedure, facial feminization surgery or facial gender confirmation surgery addresses every corner of the face.
Here are some of the facial feminization procedures you need to know:
1. Genioplasty
Genioplasty is a cosmetic surgery that modifies the chin. This procedure involves incisions within the mouth, along the gum line.
Genioplasty is often done not because of medical issues but looks. That is why this facial plastic surgery not always covered by insurance.
Many people call for chin reduction surgeries that involve the reduction of the over projected chin. Also known as chin shaving surgery, this procedure is highly common nowadays.
Different types of genioplasty include:
1.1. Sliding Genioplasty
Sliding or osseous genioplasty is a type of facial feminization surgery in which a saw is used to cut the chin bone away from the rest of the jaw and move it to correct a chin deficiency.
It helps with the correction of the chin proportion concerning the entire face. People with severe retrogenia often opt for this procedure.
1.2. Chin implant
Chin implant is a type of facial feminization surgery that can be accomplished by both surgery and injection. In this procedure, a surgeon can reshape, enlarge or push forward the appearance of the chin according to the requirement.
Surgical chin augmentation involves implanting a plastic material into the chin and adhering it to the bone. Alloplastic implants are the most common.
Nonsurgical ones involve using needles to inject fillers, such as body fat, to enhance the appearance of the chin.
2. Rhinoplasty
Commonly known as a nose job, rhinoplasty is a type of facial feminization surgery used to reconstruct and alter the nose. Rhinoplasty enhances facial features contouring the nose to fit within the natural proportion of the face.
Different types of rhinoplasty include:
2.1. Open Rhinoplasty
Nose reshaping is one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures for enhancing the feminine appearance. Open rhinoplasty involves incisions on the nose.
In this procedure, the surgeon incises the external skin between the nostrils to get access to the internal nose.
Although this procedure gives the surgeon more scope of reshaping better, you should also be aware of the scars. Surgeons try hard to minimize the scarring, but it is also a huge risk to go through.
2.2. Closed Rhinoplasty
Closed rhinoplasty is a type of facial feminization surgery for those who require minimum modification. Most people opt for closed rhinoplasty.
Why? This is because incisions are made from within the nostrils in this procedure. Complex altering is not possible in this process.
2.3. Tip Plasty
Tip plasty is another form of facial feminization surgery that does not require complex alteration. It can be both open and closed. Tip plasty only involves changing the tip of the nose.
2.4. Secondary Rhinoplasty
Secondary rhinoplasty is like a revision taken by the surgeon that involves adjustments, corrections, or modifications.
This process is only required when the rhinoplasty surgery is a complex one. Sometimes, patients require a few arrangements before the actual process.
2.5. Filler Rhinoplasty
Filler rhinoplasty is by far a little less invasive facial feminization surgery. In this procedure, fillers are injected to reshape the nose.
There are no stitches or incisions involved. Hence, most people don’t even consider it surgery. The foremost disadvantage of filler rhinoplasty is that it is temporary and only helpful in increasing size, not decreasing.
3. Forehead Lift
A forehead lift is a surgical procedure to correct the skin, eyebrows, and upper eyelids’ sagging. Forehead procedures help forehead contouring by shaving down hard angles and reducing the prominence of the forehead bone.
Sometimes when the brow bone is thick, and protrusions are smaller, the brow can be shaved down.
Forehead lift plays a significant role in the facial feminization industry. Facial feminization surgery can reshape one’s bone, cartilage, and soft tissue procedures of the face.
Majorly transgender women opt for forehead and brow bone lifts. Why? Since the surgery helps soften all those masculine facial features of transgender women.
Facial feminization surgery is a primary part of transgender life and transgender health. Therefore we find FFS covers insurance in many such cases.
Masculine features tend to be sharp and square. This facial feminization surgery creates a more oval face reshaping the brow ridge and contouring with feminine highlights.
Different types of forehead and brow lift are:
3.1. Classic Lift
The classic lift or an open brow lift involves one continuous incision from ear to ear across the top of the head. Also known as coronal lift, this is among the surgical procedures that require a consultation appointment.
3.2. Endoscopic Lift
The plastic surgeons make a few shorter incisions in the scalp in the endoscopic lift. They insert a scope into one of the incisions to view the tissues and muscles from a screen while using another device inserted in another incision to make the necessary alterations.
The tissue will be anchored either with a temporary or permanent stitch or anchor below the scalp in this procedure.
These anchors will keep the tissue under control for years. Because the incisions are smaller, this procedure is less invasive. You will experience minimal scarring and a shorter recovery time.
3.3. Limited Incision
The limited incision technique is a combination of the other two types. Smaller incisions are made, but a scope isn’t used. The procedure doesn’t correct the centre of the forehead but reduces wrinkles in the corners of your eyes.
4. Cheek Augmentation
Cheek augmentation is not always recommended and is instead a less standard procedure. Cheek augmentation involves cheek implants or fat grafting.
For many people, when synthetic hormones begin to redistribute body fat, the cheeks get sufficiently fuller on their own. This makes a surgical procedure unnecessary.
5. Lip Lift
Feminine features differ from masculine features in all aspects. Almost all trans women go for lip lift surgeries to provide a more feminine position.
Surgical techniques help with upper lip shortening and improving different proportions of skin above the lips.
5.1. Direct Lip Lift
A direct Lip Lift creates a more defined border. In this facial feminization surgery, a thin strip of skin is removed just above the upper lip.
The skin is pulled upwards, creating the illusion of a more pronounced vermillion.
5.2. Subnasal Bullhorn
Subnasal Bullhorn is a very common lip lift procedure in which a typical incision is made hidden along the base of the nose where it’s less visible.
The incision is often made in the shape of a bullhorn, and the centre, right, and left of the lip are all pulled up toward the nose.
5.3. Central Lip Lift
Similar to the subnasal bullhorn, the central lip lift shortens the space between the nose and the lips by an incision at the lower nose.
5.4. Corner lip Lift
A corner lip lift is done by making two small incisions at both corners of the mouth and removing a small amount of skin. Also known as grin lift, a corner lip Lift gives a more smiley appearance to the female face.
5.5. Italian Lip Lift
An Italian lip lift requires two incisions below each nostril, and other than that detail, it’s very similar to the bullhorn. It typically doesn’t involve a noticeable scar.
Risks Of Enhancing Face To A More Feminine Appearance
- Inflammation: Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli
- Postoperative bleeding: Postoperative bleeding is bleeding after surgery
- Skin sensitivity: Skin sensitivity is defined by the occurrence of unpleasant sensations in response to stimuli
- Infection
- Hematoma: A collection of blood outside of blood vessels.
- Seroma: A seroma is a pocket of clear serous fluid that sometimes develops in the body after surgery.
- Salivary gland damage: Salivary gland damage means that the saliva isn’t producing enough saliva. It can affect the taste and hence make chewing and swallowing more difficult
- Facial nerve damage: Facial nerve damage is the inability to move the muscles that control facial movements
- Facial asymmetry: Both sides of the face are not perfectly mirrored in the other
- Excess removal of fat
- Negative reaction or side effects to anesthesia
- Lockjaw: Also known as tetanus, lockjaw is a severe bacterial infection that causes painful muscle spasms and death.
- Deep vein thrombosis: A blood clot in a deep vein, usually in the legs.
- Poor results: Unsuccessful surgeries
Facial feminization surgery is a risky one. If the surgery is unsuccessful, you might require another surgeon to recover all those negative results.
My suggestion to you, research better and choose the best out of the best doctor, not the ones available.
