{"id":23150,"date":"2022-06-15T13:52:43","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T20:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https://www.realself.com\/news\/?p=23150"},"modified":"2023-10-04T15:39:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T22:39:18","slug":"choosing-doctor-facial-feminization-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https://www.realself.com\/news\/choosing-doctor-facial-feminization-surgery","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose the Right Doctor For Your Facial Feminization Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of the many gender confirmation surgeries<\/a>, facial feminization procedures<\/a> are arguably some of the most impactful—and the most challenging to perform. “What I’ve learned from my patients is that facial feminization can be even more important than bottom surgery<\/a>. They know who they are—it’s the outside world that is misgendering them,” says Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel<\/a>, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Newton, Massachusetts. Other people aren’t seeing your genitals on a regular basis, but they are seeing your face every day; changing your facial features so that they affirm your gender in a way that’s visible to all makes this a surgery of supreme importance, he adds. (It bears mentioning that gender-affirming facial surgery more often involves feminizing the face for transgender or even cis women. Testosterone does a very good job of making the face more masculine for female-to-male transgender patietns, but estrogen doesn’t have the opposite effect, notes Dr. Speigel.) <\/p>

The visibility of the face also means there’s a very small margin of error. “If something goes wrong with a surgery on the body, that’s not ideal, but at least it can be covered up in public. That’s obviously not the case for the face,” notes Dr. Jordan Deschamps-Braly<\/a>, a board-certified plastic surgeon in San Francisco. Point being, choosing the right doctor is paramount for any type of plastic surgery, but the stakes are even higher when it comes to facial feminization. Ahead, expert advice on how to find the right provider for you during the consultation process.<\/p>

Inquire about their training<\/h2>

“Any plastic surgeon can claim to be a facial feminization surgery expert, making it imperative in this type of transgender surgery to find an experienced surgeon,” cautions Beverly Hills, California, board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Toby Mayer<\/a>. It’s considered to be one of the most difficult types of plastic surgery, yet there’s still a growing number of doctors who say they know how to do it without ever having been trained in it, adds Dr. Spiegel. Along with the fact that the entire face needs to be taken into consideration, transgender women have different skin and tissue from those of cis women, requiring a different surgical technique. Think of it this way: “A person who can fly a small propeller plane probably isn’t going to be able to fly a 747, even if they are a great pilot,” he analogizes. Be specific and ask the doctor you’re considering exactly where and with whom he or she trained, he suggests. <\/p>

Aside from being board-certified, doctors who have undergone craniofacial surgery fellowships are usually well positioned to be trained in facial feminization surgery, notes Dr. Deschamps-Braly. “A good question to ask is, ‘How are you qualified to perform this surgery, besides your basic credentials?’” he says.<\/p>

Interested in transgender facial feminization surgery?<\/small><\/div>Find Doctors Near You<\/a><\/div>

Ask how many transgender surgeries they’ve performed<\/h2>

Quality matters, of course, but so does quantity. The expertise and skill required can only be achieved over time. “Until someone has had 300 to 400 cases, you really run the risk of getting a subpar surgery,” warns Dr. Deschamps-Braly. For context, a surgeon who is very busy and performing FFS almost exclusively would likely do somewhere between 100 to 130 surgeries per year, he says, meaning it can be a solid three to four years before they’re truly experienced. Dr. Mayer feels it takes even longer, advising that any facial feminization surgeon should have a minimum of five years of experience. <\/p>

\n