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Facial Feminization Surgery by Dr. Bart Van De Ven
If you are a trans woman like me, you experience a lot of doubt. I definitely felt like a woman, but every time I saw my reflection in a mirror a feeling of doubt hit me. What I was seeing were subtle markers for a male face and those presented an unsolvable inner conflict between how I felt and what I perceived. Of course I used makeup and a feminine hairstyle but those markers for femininity just conflicted with my prominent brow bone, my low and not so rounded eyebrows, my long upper lip and my wide chin.
When I interacted with strangers, I often noticed puzzlement in their faces because they just were not sure if I was a very eccentric man or a woman. Even though the vast majority of them did not wish to antagonize me in any way they still stared. Children were the worst. They sometimes stared for minutes till their parents told them that staring like that was rude.
When I saw pictures of trans women with facial feminization surgery, I realized that my inner conflict and my passing problem could be solved by surgery. So I bought the book of Dr. Osterhout and did some research on what was possible. Facial feminization surgery is different from what most plastic surgeons do. If you had a male puberty the structure of the skull changed and the surgeon has to change the bone structure and can not just manipulate the soft tissue. So I searched for surgeons with this very specific set of skills. Another constraint was that I wanted a very experienced surgeon who ideally has already done hundreds of these operations. I came up with a list of four surgeons or teams:
- Dr. Spiegel in Boston (USA)
- Dr. Chettawut in Bangkok (Thailand)
- Facial Team in Marbella (Spain)
- Dr. Van de Ven in Antwerp (Belgium)
The website of Dr. Van de Ven (2pass clinic) was the most informative with a lot of before and after pictures and some video testimonials. I decided on a list of procedures, which I considered necessary to feminise my face and booked a consultation with Dr. Van de Ven. The fact that he can be consulted in Berlin from time to time made things convenient for me as I am a german. I discussed my planned procedures with him and also asked for his opinion on what procedures he would propose. What he said matched with my own research and reassured me that he was indeed a very experienced and competent surgeon.
With the list of procedures I sent mails to the three other surgeons and asked for the costs. They usually want to do a consultation first, but I was able to persuade all of them to at least give a rough estimate. Facial Team does consultations via Skype and I did one to get a second opinion. They proposed the same procedures. The only difference was that they wanted to add hair transplants which made their offer more expensive.
I concluded my research with the opinion that Dr. Van de Ven is a very skilled surgeon who is specialized on FFS and has already done hundreds of successful operations. There are some trans women who are not 100% satisfied with their result, but their number is small compared to the vast majority which is very satisfied. The pictures on his website reassured me that his results look very natural. He is also confident enough to dare radical changes which really remove the manly features of the face. Facial Team also made a very competent impression on me, but was a lot more expensive. I did not consider Dr. Spiegel and Dr. Chettawut as much because they are not based in Europe. I believe they are both skilled surgeons with good results, but they are more expensive than Dr. Van de Ven. Being more reluctant to change as much their results in some cases showed faces with a trace of masculinity still present.
I booked the FFS with Dr. Van de Ven and the operation was performed on February the 28th 2019. I stayed in the 2pass clinic in Antwerp for a week after surgery. I had a double room and my mother could accompany and help me during my stay. Even though the guest house of the 2pass clinic is equipped with everything that is needed for a fast recovery it does not really look or feel like a hospital. It is much smaller and very specialized for the needs of trans women. I actually enjoyed the stay there, partly because of Petra who lives there and answers all your questions 24/7. After three days I could spare my painkillers and during my week in Antwerp I was even able to visit the famous zoo, the beautiful old town and a museum about printing which is a UNESCO world heritage.
It took another three weeks till the bruises vanished. As I did not care to look like beaten up I was able to return to work three weeks after surgery. I was still quite swollen at that time, but the healing progressed quite well. After three months I was already quite satisfied with the result.
Eight months have passed since the surgery now. I am very satisfied with the result. I can look in the mirror without inner conflict and I even like my face now (I hated it before). My passing is nearly perfect. I stopped using makeup on a regular basis because it is not necessary any more. People do not stare at me anymore. Last week a pharmacist informed me about possible problems with contraception, not realizing that I was trans and the consulting was useless. That is a bit surprising because I had to talk to this person and my voice is still quite low and not very feminine (I am working on that). I am also happy that I did FFS before SRS. If people want to know if I am a woman they look at my face. Usually they do not notice the slight bulge between my legs. FFS has really changed my life and it is the single best decision I have made so far.
When I interacted with strangers, I often noticed puzzlement in their faces because they just were not sure if I was a very eccentric man or a woman. Even though the vast majority of them did not wish to antagonize me in any way they still stared. Children were the worst. They sometimes stared for minutes till their parents told them that staring like that was rude.
When I saw pictures of trans women with facial feminization surgery, I realized that my inner conflict and my passing problem could be solved by surgery. So I bought the book of Dr. Osterhout and did some research on what was possible. Facial feminization surgery is different from what most plastic surgeons do. If you had a male puberty the structure of the skull changed and the surgeon has to change the bone structure and can not just manipulate the soft tissue. So I searched for surgeons with this very specific set of skills. Another constraint was that I wanted a very experienced surgeon who ideally has already done hundreds of these operations. I came up with a list of four surgeons or teams:
- Dr. Spiegel in Boston (USA)
- Dr. Chettawut in Bangkok (Thailand)
- Facial Team in Marbella (Spain)
- Dr. Van de Ven in Antwerp (Belgium)
The website of Dr. Van de Ven (2pass clinic) was the most informative with a lot of before and after pictures and some video testimonials. I decided on a list of procedures, which I considered necessary to feminise my face and booked a consultation with Dr. Van de Ven. The fact that he can be consulted in Berlin from time to time made things convenient for me as I am a german. I discussed my planned procedures with him and also asked for his opinion on what procedures he would propose. What he said matched with my own research and reassured me that he was indeed a very experienced and competent surgeon.
With the list of procedures I sent mails to the three other surgeons and asked for the costs. They usually want to do a consultation first, but I was able to persuade all of them to at least give a rough estimate. Facial Team does consultations via Skype and I did one to get a second opinion. They proposed the same procedures. The only difference was that they wanted to add hair transplants which made their offer more expensive.
I concluded my research with the opinion that Dr. Van de Ven is a very skilled surgeon who is specialized on FFS and has already done hundreds of successful operations. There are some trans women who are not 100% satisfied with their result, but their number is small compared to the vast majority which is very satisfied. The pictures on his website reassured me that his results look very natural. He is also confident enough to dare radical changes which really remove the manly features of the face. Facial Team also made a very competent impression on me, but was a lot more expensive. I did not consider Dr. Spiegel and Dr. Chettawut as much because they are not based in Europe. I believe they are both skilled surgeons with good results, but they are more expensive than Dr. Van de Ven. Being more reluctant to change as much their results in some cases showed faces with a trace of masculinity still present.
I booked the FFS with Dr. Van de Ven and the operation was performed on February the 28th 2019. I stayed in the 2pass clinic in Antwerp for a week after surgery. I had a double room and my mother could accompany and help me during my stay. Even though the guest house of the 2pass clinic is equipped with everything that is needed for a fast recovery it does not really look or feel like a hospital. It is much smaller and very specialized for the needs of trans women. I actually enjoyed the stay there, partly because of Petra who lives there and answers all your questions 24/7. After three days I could spare my painkillers and during my week in Antwerp I was even able to visit the famous zoo, the beautiful old town and a museum about printing which is a UNESCO world heritage.
It took another three weeks till the bruises vanished. As I did not care to look like beaten up I was able to return to work three weeks after surgery. I was still quite swollen at that time, but the healing progressed quite well. After three months I was already quite satisfied with the result.
Eight months have passed since the surgery now. I am very satisfied with the result. I can look in the mirror without inner conflict and I even like my face now (I hated it before). My passing is nearly perfect. I stopped using makeup on a regular basis because it is not necessary any more. People do not stare at me anymore. Last week a pharmacist informed me about possible problems with contraception, not realizing that I was trans and the consulting was useless. That is a bit surprising because I had to talk to this person and my voice is still quite low and not very feminine (I am working on that). I am also happy that I did FFS before SRS. If people want to know if I am a woman they look at my face. Usually they do not notice the slight bulge between my legs. FFS has really changed my life and it is the single best decision I have made so far.
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