My Recent Surgery

Me, a few days after surgery

What Happened?

I am in recovery from a medically necessary set of surgical procedures intended to allow me to move onto the next chapter of my life, improve my safety, and make accepting me easier for others.

This does not come from a place of influence or vanity, but is to allow me to push into the next chapter of my life.

What Was Done?

I have undergone a series of medically necessary surgical procedures intended to remove inconsistencies between my gender and my facial appearance.  A series of surgeries were done to alter the appearance of my brow, eyes, nose, mouth, and jawline. 

There are differences in the shape of the skull between men and women.  Our brains contain a network that tries to guess the gender of persons we see from facial appearance as well as other cues.  In my case the facial appearance has been adjusted to read as my female gender.

How long will recovery be?

I should be back at full strength within a few months.  The facial swelling should largely subside by the end of the year, and all the tissues should have their final appearance in about a year.

Does it hurt?

Yes.  There’s a lot of tenderness, bruising, and swelling in the soft tissue of the face.

“You didn’t have to…”

Please, do not speak to me from your position of privilege about what I should or should not have done, or what I need to do in the future.  My experience of the world and what I have to do for my safety and survival is very different from yours.

I do not expect you to understand, only accept.

Before and one month after comparison 

Details!

The official punch list of surgeries to be performed on me doesn’t really match what was being done, so I’ll translate a bit.

Brow reduction and eye socket:

This was the Osterhout Type 3 forehead procedure, more or less.  An incision above my hairline and extending  to just above and behind the ears was made.  The forehead is drawn down, and the bone over the frontal sinus, or brow ridge, was removed and reshaped.  Additional bone on the orbit of eyes was removed.  When the forehead was reattached the eyebrow position was raised upward slightly, particularly on the right side to correct a droop.  

Blepharoplasty:

There are fine incisions on the eyelids used to raise the eyelid, producing a more open appearance, and to correct that droop on the right side.

Septorhinoplasty:

A septorhinoplasty was performed to improve the appearance of the nose as well as my breathing.  The nose appears to have a nice slope with a well-formed tip, or ‘break’, and is slightly upturned.

Lip Lift:

This looks like the traditional subnasal upper lift lip, placed with the rhinoplasty to produce a shorter upper lip, additional ‘plumping’, and a slight upturn to the tip of the nose.

Mandibular reduction:

A set of incisions are placed inside the mouth, on the gums, from which the surgeon is able to reduce the angle of the mandible, rounding the rear of the jawline, as well as reshape the ‘mental’ region forming the bone under my chin.