Transwomen, or male individuals experiencing gender dysphoria, invariably seek to rectify what they consider to be a natural gender misalignment. Medical surgery has made it possible for such individuals to alter their physical appearance so to more closely resemble that of women, with everything from genital reassignment procedures to neutralization of the Adam’s apple available.

Typically, transwomen are required to undergo a handful of operations to achieve their desired appearance, with those altering the genitals often being performed last. Facial feminization surgery (FFS) can be performed at any point in the process, depending on the individual. The extent of the surgery required is very much influenced by how naturally effeminate (or masculine) the subject’s face is.

Procedure information
There are a great many procedures that can be performed for the purpose of making male facial features appear more feminine. The majority of these procedures are based on cosmetic surgical techniques that have been established and perfected for some time already. Some procedures involve the manipulation of soft tissues only, while others require bone work to actually restructure elements of the skull.

Among the procedures available are: hairline correction, forehead recontouring, brow lift, rhinoplasty, cheek implants, lip lift, lip filling, chin recontouring, jaw recontouring and Adam’s apple reduction. The majority of these procedures can be performed in combination although some have the potential to be overly disruptive to the patient and hence are best performed alone.

Recovery time
Like any corrective facial surgery, complete recovery can take anything up to 6 months although swelling and bruising generally disappears within the first month following the procedure(s). Hospitalization for a few days is sometimes necessary, after which patients are permitted to go home but are required to return for the removal of bandages and dressings.

Soft tissue techniques are less invasive than bone restructuring ones and recovery is consequently somewhat faster. Patients of either (or both) types of procedure will need to take medications for pain relief and be extremely diligent with regards to hygiene so as to avoid post-operative infections.