Evolution of Full Facial Feminization Surgery: Creating the Gendered Face With an All-in-one Procedure

Abstract

Facial feminization surgery (FFS) has recently gained popularity to enhance the female facial profile and promote a real transformation of the male to female face in transgender patients. The term involves overlapping of the surgical procedures devoted to feminization and represents a dual and reversible procedure unique in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Indeed, FFS envisages modifications of the hard and soft tissues and is both reductive and augmentative. For these reasons, full FFS (F-FFS) is used by surgeons with special expertise in FFS. This study describes a novel approach to F-FFS performed in a single surgery and thus renamed, de facto, all-in-one and representing its most recent evolution. Forty-nine consecutive nonrandomized patients underwent FFS at a private clinical practice (Face Surgery Center, Parma, Italy) between January 2003 and December 2017. Following a retrospective review according to specific inclusion criteria, the authors identified 9 patients aged 19 to 33 years (mean age, 21 years) who underwent all-in-one F-FFS. Patients were discharged the day after surgery with written postoperative care instructions. No reports of wound infection/dehiscence or nerve/vessel damage were recorded. Patients typically returned to work within 30 days following surgery. The mean operative time was 281 minutes (range, 245-305 minutes). The evolved all-in-one F-FFS provides a further step technically (overlapping several procedures) in terms of surgical outcome (higher satisfaction rate) and reduced overall costs and low morbidity.

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