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Looks from your post history that you’re about 5 weeks post? You’re in prime post-op depression territory here and being unlucky with the swelling really is a thing.
It’s too soon to do anything other than wait and see anyway, so do try and give your body some grace and time to recover. Set some milestones to check in with yourself about how you feel you’re looking at, e.g. 3 months, 6 months, and look for what’s changed, but try not to worry about it outside of that.
We’ve almost all been there panicking about post-op aesthetics that turned out to be temporary swelling, and it really can take 6-12 months to settle.
You are entirely right about the post-op depression.
This complaint is entirely valid tho:
Also it felt like the surgeons at Marbella do all there own thing and do not communicate within, so, it feels like gambling if the results of each separate surgery in your face willl harmonize or look more beauty together.
I also got FFS from them early 2023, and their lack of cohesiveness and their bone-only (zero consideration for soft tissue) approach to FFS really disturbed me.
I ended up okay (I pass with a specific hairstyle and I have timeline photos posted ) but honestly I'm just coping. They completely ignored my preferences for rhino, and gave me a cookie cutter nose like so many girls before me. And I recommend nobody gets jaw work with them because they don't know how to reattach the muscles properly and so many people have sagging jaw issues (muscles, not skin) from facialteam. (I'm in the Discord where people discuss post-op). My neck has some issues from them, and it ages me 10 years. I expected this however, and went into it expecting to need a face-lift/neck-lift. But feeling my tongue protrude below my jaw is disturbing tho. It's minor in my case so I've decided to cope with it.
I will recommend them for forehead / orbital rims, and only that. The lip lift was also pretty good. They suture really well, and scars are literally impossible to detect.
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At least try to find solace in the fact that I hated my results for 1 year. I felt my face was shrunken, and that they took off too much bone, I hated my nose. etc etc.
But at the 1 year mark, I spent $300+ dollars on 15 or so wigs at amazon, tried them all on and returned the ones i didn't like. The wig i'm using in my pic above matches my face perfectly, and that same day my girlfriend did my makeup for me. I had makeup for the first time since transitioning.
Now, I like how I look when I dress up. I look exactly like my sister, which honestly, is not how I want to look at all, but it is what it is.
So, you still have a chance to find yourself like I found myself. I even passed at lesbian events USING MY GUY VOICE. So, again, there is a chance you can make it work somehow, even if it's just coping.
So, hang in there. Experiment. See if you can work with what you were given. It may not be today, but maybe someday. Sucks that we have to cope after paying that much money, but meh.
edit: to clarify, i dont think i pass at all when not using makeup, even with the wig.
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And I felt the same way. I was in a deep depression from it until december of last year (10 months surgical depression).
But you can wallow in it, or you can make the most of what you were given. After I pulled myself out of the depression, I tried to make the most of what I was given.
So, my previous response is to say: you may be able to salvage it, and it may still work for you. So while it sucks right now, it might not suck as much once you can pull out of it.
Could you link me what discord that is? I'm currently looking into where to get ffs and I'm solo unsure :( I keep reading this stuff about facial team from time to time but the alternatives are just as bad with people having died or having permanent issues from the old 2 pass docs etc I feel super helpless bc there seems to be no good choice in Europe
I didn’t go to facial team, but I had similar experiences after FFS so let me tell you this :people won’t notice because they have no clue about faces and even if you show them pictures then they would probably know but otherwise they are totally lost so don’t rely on any opinions from cis people The second thing is right after surgery from swelling you will look more trans than before, but this really goes away after a while, but not all FFS leads to stealth passing. I know what I am talking about. I had also consultation with them and what I thought was they were not proposing the right procedures. They just said I need to do forehead and nose, whereas they were like totally other spots to do. but true is you have to wait for a while and FFS is not necessarily leading to stealth.
5 weeks postop is too soon to tell results, you’re swollen. relax, heal, in a year im willing to bet you feel differently
I had forehead done by them and while my experience was good and I’m satisfied with my results I think my expectations were way too high. I was expecting or at least hoping that the surgery would make me pass. It didn’t. I’m in the same situation as you. Not a single person seems to have noticed a difference post surgery.
But I don’t blame Facialteam. You can only do so much with surgery and I’m sure they did the best they could with my forehead. Maybe I can be further feminized by more work such as rhinoplasty but they didn’t see a need to have anything more than forehead done and I think I’m gonna trust them on that.
I will however say that I did notice things changing over the months. The biggest change happened around the 3-5 month mark. After that it was mostly just minor swelling.
Either way I’m very happy with the results I did get even if smal. It makes me sad that we didn’t see the changes we’d hoped for but it is what it is. 🫶
I am one year post op with facialteam and my experience with them has been that they don't listen to you at all, ignore what you agree to in the consultations, and then tell you to wait a year even though it will become clear at month 3 if you are happy with the results or not. Nothing they told me would resolve resolved and in fact most things became worse. Unfortunately, in my experience, they don't know how to harmonize a face and the only surgery they know how to perform well is forehead. I need revisions on three of the five surgeries that they performed and they are not even aesthetic issues, they are functional, like being left unable to breath.
I think your experience with Facialteam is completely valid and I am sorry that you are experiencing the same thing that it seems like a lot of Facialteam patients are going through. Your face will change over the year, but it's going to be more about swelling than structural change.
I've found that lots of other doctors are happy to discuss revisions at month 6, so while FacialTeam will ignore you and waste your time, if you are still unhappy at that point you can start discussing options with other surgeons.
Facialteam still hasn't committed to do anything to help me after a year, so I wouldn't wait a year for them. I want to be optimistic that they will actually do something because of how much money I paid them, but they don't really seem to care about their patients at all. It's unfortunate, but I think those of us with these bad experiences with Facialteam need to speak out because they are charging a lot of money for surgeries that they cannot deliver on.
What surgery caused you breathing issues if you don't mind talking about it?
Rhinoplasty
Oh shit :( I will need one but was more hoping they would be able to kinda fix some preexisting issues while they're at it not make it worse😭
Looks like you were expecting more dramatic results, which is totally understandable. A lot of girls choose surgeons for FFS because we don’t have many options, and not every surgeon can do FFS. Plus, it’s not cheap.
One mistake many of us make is hoping surgeons can deliver the exact results we envision, even after both sides agree on everything. But most surgeons stick to their own priorities and have their own views on FFS. That’s why it’s important to choose a surgeon whose views on FFS match yours.
While FaceTeam have good reputations, I didn’t put them on my list coz I feel like they have a bit conservative views on how a woman should look.
I’m sorry you’re not satisfied with your results. I can imagine how frustrating it must be to get different results from what you expected.
Stay strong, and I hope everything will turn out well for you.
I did facial feminization with them and feel the same
I don't pass, ever - and I can see why
Only thing I'm happy about is the forehead
Everything else was just not that great
I don't know if you had any surgery prior to this, but basically all the surgeos use the waiting excuse - and it's an excuse
I got refunded because of my chin ptosis
Sucks, but unfortunately I live in Europe, can't really afford US surgeons, and Europe doesn't have good FFS doctors.
(However, don't count on people noticing: FFS is not about big changes - most people don't know about the browbone and stuff. The only thing that could drastically change your face is a nosejob)
Yes, it’s an excuse. You don’t have to wait one year to see the change, like after one month you can see pretty much what you get, but after one year swelling has gone pretty much . FFS can be underwhelming. . A friend of mine had FFS with facial team last year and she just had forehead and jaw and I think her results are pretty good but she was beautiful before. I think facial team is not really known for dramatic changes more like for subtle changes and good healing as far as I know.
Yes I'm not hating on them
I think they're the best in Europe, it's just that Europe doesn't have that many good transgender surgeons and the bar is pretty low
With FFS you just gotta be patient. @5 weeks it’s wayyyyy too early to tell. You’ll start seeing your final results around the 6-8 month mark. I know it’s easier said than done, but trust the process.
Too soon to tell; the changes may be too subtle for people that already knew you, my twin said I looked practically the same. Comparing before and after photos my nose and forehead look totally different to me, but family seems to think I always had that look and it didn’t affect how they gendered me. Now, new people and strangers do gender me better.
This!
37K seems way too much. Luckily we have a lot of FFS surgeons in Belgium that are a lot cheaper. We start with the upper half of the face and next time do the lower half.
So when did you actually have surgery? I believe from any surgery you have, you definitely need to wait at least 6 months for something so drastic to settle down. Give yourself time and try to be patient.
If you get mis-gendered after 12 months, I'd be going ballistic.
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