I had FFS with Deschamps-Braly about 3 months ago, on October 8th. I will probably post an update after my final appointment with Deschamps-Braly, something like 8 months out from surgery. I want to help people know what to expect, what I struggled with, and what was not so bad
Procedures (lets hope I remember them all):
- Scalp advancement
- Type 3 Forehead Reconstruction
- Brow lift
- Rhinoplasty
- Fat grafting (lips, temple, cheek)
- Lip lift
- Trachea shave
- Mandible contouring
- Sliding genioplasty
Before:
Took these a year ago for a consult with FacialTeam (yes I miss the purple)
After:
I didn't want to take off my makeup
Useful Things:
- Soylent: I love food. But chewing was way beyond me for a couple weeks. 3x of this a day and maybe a smoothie or two will have you set. This was a god send - the concept of blenderized food grosses me out.
- Your favourite soup(s): be sure to mix it up a little. I stocked my fridge with a bunch of pre-made soups I like, but I got too much tomato soup. Not sure if I can ever enjoy it again. Don't push yourself and try to eat soup too soon - it really sucks if you get it on your head wrapping!
- Big silicon straw: initially you won't be able to use this cuz you got some mega bimbo lips. But it makes consuming Soylent easier once you get the hang of things
- Orajel: Dr. D gives it to you in a goodie bag. You might need more.
- Entertainment: Initially video games are a little too intense. Zoning out to podcasts or familiar TV shows helped passing the time the first couple days.
- Wedge or boyfriend pillow: You need to sleep with your head elevated for a few weeks. It helps reduce swelling faster. I got a fleecy fuzzy one that was extremely nice and helped keep me up in bed and comfy
- THC tincture: if you aren't clean/sober, I would definitely recommend this. I got a 1:1 THC:CBD tincture which helped greatly with sleep, pain, and anxiety. Got me off the prescription drugs faster, which I think is good.
- Most importantly: someone who can take care of you. Emotionally, physically. Drive you to appointments. You can do this by yourself, but it would be incredibly hard. My mother was kind enough to do all this for me, and I can't thank her enough :)
Experience :
Pre-op
Initially, I had a date with FacialTeam scheduled in May 2020. Spoiler alert, the death plague happened and I postponed my plans to the Summer. July I had to postpone again. I was extremely frustrated - I really wanted to have FFS before I turn 30 and it began to dawn on me that international travel won't be a thing for a while.
In July I called up Deschamps-Braly. His clinic was the only other I was seriously eyeing - I knew he was talented in FFS and asked for the soonest possible date. I was offered a tentative date on October 8th. I got a consultation scheduled with him in late August. I live in a small suburban town about 30 minutes away from his office (assuming no traffic), so it seemed like a perfect fit.
The consult had some of the most aggressive intake procedures - all kinds of x-rays, and this weird thing that violated my mouth in the name of science to take internal pictures. This was done in a separate clinic not affiliated with Dr. D
Walking into his office for the first time almost reminded me of what Abercrombie and Fitch wished it could be. Moody lighting, masculine cologne smell, relaxing music. Didi, the hospitality manager welcomed me in, and I knew I would be in good hands. Zhanna , _the_ Physician Assistant (she plays a huge role in the surgery) took some intake photos of me. After some discussion, I met with the Dr himself.
Guys, I am not going to lie. I am (or thought) I was gay, but holy shit he is attractive AF. I was a little nervous talking to him at first, but I opened up quickly.
He showed me a slide deck about the surgery. Something that took me off-guard was the photos taken during surgery that were a part of the deck. Normally, I am a squeamish person, but it was presented in such an interesting way my curiosity overwhelmed my terror.
We talked about what I wanted (what he referred to as "the works") and what other surgeons had said when I consulted with them. He agreed with most of their assessments, but also suggested a lip lift. (Also made my laugh by calling FacialTeam "the Spanish guys") I had asked about this with other surgeons, but due to my long lips and amount of tooth show, were wary about the procedure. He seemed confident he could pull it off, so we agreed to add it to the list. He took some measurements on my face, which he rattled off with precision and speed, to Zhanna.
I walked out of that appointment glowing and in such a great mood. Other consults I felt neutral after, or dysphoric (nothing like having the features you hate about yourself dissected in excruciating detail). I had a very good feeling about him.
To prepare for surgery, I went on a low carb diet and avoided certain foods and alcohol. My understanding is this was to help with swelling reduction, and to avoid excessive blood loss during surgery (wheee!)
I had a pre-op appointment with him 3 days before surgery. I brought my mum along, since she would be taking care of me as I recovered. We went over medications with Zhanna, and she talked about general care. She anticipated many of my mother's questions before she had a chance to ask them, and answered any questions in detail.
Finally, we met with the doctor. I had a chance to ask any final questions. I noticed he seemed much more down to earth this time, which makes sense. Previously, he had to sell himself and his practice to a potential client. He seemed genuinely excited to perform the surgery, it was freaking adorable. When my mum and I left, she turned to me and said "That was fun!". As someone with a phobia around medical procedures, even I had to agree. Dr. D's demeanor and confidence really put me at ease, and I felt no emotion towards my surgery date besides excitement.
The night before, I got a hotel room with my sister in the city, at the Taj Campton, which Dr. D offers to his patients at a reduced rate. I didn't _need_ to do this, but I didn't want to have to worry about random traffic at 5am ruining my surgery time. The hotel was fine, not amazing. The staff were great though. If you are traveling and will need to stay in the city for a few weeks for surgery, I would recommend trying to find an air bnb or something more affordable.
The Day of Surgery
I woke up to a call from the driver. I got into the car (a Mercedes-Mayback S-Class) for a 5 minute ride to the hospital. I walked in through the ER entrance (since it was 5 am, surgery started at 7 am) and started the intake procedure. The moment came that I was most dreading: starting an IV! I _hate_ needles, but especially anything intravenous. The IV nurse was a total sweet heart, let me freak out for a minute, and got it in with no issues on her end. The anesthesiologist explained the concept of general anesthesia to me, asked some questions, and assuaged my other concern of anesthesia awareness.
Pretty shortly, I was wheeled into the OR. As they pushed me down the hallway, they put some kind of benzo (mom nurse note: apparently this was Versed) in my IV to keep me chilled out. The OR was immaculate, Dr D was in there bobbing to some rock music. I got out of the gurney, onto the OR stretcher. The last thing I remember is Dr. D touching my shoulder and telling me all I had to do was wake up in a few hours.
I woke up in a few hours. The first thing I can remember is the intense dryness and pain in the back of my throat - this was due to being intubated for 6 hours. I had one thing on my mind: ICE CHIPS. Ladies, treat yourself. GET YOU SOME ICE CHIPS WHEN YOU WAKE UP. Apparently I also talked to Dr. D. I don't remember this.
Next thing I remember was my sister staying with me in the recovery room. She was able to stay for longer which made my day!
After my sister left, Zhanna was the night nurse taking care of me. Not going to lie, that night the single most challenging night of my recovery. I was tired, unable to sleep, unable to eat without assistance. I projectile vomited blood because too much had dripped into my stomach. Once that happened I felt a little better.
I closed my eyes and listened to some music and podcasts, existing in some weird twilight of post anesthesia haze, exhaustion, and pain killers. I felt a little bit better, and was able to get out of bed with Zhanna's help. My drains were taken out, and I got to be wrapped up like a mummy
Around 3 am I took a victory lap recovery wing and as a reward Zhanna took out my catheter. I felt like I had turned a corner. Morning came quickly, and after demonstrating my ability to pee, I was discharged. I don't remember much else from that day. I think I tried to play a video game? I was unable to use a straw to sip Soylent, and even contorting my mouth to drink from a bottle was unpleasant.
Recovery
Physical recovery was the roughest at the first week. I got overstimulated easily. Very dizzy, prone to anxiety and my emotions were all over the place. I was prescribed Xanax XR for the day, Valium for the evening. Tramadol was used to control pain. No opiates, which I think is nifty.
Different parts of my face were numb - weirdest being the area between your chin and lips. At 3 months out, I finally have regained full sensation. Out of the hospital, my pain never went past 5. FFS offers aches, pressure, and feeling like you have the worst head cold of your life. No sense of smell, and mouth breathing really really sucks. It made it hard to sleep, made my teeth look grosser, and waking up each morning felt like the Sahara desert in my mouth and throat. My energy levels were very low.
My first post op appointment my hair was washed, head wrapping taken off, staples were taken out, stitches removed, and packing (but not the stent) in my nose were removed. Getting everything off my face felt incredible - a literal weight removed!
Wrapping removed after first appointment (3 days post op)
After getting my wrapping removed, I started to walk 2 hours today on the Dr's orders. It really helped give me a sense of purpose. And getting outside in the sunshine WITH A HAT AND SUNSCREEN literally brightened my day. Things noticeably got better around this time - pain, mood, energy levels.
The second post-op appointment was the big day! It was one week after my operation. I got my nose cast removed. Dr D gets super into it - he personally removes the final cast to reveal the nose. Having the stents removed was also nice; I could almost breathe through my nose!
Every day of recovery got a little bit better. I returned to work on week 4 - I took an extra week off than Dr. D's 3 weeks since I was extremely self conscious about how I looked, and I wasn't ready for back to back zoom meetings.
The period after I had my cast removed to fairly recently was the most challenging part. I had a long time to sit with my thoughts. The initial pain of recovery was not awful, when it felt like getting to the end of the day was an accomplishment. The swelling, visible incisions, and stitched hairline made feel like a freak. My hair was an absolute mess - the silicon scar gel I wear made it look oily at the roots and I couldn't refresh the color, so it just looked like an uneven mess. I had mad roots growing in.
I got through this time by telling myself to be patient, and to trust the process. I had to have faith that this all was going to be worth it. But even still, it is one thing to say it, and another to know it. Try to live your life one day at a time, and remember that it takes time for healing to happen, and swelling to go down. Dr D says that you won't see your full result until a year out!
I was really worried about if putting myself through all this - living with my mum (love you!) to save on rent for most of my post college life, spending time, energy, money, time off work, was all worth it.
Up until recently, I wouldn't have been able to give an honest answer. I could definitely see improvements. Everything was put into focus one day after I had gotten my hair bleached, and my sister did my makeup:
But now I definitely can: It was so worth it.
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