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FacialTeam Lipfit too aggressive, chin surgery caused doublechin
I want to preface this by saying I think FT do great work for the most part but I'll be candid...
I had a lip lift with FT about 7 months ago. It does drop after a few months but mine is misaligned and I'm getting a revision with a different surgeon. I wouldn't advise anyone do a lip lift with FT as the modified bullhorn approach they employ isn't the standard one you see in literature, there are some bizarre incisions going on. I'm not convinced they know what they're doing with this. Their other work is great. Rest assured, you'll be able to close your mouth in a few weeks.
They also failed to remove all the stitches in my case which needed some follow up.
All in all, I'd give my lip lift experience with them 2/10. It's the one procedure I advise people not to undertake there. That and I wouldn't trust them to revise it given how poorly skilled the original surgeon was and the lack of aftercare for it. It's better to find a specialist who knows what they're doing.
Regarding chin/jaw work, you will see some mentalis strain as things settle. Mine has definitely got better and, as with any chin/jaw reduction, a lot of literature states a facelift might be needed at some point if the soft tissue envelope doesn't fully retract. In some cases, where the chin pad is, it might involve a soft tissue reduction. This isn't explained though and it leaves a lot of patients confused as to what to do about it. If the jaw work is uneven, you'll need to see an orthodontist to establish what's going on, then FT will be likely to offer you a free revision, but that's another explanation for mentalis strain if you have it.
Having said this, 1 month is incredibly early in healing process. You will certainly improve with time. :) Keep up with the dermatix scar gel and you'll see major improvements early on.
This isn't explained though and it leaves a lot of patients confused as to what to do about it
I think this is the issue. Myself and many other girls have been told that we won't need a facelift because we are 'young' but it seems to be a fairly common problem. FT seem to be overly optimistic about the risks in this from what I've seen.
It's the trade off between a pronounced reduction and something more subtle. I knew I'd need a lift afterwards and I was pretty fervent about what I wanted. Yeah, they are probably over optimistic regarding the skin retraction.
Here's the paper you need to read.
https://www.alignsurgical.com/about/research/pdf/Facelift_After_Facial_Feminization_Surgery.pdf
Cool, I'll give it a read. I didn't get jaw work and I had a fairly small amount shaved off my chin, more changing the shape vs reducing height so hopefully it will settle. But I'm preparing for the worst.
Do you think that FT are still a good option for a follow up facelift?
I've never seen them advertise lifts and I'd be dubious about their marketing if they can't surface the specialist on their team who does them, along with their credentials and endorsements. Authentic deep plane lifts are part of a rare skillset very few surgeons have. It's better to find a specialist closer to home who has grown a good reputation with decent social proof. Doctors like Linkov, Julian De Silva etc...
FT are the go to for type III forehead work and jaw shaves. Beyond that, you need to carefully consider the merits of going there. They don't do T-osteotomies for instance and have a good reputation for the low rate of complications because they choose their battles. They do occur though and the data is hard to find given that people will likely go elsewhere if something needs addressing afterwards. The statements on their site regarding revision rates 'might' be a little disingenuous, especially regarding rhinos as Bellinga doesn't have a great reputation and requires managing (otherwise he gets a little overzealous with reductions). There's a video interview of him stating that he's "trying to be better", which doesn't instill confidence. ;) Many girls are unhappy with his work but I think I got 'lucky' as I'm 7/10 content with it. My columella needs fixing but I'll get that done locally etc...
Regardless, he has a bit of a captive customer base as most forehead work will need a rhinoplasty. You've really got to communicate things insistently to him and, preferably also have it in writing with drawings on top of photos etc... If in doubt, communicate your concerns to doctors Luis Capitan or Daniel Simon and ask them to make sure he sticks to the plan.
There's also some confusion with FT in that you don't know who is doing the surgery for a given procedure. You could have a consultation with someone who is either overseeing the work done by trainees or might be doing it themselves. There's not much transparency.
I wish I'd heard more about the need to beat bellinga over the head not to do anything stupid. I hate what he did to my face, and I'm so angry and powerless about it. My nose looks like a bad kids drawing of a nose on a human head.
You can get it revised but I wouldn't go back to Bellinga - and that's why their revision rates are questionable. All FFS is like running the gauntlet. Once you've done the major bits, find individual specialists.
Yeah get it revised for 50% of the money I paid for ffs... Revision rhino is amazingly expensive, and I'll have to fund a neck/facelift as well...
All in I'll be double the cost of my ffs just to fix their errors. Sigh
Yeah I figure bellingas low revision rate is that nobody in their right mind would trust him twice.
I could have sworn they advertised face lifts previously but I've just checked their site and it's not mentioned on there.
I think you're right though. It's probably wiser to find a surgeon who specialised in face lifts.
There's also some confusion with FT in that you don't know who is doing the surgery for a given procedure. You could have a consultation with someone who is either overseeing the work done by trainees or might be doing it themselves. There's not much transparency.
Regarding this, I specifically asked them to confirm who was performing each procedure during my pre-op consult. They didn't tell me about any trainees doing anything.
Is there a way to double check and confirm what they told me was true?
Nope. :) It's at their whim. All the official documentation will say the surgery was performed by Luis Capitan, irrespective etc...
If you make it a formal request for the release of your data, you might get somewhere. It's all a bit concerning tbh. I think it's for insurance reasons but it doesn't seem above board.
Even if you ask for your surgical notes, there's very little information there stating who did what, if any. Just who authored the document.
They have a financial incentive to downplay any negatives.
FT seem to be overly optimistic about the risks in this from what I've seen.
Huh, they were pretty up front with me - when I had my consult with them a few months ago the surgeon straight up told me there was an ~20% chance of some chin sagging if I got work done there.
Out of curiosity, when you say 'they', who was the consultant in your case?
Interesting, it sounds different to my experience. Which surgeon was your consultant and how old are you?
Dr. Javier Gutiérrez, I'm in my mid 20s. He did mention the risk would likely be lower for me since I'm young but that he still didn't recommend it in my case since my chin/jaw weren't excessively masculine.
Ok, I never met that surgeon.
The modified bullhorn approach ruined my nasal base. Having a lip lift really through off my facial balance. I had too much removed and Instead of lifting my lips my nostrils were pulled way down my face. It really made my nose long. It looked better before.
You can have that remedied by getting the anchor point revised. You need a good revision surgeon however. Similarly, if there is nasal sill distortion there are ways to alter it. The approach varies for the effect you're trying to achieve, whether that's using cartilage to reinforce it or reattaching a hanging columella. There's also the possibility of a botox lip flip to loosen the muscle tension, never seen that used to address the problem in question but it should work, might need to consult someone.
Similarly, if your nose was over reduced in width, that can change the morphology making it appear longer, that can also be remedied using spreader grafts. Really skilled surgeons use irradiated cartilage from donor cadavers so they don't have to source if from somewhere on your body.
Stay solution focused. ;)
But yeah, FT are a disaster for lip lifts. :) They shouldn't be doing them, their rhinos are also a gamble.
I had FFS with facialteam ~6 weeks ago. I'm also noticing a slight double chin effect from chin surgery. I'm hoping it's just swelling and it will get better over time. I was told by the surgeons that risk of sagging was really low because I was young (I'm 26). But I'm worried that I will need a face lift.
All I can say is that hopefully these issues will improve with time. It can take 12 months to really see the end result of FFS.
Yeah I think bellinga had a curious idea of what makes a nice nose shape...
I also have an uneven jaw and double chin, will probably need a neck lift if I ever find the money. Was told as I was young 35 it wasn't a problem.
At least, from what I understand, the lip lift would fall back down as the swelling subsides. You're still recent you might see nice gains in the coming months.
I think its important to share experience from FT
1 month post surgery is way to early to judge.
Rhinoplasty takes 18 months to finally settle and the chin/jaw skin can take 12 months to tighten.
I am very late to this party. But I wanted to say, at one month if the lip lift looks too aggressive and the scar looks horrid, it’s a good lip lift…. chances are it will settle down in another month or two and look fabulous. I looked soooooo duck lip until like 2 months of healing and my scar is literally gone. It has changed the way I smile and I can always have that slightly parted lip look and I love both. Duck lip is gone.
Just wait it out, one month of healing is nothing. 3 months in and I look totally healed up from bunches of procedures 🤭
/u/EllishEllish hows the healing going?
Freakin amazingly well. The only thing I’m having issues with is it’s oddly uncomfortable still to pull my hair up in a pony. Cause my scalp is still totally numb. So it feels…. Odd, when I pull it up. I still have one suture below my left nostril that just will not dissolve under the skin. This was an issue from the beginning that actually created what I called a moat (wouldn’t heal due to sutures irritating the area) between my nostril and upper lip. It’s totally healed up and well, no scar. But I can feel the suture there and it makes me bonkers.
Everything turned out above my expectations and I’m stealth af now. My voice and speech patterns were always way on the fem side, so I haven’t had the issue with that. I did tweak it a bit just to be safe tho.
Sooooooooo, how has your healing gone? You were quite worried last time we spoke. I wasn’t too concerned then, due to the short timeframe. And my entire jaw / chin area was mega crooked due to the compression head wrap being applied non-uniformly. But it totally went away and perfectly straight after a month or so of healing. Please free to DM me if there is anything concerning that you want me to look at. Ik some healing tricks. There are things you can do to improve healing and setting. This wasn’t my 1st rodeo with plastic surgery 🤭🤭🤭
Well, I'm not op, I was tagging OP in my message tho!
Oooopppps. My b.
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