Facial Feminization Surgery: FFS

Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS) is an integrated cosmetic surgery procedure designed to enhance a woman’s appearance. The most common recipients are trans women.

Facial Feminization Surgery combines several procedures to change the shape of the face and its features to create a more feminine appearance.

Who is suitable for facial feminization surgery?

• Trans women who want to adjust their facial features to look soft and feminine
• Women who have a hard, non-feminine appearance and want to adjust their appearance to look soft according to their birth gender

Before and after photos

The difference between female and male face shapes.

The differences between male and female faces are subtle, but noticeable in the overall shape and structure of the face. These differences are the result of sexual dimorphism, which refers to physical differences between males and females of the same species.

The following are the main differences between men’s and women’s faces:

• Brow Ridge
  • Men: The brow ridge is more prominent in men, giving the face a more solid and defined look, especially around the eyes.
  • Women: The brow ridge is usually smoother and less prominent in women, giving the face a softer, more gentle look.
• Jaw and Chin
  • Men: The jaw of men tends to be wider and square, and the chin tends to be more pronounced and sharp-angled.
  • Women: The jaws of women tend to be narrower, and the chin tends to be rounder and softer, not as sharp as in men.
• Zygomatic Arches
  • Men: The cheekbones of men tend to be lower and less pronounced, giving the face a wider shape and sharp angles.
  • Women: The cheekbones of women tend to be higher and more prominent, often protruding forward, giving the face a more dimensional and beautiful line.
• Nose
  • Men: The nasal bones of men tend to be larger and more pronounced.
  • Women: The nasal bones of women tend to be smaller and narrower, with a soft arch at the bridge of the nose.
• Orbit
  • Men: The eye sockets of men tend to be larger and sharply square. Often have a prominent brow bone.
  • Women: Women’s eye sockets are rounder and more rounded. They also have thinner, more defined eyelids.
• Face Width
  • Men: Men’s faces are generally wider, especially around the cheekbones and jaw, giving them a wider face shape.
  • Women: Women’s faces are usually narrower, especially around the jaw and cheekbones, giving them an oval or heart-shaped face.
• Forehead
  • Men: Men’s foreheads tend to slope downward and are not as rounded as women’s.
  • Women: Women’s foreheads tend to be straighter and more rounded, giving the face a softer, more youthful look.
• Teeth and Lower Jaw
  • Men: Men’s lower jaws tend to be larger and stronger, with more pronounced angles (giving the face a squared frame).
  • Women: Women’s lower jaws tend to be smaller and rounder, giving the face a softer, less defined look.
• Overall Proportions and Lines
  • Men: Men’s faces tend to have more pronounced angles. Strong structures, such as sharp angles at the jaw, browbones, and cheekbones, give the face a more dimensional and angular look.
  • Women: Women’s faces tend to have a softness that makes them look soft and harmonious, such as a smooth jawline and a smooth facial structure.

Before Facial Feminization Surgery

• In many cases where the goal is to perform multiple procedures, the staff may need to take the patient to have a 3D facial scan (CT Scan) so that the doctor can consider the scan results in the evaluation to plan the surgery together with the patient.
• The doctor will conduct a detailed evaluation by asking the patient about the goals of the surgery, expectations, health information, and lifestyle, and explaining the preparation and post-operative care.
• The patient can consider the surgery plan and make an appointment for a health check-up and surgery with the caregiver. 

How long does facial feminization surgery take?

It depends on the surgical plan, whether the patient has any problems on their face or wants to fix any specific parts. For example, if you want to fix the facial structure in 3 places (5-6 hours) along with moving the hairline or adding the forehead (2 hours), it will take 7-8 hours.

More details to know

• Removing the stitches or removing the medical staples that cover the wound, depending on the wound from the procedure, may take between 7-14 days.
• There may be swelling and bruising for several days or more before it returns to normal. Recovery varies from person to person, depending on many factors.

Process of Facial Feminization Surgery

The surgical plan is based on the discretion of the surgeon and the patient and includes the following steps, which may include one or more depending on the case:

Process:

• The surgeon will talk to the patient, review the surgical plan, and design the face.
• The anesthesiologist will take the information and lead the anesthesia process.
• Start the surgery.
• Close the wound.
• Take the patient to the recovery room.

Forehead and hairline reshaping.

Forehead and hairline reshaping can create a curved face frame that is close to an oval or heart shape. The surgeon can create new forehead dimensions by adding appropriate medical materials and reducing or adjusting the hairline to look softer and more similar to the proportions of a woman’s face.

This procedure may include reducing the height of the browbone by shaving the bone ridge down or cutting the existing bone (osteotomy) and replacing it with a smoother bone graft or a specialized medical material.

Cutting and reshaping the hairline can be done together with reducing the hairline, resulting in a more feminine forehead.

Eyebrow lift, eyelid lift and facelift

A brow lift can be done to make the eyes look more feminine. For those who want to adjust the shape of the face, forehead, and hairline, the eyebrow lift can be done by making the same incision at the hairline or in the hairline, the same incision as the forehead lift.

For those who want to lift only the eyebrows, the doctor may consider making 4 or 5 small incisions, 2-3 centimeters each, at the hairline, using endoscopic surgery.

Rhinoplasty to reshape the face to look more feminine.

Surgeons can perform rhinoplasty to reduce the width and shape of the nose to make it more feminine. For Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS), facial restructuring to fit feminine features often involves surgery on several major areas, with the following modifications:

Facial and jaw surgery

• Jaw Augmentation Surgery: Repositioning the jaw to be in balance with the face to create a softer and more feminine appearance.
• Chin Augmentation or Chin Augmentation: In some cases, a chin augmentation or chin repositioning may be required to protrude the face to prevent it from looking too hard or too rough.
• Cheekbone, Jaw, or Chin Shaping: Shaving or separating bones in various areas to smooth out the facial structure and provide the most appropriate proportions.
• Chin Muscle Tightening: Stitching the muscles in the chin to make the chin look smoother and firmer.
• Fat Injection: Using fat from the body or other implants to fill in various parts of the face, such as the cheeks, chin, or around the eyes, to make the face look younger and more proportionate.
• The choice of surgical method at each step will depend on the

The choice of surgical method at each step will depend on the assessment by a specialist and the needs of the service recipient, to achieve the results that meet expectations and are as natural as possible.

Summary

Men: tend to have more hard and sharp-angled facial features, such as a sloping forehead, prominent browbones, square jaws, and a wider face.

Women: tend to have more gentle, soft facial features, such as a sharply arched forehead, smooth browbones, narrower jaws, prominent cheekbones, and a youthful, refined facial shape.

These differences are generalizations and may vary depending on the individual, ethnicity, age, and environmental factors.

The medical team at Masterpiece Hospital is pleased to offer consultation.