Facial Feminization Surgery - Journal Articles

Facial Feminization Surgery: A Systematic Review of Perioperative Surgical Planning and Outcomes. [FULL TEXT]
Tirrell AR, Abu El Hawa AA, Bekeny JC, Chang BL, Del Corral G. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2022;10(3):e4210.
The study reviewed 22 articles involving 1,302 patients, focusing on different types of FFS, especially procedures for the forehead. It found that most studies included basic photography for planning, while some used advanced imaging techniques or virtual simulations of potential surgical outcomes. Patient satisfaction after surgery was reported in many studies, but the methods for measuring this satisfaction varied widely. The authors recommend future research should focus on better surgical planning methods and standardized ways to measure patient satisfaction to improve the quality of care in transgender healthcare.

Necessity of facial contouring in feminization surgery for Chinese transgender females [FULL TEXT]
Dong Li, Liang Xu, Zheyuan Yu, Jie Yuan , Min Wei. Ann Transl Med. 2021 Apr;9(7):603.
Facial feminization surgery (FFS) is an effective method to alleviate symptoms of gender dysphoria, which could be more important than genital reassignment surgery for Chinese. Facial contour surgery is perceived as an ordinary FFS for the Chinese women to improve their facial appearance. The zygoma and jaw are key areas for feminizing the facial contour. This study mainly emphasized the necessity of FFS and discussed the importance of facial contour surgery of Chinese individuals.

Facial Feminization Surgery: A Review of 220 Consecutive Patients
Parag Shashank Telang. Indian J Plast Surg. 2020 Aug; 53(2): 244–253.
The author presents the method used at his center for treating 220 patients of gender incongruence requesting FFS from June 2016 to June 2019. The alterations to known methods of forehead contouring, hairline lowering, and jaw shave adopted by his team are discussed. He also presents the logic of performing the entire FFS in two stages at an interval of 7 to 10 days.

Scarless Neck Feminization: Transoral Transvestibular Approach Chondrolaryngoplasty [FULL TEXT]
Avi Khafif, Hagit Shoffel-Havakuk, Iris Yaish, Karen Tordjman, and Niddal Assadi. Facial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Medicine. Jun 2020.172-180.
Chondrolaryngoplasty or reduction of laryngeal prominence is a gender affirmation surgery for transgender women, or for male patients desiring an aesthetic surgery. Several variations of the procedure were suggested, yet to date, all described chondrolaryngoplasty procedures involved a visible neck scar. This study describes a novel technique for scarless chondrolaryngoplasty, transoral endoscopic vestibular approach (TOEVA)-chondrolaryngoplasty, and to report the results of first ever performed cases.

Facial Gender Confirmation Surgery: A Protocol for Diagnosis, Surgical Planning, and Postoperative Management.
Capitán L, Gutiérrez Santamaría J, Simon D, Coon D, Bailón C, Bellinga RJ, Tenório T, Capitán-Cañadas F. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2020 Apr;145(4):818e-828e.
During the past 10 years, academic publications that address Facial Feminization Surgery have largely examined the technical aspects of the different surgical procedures involved and clinical evaluations of postoperative results. This Special Topic article focuses on aspects that are underdeveloped to date but useful with regard to taking the correct therapeutic approach to transgender patients who are candidates for Facial Gender Confirmation Surgery. The authors propose a protocolized sequence, from the clinical evaluation to the postoperative period, based on a sample size of more than 1300 trans feminine patients, offering Facial Gender Confirmation Surgery specialists standardized guidelines to handle their patients' needs in a way that is both objective and reproducible.

The Role of Facial Gender Confirmation Surgery in the Treatment of Gender Dysphoria.
Esmonde N, Najafian A, Penkin A, Berli JU. J Craniofac Surg. 2019 Jul;30(5):1387-1392.
Despite evidence of the efficacy of FGCS, there remains some extant controversies to address, such as reimbursement for these procedures, categorization of aesthetic versus functional surgery, and evaluation of outcomes. This review provides a discussion of these topics, as well as the historical and psychosocial issues specific to transgender patients that surgeons should know when providing FGCS.

Feminizing the Face: Combination of Frontal Bone Reduction and Reduction Rhinoplasty [FULL TEXT]
C. J. Salgado, H. AlQattan, A. Nugent, D. Gerth, W. Kassira, C. S. McGee, and L. Wo. Case Rep Surg. 2018; 2018: 1947807.
FFS improves mental health and quality of life in transgender patients. The nose and forehead are critical in facial attractiveness and gender identity; thus, frontal brow reduction and rhinoplasty are a mainstay of FFS. The open approach to reduction of the frontal brow is very successful in the feminization of the face; however, risks include alopecia and scarring. Endoscopic brow reduction, in properly selected patients, is minimally invasive with excellent outcomes avoiding these risks. Since both reduction rhinoplasty and frontal brow reduction are routinely performed in FFS, a combined approach provides superior control over the nasal radix and profile when performing surgery on the frontal bone region first followed by nose reduction.

Facial Feminization: Systematic Review of the Literature.
Morrison SD, Vyas KS, Motakef S, Gast KM, Chung MT, Rashidi V, Satterwhite T, Kuzon W, Cederna PS. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2016 Jun;137(6):1759-70.
Facial Feminization Surgery encompasses a broad range of craniomaxillofacial surgical procedures designed to change masculine facial features into feminine features. The surgical principles of facial feminization surgery can be applied to male-to-female transsexuals and anyone desiring feminization of the face. Although the prevalence of these procedures is difficult to quantify, because of the rising prevalence of transgenderism along with improved insurance coverage for gender-confirming surgery, surgeons versed in techniques, outcomes, and challenges of facial feminization surgery are needed. This review is designed to critically appraise the current facial feminization surgery literature.
Facial feminization surgery appears to be safe and satisfactory for patients. Further studies are required to better compare different techniques to more robustly establish best practices. Prospective studies and patient-reported outcomes are needed to establish quality-of-life outcomes for patients. However, based on these studies, it appears that facial feminization surgery is highly efficacious and beneficial to patients.

Full Facial Feminization Surgery: Patient Satisfaction Assessment Based on 180 Procedures Involving 33 Consecutive Patients.
Raffaini M, Magri AS, Agostini T. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2016 Feb;137(2):438-48.
Facial feminization surgery can include forehead remodeling, rhinoplasty, mentoplasty, thyroid chondroplasty, and voice alteration procedures. Described here is an assessment of patient satisfaction after facial feminization surgery, including outcome measurements after forehead slippage and chin remodeling.
Patient satisfaction after facial feminization surgery is high. The reduction of gender dysphoria has psychological and social benefits and significantly affects patient outcome.

Facial feminization surgery in male­to-female transsexuals, 485 consecutive cases in 8 years experience.
Presented by Dr. Kamol Pansritum. WPATH 2014 Biennial International Symposium, Bangkok, Thailand, February 2014.
In male­to­female transsexuals with strong masculine facial features, facial feminization surgery is helpful and can be performed as part of gender reassignment surgery. Various specific facial surgical procedures are utilized to feminize the face, involving hairline lowering, forehead sculpture and contouring, brow lift, rhinoplasty, cheek implantation, cheek bone reduction, upper lip lift, lip augmentation, chin reduction, mandible reduction, and thyroid cartilage shaving. We present 8 years consecutive 585 cases of facial feminization surgery performed in Thailand from 2005 to 2012. The overall results are satisfied and achieved significant feminization of the face.

Facial Feminization Surgery: The Forehead. Surgical Techniques and Analysis of Results
Capitán, Luis M.D., Ph.D.; Simon, Daniel D.D.S.; Kaye, Kai M.D.; Tenorio, Thiago M.D. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, October 2014, Vol. 134 - Issue 4: p 609–619.
This is the first clinical study focused on FFS forehead reconstruction to be published in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in over 25 years. The authors describe their experience with facial feminization surgery from January 2008 to December 2012, specifically looking at the surgical techniques used in forehead reconstruction and patient satisfaction. Feminization surgery of the forehead uses surgical procedures based on plastic and craniomaxillofacial techniques feminize masculine facial features with predictable and satisfactory results. (This paper won Best Cosmetic Paper of the Year.)

 

Last updated: 09/20/24