What’s New in Facial Feminization Surgery

Facial feminization surgery (FFS) includes numerous procedures that help you achieve a more feminine, heart-shaped face. This popular procedure works on reducing and softening traditionally masculine features, including:

• Broad faces
• Square jaws
• Receding hairlines
• Large foreheads
• Conspicuous and projecting brow bones
• Stronger, broader noses

These features are easily corrected through facial feminization surgery for the best results. Many women with more masculine facial contours often avail this procedure to make them feel more beautiful and confident. They want softer, less angular faces, with tapering jawlines, thinner noses, etc. The goal of FFS is to create such contours through various procedures targeting different parts of the face.

Procedures Under Facial Feminization Surgery

The most common procedures used in FFS include:

• Forehead Recontouring
• Orbital Recontouring
• Brow Lift
• Scalp Advancement
• Rhinoplasty
• Buccal Fat Removal
• Cheek Implants
• Facial Fat Grafting
• Jawline Contouring
• Genioplasty

Apart from these, the surgeon may also use the following procedures for enhanced results:

• Hair transplantation
• Upper or lower blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery)
• Face and neck liposuction
• Lip lift
• Facial skin tightening

This vast array of surgeries and procedures ensures that every patient gets desirable results from facial feminization surgery—the goal in FFS is to provide exceedingly natural-looking and balanced results.

The latest technology and developments in FFS allow for such promising outcomes. Such equipment is only available with surgeons who follow international standards. They add safety and minimise trauma, allowing for a much more comfortable recovery.

So, this brings us to the main question for this article: what is new in FFS?

Latest Developments in Facial Feminization Surgery

Depending on the procedure, facial cosmetic and reconstructive surgeons use the latest technology at well-equipped centres. Expert maxillofacial surgeons need to have a keen understanding of facial proportions and balance. Such comprehensive knowledge enables greater compassion and more natural-looking results.

Some of the latest technologies used in FFS today include:

3D Planning in Facial Feminization Surgery

The face is a three dimensional structure. Any intended change in facial appearance needs to be planned in all three dimensions. A simple change in the face projection can have a considerable impact on the apparent face height and width as well. So, a 3D visualization and planning of any facial recontouring is vital to achieve balanced results.

Used by experts trained in advanced maxillofacial surgery, 3D imaging and planning software like Crisalix at RG Aesthetics helps improve procedures like jaw contouring and correction and genioplasty surgery(chin reshaping and repositioning).

These procedures target the bone itself, making them permanent solutions compared to alternatives like implants and fillers. 3D imaging allows patients to see what their final jawline will look like before the actual procedure.

3D Printing in Facial Feminization Surgery

Modern technology allows for 3D printing of patients’ existing and planned facial bony structure. Being able to hold the replica of the patient’s structure not only helps in communicating the exact nature of disease and treatment plan with the patient, but also helps to check the fit of the implants and plates on these models before the surgery, improving surgical precision.

Contemporary maxillofacial surgery also allows for 3D printing of surgical cutting guides which ensures  superior jawline correction and genioplasty by making the surgical cuts more precise and pre-planned, reducing overall surgical time and improving surgical accuracy.

The use of 3D technology has made surgery much safer, with more predictable outcomes. Thus, the patient is also much happier with their results.

Using Custom Implants in Facial Feminization Surgery

If a patient needs an implant, 3D technology can help create a perfectly sized and contoured implant which is tailor-made according to the patient’s face measurements. Gone are the days of the “one size fits all” method of placing implants.

Revolutionary advancements in 3D printing of patient-specific implants has allowed surgeons to design customised implants that are unique to the patient’s requirements and fitting the patient’s tissues like a glove. This understanding ensures the most natural-looking, aesthetic results.

Facial Feminization Surgery and the Piezotome

Another innovation in recontouring procedures under FFS is the piezotome. Surgeons trained in ultrasonic bone surgery can provide more precise and safer outcomes using the piezotome.

FFS using the piezotome is a much safer procedure than the traditional bony recontouring methods. Piezosurgery targets the bone exclusively while leaving all neighbouring nerves and tissue intact.

This development has significantly improved the results of FFS today. Combined with 3D technology, it may be used in numerous procedures, including:

• Forehead Recontouring
• Orbital Recontouring
• Rhinoplasty
• Jawline Contouring
• Genioplasty

There are many risks in these procedures that piezosurgery effectively circumvents by offering such a high level of precision. The result is reduced surgical downtime and greater predictability of the outcome. This makes it one of the most critical developments in FFS today and is being used by trained expert maxillofacial surgeons in Delhi.

Contouring Technologies Used in Facial Feminization Surgery

The latest developments in liposuction technology are MicroAire, i.e. Power-Assisted Liposuction (PAL), and VASER, i.e. Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction (UAL).

These devices target excess fat in the face and neck. First, they remove fat via MicroAire’s power-assisted cannula and then use VASER’s heating ultrasound waves to make the skin shrink. Your surgeon may also use the latest FaceTite and NeckTite radiofrequency technology for enhanced skin tightening and better results.

MicroAire and VASER are minimally invasive devices used only by a select few expert cosmetic surgeons, including those at RG Aesthetics. They cause significantly less damage to the fat cells than traditional liposuction. This minimal trauma allows surgeons to treat the removed fat cells after liposuction and use them in facial fat grafting to enhance and tighten the face in various areas.

How Facial Feminization Surgery Ensures Minimal Scarring

Alongside the technological innovations, technical breakthroughs like minimal scarring techniques are essential today.

After all, if a patient has visible scars on their face, that defeats the purpose of FFS. Placing incisions in inconspicuous locations, therefore, matters a lot today. This includes hiding them in the hairline (for upper face FFS) or inside the mouth and cheek (in lower face FFS) for the best results.

For a mid-face procedure like rhinoplasty (nose surgery), the incision is made across the narrow strip of tissue separating the nostrils, allowing access to the rest of the nasal bone structure. The resulting scar is tiny and almost invisible, ensuring excellent results.

Therefore, several advancements in technology and technique contribute to much better, safer results with minimal trauma and scarring. Choosing a surgeon and centre with access to such knowledge and technology ensures a far better outcome.

As a leading maxillofacial surgeon in Delhi specialising in facial feminization surgery, Dr. Sanchaita Kohli aims to minimise surgical downtime and optimise results to patients’ satisfaction. Using the state-of-the-art equipment at RG Aesthetics and the most modern surgical techniques, Dr. Kohli ensures that her patients get their best chance at aesthetic results with beautiful, feminine faces that look and feel entirely natural!