Challenges in Care of the Transgender Patient Seeking Facial Feminization Surgery

Facial feminization surgery (FFS) is the general term for a group of specific procedures that are used in an attempt to alter the perceived gender of an individual's face. These procedures include many commonly offered by facial plastic surgeons, such as rhytidectomy, brow lift, cheek implantation, and lip augmentation. Several procedures performed less often by most facial plastic surgeons also are involved, including scalp advancement, frontal cranioplasty, and reduction mandibuloplasty. Often, a challenge greater than the technical is the interpersonal interactions with patients. This article describes unique situations related to FFS.