In terms of facial feminization surgical procedure, few surgeons on the planet deliver the depth of coaching, precision, and experience that Dr. Harrison Lee does to the working room. A triple board-certified facial plastic surgeon with practices in Beverly Hills and New York Metropolis, Dr. Lee has spent almost three many years on the intersection of surgical science and aesthetic drugs. Nowhere is that extra evident than in his work in Facial Feminization Surgical procedure (or FFS).
A Basis Constructed on Bone
What separates a talented FFS surgeon from others within the subject is not only approach. Dr. Lee’s academic background gave him precisely the foundational data of the facial skeleton wanted for this specialization. After graduating from Tufts Dental College in an accelerated three-year program, he accomplished a four-year residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical procedure, taught at NYU as a medical assistant professor, after which returned to high school to earn his MD. Persevering with on, he spent 5 years finishing a Head and Neck Surgical procedure residency at Mount Sinai Medical Heart in New York Metropolis and a Facial Plastic Surgical procedure Fellowship below world-renowned surgeon Dr. Frank Kamer in Beverly Hills. This intensive path to experience produced a surgeon with a complete understanding of the face, from the underlying bone construction to the overlying smooth tissue. A mixture quintessential in FFS.
What FFS Really Entails
At its core, FFS is the method of reshaping characteristically masculine facial options into those who learn as extra female. That course of begins with a transparent understanding of the structural and historically seen variations between the female and male face.
Dr. Lee particularly and thoroughly considers the particularities that these surgical procedures require. The male jaw, as an example, descends sharply from the ear and usually types a near-90-degree angle. It tends to be angular and outstanding, typically accentuated by a well-developed masseter muscle. The male chin is usually wider and extra sq.. The forehead bone is often extra pronounced, sitting decrease and heavier above the eyes. The hairline is one other key attribute that’s generally distinguished by an M-shaped recession on the temples in males, whereas girls are inclined to have a softer, extra rounded hairline alongside the edges.
Addressing these options requires greater than surface-level work. For jaw discount, Dr. Lee makes use of a measured, surgical strategy that he distinguishes from much less exact strategies utilized by different practitioners. “We do not grind the bone,” he explains. “When you begin grinding the bone, it turns to mud and you do not know how a lot you take. I truly measure it and lower it off. It is much more precise.”
For the chin, his most well-liked approach is the T-genioplasty, carried out solely via incisions contained in the mouth. He cuts the chin horizontally, removes a central vertical phase, and brings the remaining parts inward, permitting the overlying pores and skin to observe naturally. This technique avoids a beauty complication often called a witch’s chin, which might happen when bone is just shaved down and the smooth tissue doesn’t retract as anticipated.
The brow is addressed with equal care. Dr. Lee reduces outstanding forehead bones and, the place wanted, advances the hairline to appropriate the M-shaped recession on the temples. This may be carried out with a simultaneous forehead raise via the identical incision, minimizing further scarring and surgical time.
A Complete Strategy in a Single Surgical procedure
One of many defining points of Dr. Lee’s observe is his means to deal with the total vary of FFS procedures in a single operative session, and on the clock. An entire FFS bundle below his care can embrace hairline development, forehead bone discount, forehead raise, rhinoplasty, higher lip shortening, jaw discount, T-genioplasty, tracheal shave for Adam’s apple discount, and cheek augmentation via fats switch and implants. His purpose is to finish the total process inside a six to seven hour window. Any longer turns into uncomfortable and generally harmful for the affected person.
Dr. Lee approaches each case with out making use of a normal formulation. They require studying every particular person face rigorously and making selections that serve each the affected person’s objectives and the very best particular person and aesthetic end result.
Belief Constructed Via Expertise and Outcomes
For transgender sufferers, lots of whom have had advanced or tough experiences inside the medical system, belief is a crucial a part of the patient-surgeon relationship. Dr. Lee has constructed that belief via a mixture of credentials, expertise, and outcomes. His sufferers have included notable public figures resembling Caitlyn Jenner, Nikita Dragun, and Dylan Mulvaney, and his fame within the FFS group is grounded in persistently natural-looking, profitable outcomes.
He’s simple concerning the broader panorama of FFS care. As demand for the process grew, many surgeons with out ample coaching in facial bone surgical procedure started providing FFS. The outcomes in these circumstances had been typically poor. “Not each surgeon is well-versed in one of these surgical procedure,” he says. “In the event you’re not well-versed in these methods, you should not be doing these procedures.”
For Dr. Lee, Facial Feminization Surgical procedure represents each a technical self-discipline and a significant space of medication. It gives sufferers the chance to align their exterior look with their id, and it calls for the best degree of surgical ability to do effectively. With 27 years of observe and a surgical background that few in his subject can match, Dr. Lee continues to be probably the most trusted and sought-after surgeons in facial feminization surgical procedure at the moment.
