Keri's FFS Story

Nov 2, 2003 

About 2 years into my transition, I decided that I needed at least some FFS. Initially, I was making plans to contact Dr. O, but then some friends told me about Dr. Cardenas.  Actually, the full name is Dr. Lazaro Cardenas Camerena in Guadalajara, Mexico. Dr. Cardenas was planning a consultations visit to the Chicago area, so I thought "Why not?"  After watching the Doctors presentation, I scheduled a consultation. Dr. Cardenas examined me, and suggested that I needed work on my chin, jaw, nose, forehead and neck (tracheal shave). The estimated cost was very modest, about $6,000 US. (Dr. O would be in the $45,000 - $50,000 range)

After some thought, and talking with some of his former patients, I scheduled FFS for November 1999. An uneventful flight and taxi ride got me to the clinic on Saturday night, for surgery on Monday morning... I was a bit unexpected, as the only English- speaking person had driven to the airport to pick me up!  With my handy English-Spanish phrasebook, I managed to make myself understood, and was shown to my room.

By the way: This is a THIRD - WORLD country we're talking about! On Sunday, my nurse took me for a walk around the block.... one of the richest neighborhoods in the city... which left me unimpressed. From outside the clinic appeared as a fortress, with crude electric- operated metal doors, and very high walls. The room phone was only good for local calls, any long-distance had to be made from the pay phone outside of the clinic. The clinic itself is open-air, (except for the operating rooms) reminding me of an older hotel. The hospital beds, etc. are older American style, all printed in English. The climate is such that only a small electric room heater is needed. The staff was very nice, but virtually no one speaks

English.

On Sunday night, the Dr. came for a final consultation, pointing out exactly what he would be doing. (he somehow forgot to mention that my nose would be totally plugged)

Monday morning, a shower, an I.V., and off to the operating area. Woke up hours later with a very sore throat and unable to breathe! The doctor made it clear that I had to spit out the blockage in my mouth. My first words? "I can't breathe through my nose!" The reply? That's because you have 6" of cotton up each nostril!"

Throat hurts, forehead hurts, 2 black eyes. Ow! All alone in a country far from home, and nobody speaks my language.

Tuesday night, my electrologists from Chicago show up! It seems that they were visiting relatives in Mexico, and made a large detour to visit. While we were talking (me mostly crying from happiness) the Dr. comes in and removes most of my bandages.... not too bad, considering.

Anyhow, the following Monday, my nose bandages and cotton came off..

Nose no longer obviously broken (since being beaten regularly from 8

to 14 years old) Back to Chicago, VERY happy to be back in USA.

Results: 

An Improvement, but not enough.

Trachea Shave worked out, but my voice is since raspier, and my falsetto range is gone.  Chin and Jaw work? No external scars, an improvement from the side profile, not good enough from front.  Nose? a little too "pinched" Forehead? actually not bad. Not a Dr. O job, but brows are well- placed, and the bony ridge is much reduced. Hairline was also brought forward almost an inch. Only downside is a visible scar on sides of forehead at hairline.

Conclusion: 

IF you're not too bad off to start with, this doctor can help, especially if you're low on funds. Dr. O would have been a much better choice for me, and in fact I've since had my chin, jaw and upper lip re-worked by Dr. O, resulting in much- improved "passing", and me seeing a girl in the mirror nearly all of the time now.

The Ousterhout Experience

In two words:

Great! Perfect! This is what it's all about!

My previous FFS (in Mexico) was an improvement, but I still got "sir"'d occasionally. Once I actually said something (with my voice)people would often apologize for their mistake, but this seemed to be an uncomfortable situation to be in. So..... I decided that SRS would have to wait a bit longer so that I could improve my life in the social sense.

Last year (2002) Dr. Ousterhout visited Chicago and did a presentation on his work. Interested, I got a consultation and scheduled surgery in San Francisco for August, 2002 As the Cocoon house was fully booked for the weeks that I had available, I made arrangements to stay at the Metro hotel, 3 blocks from the hospital.  Dr. O's assistant, Mira immediately sent out a complete information package, and the trip and lodging went well.  The day before surgery, I had to get my head x-rayed at a dental lab and met several other Dr. O patients there.

A final consultation with the doctor... he wants to fix my nose and forehead as well, but I want to afford SRS sometime this decade .. so we both agreed that I would benefit most from chin and jaw work. Almost as an afterthought I asked if fixing my upper lip would be a good idea (it was), so we added that too.

Off to talk with Mira and of course PAYMENT , then blood tests and a promise to be back at 6 AM. Mira also advised me to shop for a weeks supply of soft foods and protein shakes, then gave me a kiddie toothbrush and a script for more pain meds. Off I go shopping, then provisioning my room.

Early next morning it's into the hospital, check my valuables, onto a gurney and.... Lights out!

Woke up in a nice room with a Demerol machine and a very sore jaw.  Spent the day and checked out the following day... great hospital stay.  The Metro Hotel is a nice place to recover... nothing fancy, no real extras... but they'd be wasted on me anyway. No room service either, hence the provisions.

Had some Dr. O grads call.... then arranged a visit. Towards the end of my stay, I could eat mashed potato’s and soup in restaurants, but really it's mostly rest.

Finally, back to the hospital and Mira removes my stitches, then it's shopping in Haight-Ashbury and a trip home.  Jaw very weak for a month or so, swelling (always a problem for me) took a while to go down.

Results:

Very, very good. Passability very much improved, and for the first time in my adult life, I've got a SMILE that actually works! (My previous smile looked absolutely horrible)

Someday, when I finish paying off the money I borrowed for this and SRS, I'll go back and have him fix my nose and forehead, but for now I "pass" without incident even at 5'14".... that's quite a feat.

Conclusion:

This doctor can literally change your life. His aim is to feminize your face, and he does so very effectively. He won't necessarily make you pretty..... but he will make you appear female, which to me is the real goal of FFS.  Cost? The minimal work I had done set me back about $17,000 US. What Dr. Ousterhout wanted to do would have cost about $45,000.... A lot of money, but cheap for what you get.  Someday, I'm going back to spend the rest of that money.

Thank You so very much Dr. Doug, (and Mira)

Keri

After thought....   Nov 4, 2003

Someone once told me that if Dr. Ousterhout had a fault, it would be that he does his best work on white patients. His work on people of non-white races suffers, as he tends to apply the same techniques to all, and different races have different facial structures and standards of beauty.

Now I don't know if this is true or just a rumor, but.... it does seem to make a certain amount of sense....

After all, surgeons are human beings and we humans tend to grow up around people of our own race, which then becomes our personal "norm". Any decent surgeon feminizing your face is going to want to make you as feminine and pretty as possible, and his/her own standards of beauty and his culture are going to affect his view of you, and how to best improve your appearance.

For example, in Western culture women with big eyes are often considered attractive, while in Eastern cultures, they call big eyes "Dog eye" or  "round eye" .... these do not sound like

flattering terms. An Oriental surgeon may have a tendency to make your eyes look more Oriental as a result. This would probably be all right for you in China, but may draw odd looks back home in Chicago, or say London.

My own (slightly) over-pinched nose may be a result of this sort of misunderstanding... I had some FFS done in Mexico 4 years ago, and over there a flat, wide nose is common. It's possible my surgeon may have over-compensated and narrowed my nose too much, as that is what he must do on a regular basis with his domestic clients.

I suppose the point of this must be: If you are considering FFS in a foreign country, especially one of a radically different race ... It would a really good idea to find out how well this particular

surgeon does on people of your race and culture. Almost certainly, a large part of his business will be domestic, and probably his own race as well.

It would be a very rare person that could completely disregard their own culture AND know what is most desired by your culture... and then perform a flawless FFS procedure every time on a variety

of races.... Could Dr. S. be this person? Some here seem to think so.  I tend to feel that his best work is probably done on Asians, just as Dr. O. has been accused of specializing in Caucasians.

Remember, surgeons are people (with all our failings) too!

Hugzes,

Keri