Fat Grafting for Forehead Contouring in Facial Feminization

Abstract

Summary:. For gender-diverse individuals assigned male at birth, postpubertal estrogen and testosterone-lowering therapies alone are often inadequate to reverse the testosterone-related facial characteristics projecting a male sex identity. Facial feminization surgery significantly improves quality-of-life outcomes for gender-diverse patients by relieving this gender incongruence of the face. Because the shape of the forehead is so radically different between men and women, feminization of this area is critical for many individuals. Several techniques are typically used in combination, including hairline advancement, browlift, burring of the supraorbital rims, frontal bone contouring, and anterior table setback. This report describes the use of fat grafting as an adjuvant technique to forehead contouring as means to avoid frontal bone osteotomy, which carries a higher complication profile and often requires hardware placement.