Rodrigo Alves shares her feelings about her Facial Feminization Surgery
Rodrigo Alves, aka Roddy, chose to have her Facial Feminization Surgery at 2pass Clinic. She put her fate in the hands of Dr Bart van de Ven.
When did you arrive at our clinic?
I arrived here three days ago. I had to do a few exams prior to surgery and I decided to come three days early for that. My surgery will happen tomorrow and I am very excited.
At what time will you be having your surgery?
My surgery will be in 24 hours from now and I'm very excited! Dr Bart will be performing a Facial Feminization Surgery.
Which procedures did you decide to have? Why did you choose 2pass Clinic?
Well, I have been transitioning for the past 5 months, taking medication, having surgeries,... But the Facial Feminization Surgery, in my opinion, is the main surgery as part of a feminization. I want people to be able to look at me and see that I am a woman. Not only because I have hair extensions or makeup or dresses, but actually because my face is a female face.
I did a lot of research and spoke to so many doctors, but when I met Dr Bart for the first time in London for a consultation, I fell in love with him. He made me feel very comfortable and confident. I told him my story, my feelings, and he read me inside and out.
So basically tomorrow, in 24 hours, I will have a Forehead reconstruction type 3. The doctor will make an incision on top of my forehead and will be shaving my forehead and my brow bone, he will give me a brow/eye lift to create that nice, soft, feminine look. After that, he'll shave my jawline, my chin, and remove my Adam's apple. This just a very straightforward explanation from me, but it's all rather technical.
Dr Bart promised me, so I know for sure, that I'm going to achieve the desired results, which is to have a female looking face.
What is your stay at our guesthouse like?
So here at 2pass Clinic, on the top floor, there are accommodations called 'The Guesthouse'. It's very comfortable and very cozy! There's a lovely lady working here called Petra. She makes me breakfast, lunch and dinner. She's very attentive, very lovely and makes some amazing cups of tea. And I love chocolate, so she's always bringing me chocolate which is so kind of her. There's also Anne-Leen at the reception just outside my room, and anything I need she's there for me!
I've been here for three days, this is my third day today, and I met a few patients that have had their surgeries before me. Honestly, they all had amazing results. There's a lovely girl here from Germany and she had her surgery yesterday. I just met her now and she's just having a cup of tea and has no pain at all.
Pain and scars don't bother me. No pain, no gain. It's part of the transition, it's part of the process, going through surgeries and the recovery,... And pain is just a small part of it. It doesn't scare me at all. I'm pretty sure that after this procedure I'm going to be much happier and confident.
Being a transgender woman is not all about makeup and hair extensions and dresses and high heels. I believe that having facial feminization surgery is a big part of it. Because people look at people's faces and decide whether they're male or female, and I still get mistaken as being a man when I'm not a man. Even yesterday night I went out for dinner at a local restaurant here by myself, and after I paid my bill the waiter said 'Have a good night, sir'. And then I looked back and then I wondered 'do I actually look like a man'? Well... probably yes. So I'm here at 2pass to have a facial feminization surgery so I can not be mistaken anymore for a man when I'm actually a transgender woman.
Watch the full interview
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