Now booked for my abdominoplasty and hair transplants in Istanbul, Turkey

 I have now booked for my additional surgeries for my full abdominoplasty and hair transplants (FUE technique) at Comfort Zone Cosmetic Surgery, Istanbul in Turkey.  I cannot fault their customer service at this point in time - I sent them an email with my initial enquiry at 10am on Monday morning and a few minutes later a gentleman called Engin telephoned me back thanking me for my enquiry and went on to describe their modus operandi in perfect English.  He said he would email me some images and further information and 5 mins later, the email he had promised me arrived on my desktop.  I further made some enquiries about the other types of surgeries that they perform and he always came back to me within the space of about 5 or 10 mins (except for one enquiry which I sent him early one evening - it would have been about 8:30pm local time in Turkey - and the response was a little slower, understandably, but still arrived on my desktop within the hour.

Comfort Zone Clinic - Interior

Comfort Zone Clinic - Exterior

Looks like my trip back to Peru is no longer on

In March, just before I left Peru, Nikky examined my face and said "Miss Carol, when you return for your abdominoplasty and hair - I will give you a blepharoplasty".  I imagined this was because I had seemed to have paid substantially more than other patients who had similar treatments (or much greater treatments) at the same time - and more than some who followed later.
When I emailed Nikky about this, she now says that this is not possible and I will now have to pay an extra $1,300.  With these broken promises in mind I am now looking elsewhere and think I have come up with a better solution at a lower cost to what Nikky is offering.
More will follow later.

Ready to book my flight back to Peru

I'm now in the process of booking my final set of surgeries - full abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and some hair grafts - and waiting for Nikky to confirm that the surgeons who will be doing these procedures will be available in mid November.  Once she has confirmed this I will book my flights.
I will be updating my blog about these procedures as they happen.  More information about the abdominoplasty surgery can be found on the Femilife website here

Trans is an award winning movie produced by Mark Schoen. This full length documentary film has won many accolades for its sensitive portrayal of the lives of people who are transgender. The video can be purchased on DVD by the producers of the movie (at the moment in NTSC format, but being released in a weeks time in PAL format next week (for the UK and other European countries)- the trailer can be viewed on my video page here

My FFS Results

Well, after several attempts, I was finally able to go and get my photographs done and I hope that you like the results that Dr. Pimental was able to achieve.  You can see the results here - but here are a few small previews:-

Sometimes the media really are trash

Reveal front Cover - click to enlarge

The article was written by Boudicca Fox-Leonard, although it might not have been her that wrote the offensive remark on the front cover, that might have been done by a headline writer, a sub-editor or even the editor.  Boudicca Fox-Leonard is a senior features writer with Reveal and not a freelance journalist as previously mentioned - my sincere apologies for that mistake.  However, knowing this might make it worse as she must bear some of the responsibility for how her article was portrayed.

As she carries on with her life, she is probably totally unaware of the devastation that she leaves in her wake. This just encourages all those transphobic idiots out there to carry on with their bigoted and offensive comments.

OK, it is bad enough for us adults - but does she ever wonder what it does to young transgender children who are transitioning and are battling hurtful, stupid, spiteful comments from adults at the gates of the schools that they are attending which is then passed down to their own children and so the bullying continues throughout their school day.  I just wish all of them had to walk just 10 yards in those transgender children's shoes - see if they could stand their pain, the humiliating and degrading comments, they would wilt, run and hide after just a couple of paces.

The trouble with most of these fly by night journalists is that they have no conscience and are just happy to collect their pieces of silver without a thought or any idea of the trouble they leave in their wake - including self mutilations and even suicides.

What we do is not a lifestyle choice, it is a necessity for us to be able to live at all.

The magazine did publish a very weak apology on their Facebook page - put not for making the remarks, but for offending a few of us.  If you would like to add your own comments regarding this, you can do so by clicking on the link here.

Survey

If anybody would like to take part in a very small, completely anonymous, survey about how you came out to your parents I would be grateful if you would take part in it.  The results might help those struggling with what is the best way to inform them.
For more information please see my separate page "Transgender: Telling Your Parents"

Congratulations to Nikky on the opening of her new offices

Consultation area of Femilife's new offices

Nikky Sanchez, the owner and founder of Femilife, Peru has opened her new and beautiful office suite overlooking the Parqué Central de Miraflores in a prestigious area of this thriving and beautiful city.

Entrance to the Parqué Central de Miraflores (Femilife's offices are just out of image on the left)

This is where the surgeons will come to see Femilife's clients for their pre and post operative consultations and is located close to where most of the apartments which Femilife uses to accommodate its clients during their stay in Lima.

180º panorama image taken in the Parqué Central de Miraflores

It is in an area of the city which I felt completely safe in, both during the day and the night

More images of Femilife's new offices below:-

Click on any of the images to see a larger version of that image

Comments from other neighbours

I happened to bump into another neighbour yesterday - I had decided to wear a new wig for the first time since I got back and I don't normally wear wigs - and she initially said that she loved my new hair style lol and that it made me look completely different, then she said that it really suited me as it made me look years younger (she has no idea why I had gone to Peru). I told her that it was probably my new teeth that also made me look a little different and she said that she had noticed that I had a much nicer smile. So it is quite strange really, those people who do not know why I went all make the comments that I look so much younger and fresher (yet they seemingly cannot work out why - until I give them a plausible, but different reason), which they seem to accept without further questioning.  I suppose I was also fortunate in that I was away for almost 2 months, which gives people's mental image of you time to get a little blurry and they know something is radically different but simply don't know the reason why your new appearance doesn't quite fit with the old fuzzy mental image they have of you.
So, perhaps if you are going for your FFS and don't want people to know what you are having done, do something radically different with your hair, change the colour , change the style and people will seemingly put your new face down to your new hair style/colour.

Comments from closest friends

Went out for lunch today with my two closest friends and as promised, they gave me their honest appraisal of the results of my surgeries.
They were both absolutely amazed and so pleased for me, especially the results from the face/neck lifts and the difference to my eyes, both of them loving the look which the surgeries had given me, saying I looked so much fresher and younger.  I didn't ask them if it made me look more feminine - it was not the sort of question to ask in a crowded restaurant lol.
Sarah noticed the difference to my lips, but Barbara didn't (I just think she was agog at the results from the other surgeries lol).  Barbara loved the effect which the brow surgery had given me, which opened my eyes completely - and now wants to know  which eye makeup I am using so she can do hers in a similar fashion, which I thought was a huge compliment to myself and also (indirectly) to the work that Dr. Pimentel had done.
Sarah also loved the dental work - and even jokingly asked would I bequeath them to her in any future will I made, which I thought was extremely funny (I'm still giggling now as I write this Sarah).
So am I pleased that I went to Femilife for my surgeries???  The answer has to be a resounding "YES" based upon the totally honest opinions of my two closest friends, it was very worth it.
I even celebrated by buying a new pair of shoes and a handbag to go with the new face (well any excuse is better than none).

First comment

It is strange how quickly you adapt to your new face and I don't think I have changed much, but I bumped into a neighbour yesterday who knew I was going to Peru, but not the reasons why and she remarked

"Wow Carol, you look amazing, the holiday has done you a power of good - you look a lot younger and fresher than before you left, you must have been working far too hard before"

This is exactly what I was hoping for, not a radical change so that people would not recognise me any more, just subtle changes that would make me look younger and more acceptable as a woman. I also think that because it was almost 2 months since she last saw me, it was more difficult for her to see the changes, it is not like she saw me the day previously and hence had a very recent mental image to compare me to.
I suppose the acid test will come next week when I go out for a meal with my closest friends (one of them is away at a tournament at the moment) and as they knew what I was going to Peru for, they will no doubt give me a totally honest opinion on the results, at least I hope they will.

Finally back home

Taken at Madrid airport of the plane I flew the final leg home in

Well, back home after an uneventful, but tiring trip back to the UK (except perhaps when I found I had ventured into a secure zone where I wasn't supposed to be and had to be escorted by an armed security guard who confiscated my passport until I had been through the security check point again for a complete sweep of both myself and my hand luggage). They must have ditzy blondes in Peru as well as he fortunately saw the funny side to it.
Finally got through my front door at half past midnight on Saturday morning.

God, it's freezing over here - have the CH turned up full blast just to keep warm.

My thanks to Dr. Pimentel, Nikky Sanchez, Dr. Cuevas and all the various other doctors and nurses who looked after me during my stay in your country.  I will treasure those memories forever.

.......... and last but not least, a special thanks to two of my best friends for the beautiful "Welcome Home" card which was waiting for me when I got in - made me completely teary eyed when I opened it xx

I'm coming home

Went out this morning for a stroll down to the Larcomar shopping precinct and came back about noon to finish my packing and get changed into something more suitable for when I get back to the UK.  So, the suitcases are  all packed and ready to go, Nikky has just called in to say her goodbyes and Senor Carlos will be arriving in 1½ hours to take me to the airport.
So I'd best get this computer packed away and await for my driver

Day 5 of post laser treatment

The skin on my chin and top lip started peeling off yesterday and has been the same today.  The sides of the face have finally returned to normal as has the whole of the forehead and the top of my nose.  Still using plenty of the creams that Nikky gave me to help with the healing process - two lots of different creams applied liberally 3 times a day.
Had my consultation with the hair transplant specialist today and she was a lovely lady, although her English was the worst of all the doctors I have seen here, but Nikky, as always, was on hand to help with the translation.
Because I have very fine blonde hair, it turns out that I will need a larger number of follicles transplanted, she estimated around 4,000 (although she always does 10% more than she quotes for, because of the estimated 10% failure rate, but she said that would give me a full head of hair.
If I have it done when I return for my tummy tuck, I will have dye it brown otherwise it becomes difficult for her to separate all the different hairs and slice them into single follicular units - Oh well, there goes my blonde locks.

Night view from my apartment

As I am writing this, I am feeling a sense of sadness as I fly out in 24 hours on the long journey back to the UK.  Nikky has been a good friend to me whilst I have been here and because of that I will always be grateful to her and wish her well with her future and that of Femilife as well.  I might be able to get another post in before I depart but if I don't I will continue when I am back in the UK, so there might be a three day lapse before anything new is added to the blog.
Since I started writing this blog I have been contacted by many people who are either interested in having their FFS's done - or simply writing to tell me that they have found it interesting and I would like to thank them for taking the trouble of doing that.  There have been almost 3000 page views since I started the blog in January, just before I left the UK to come here, which to my mind has made the effort of doing it very rewarding.
Bye for now, and my thanks to Dr. Pimentel, Dr Cueva and Nikky Sanchez who all made this possible.
See you all back in the UK xxx

Day 3 of Post Laser Treatment

Yesterday, my face was still a little red, although more like sunburn, so it wasn't too bad but still felt like fine sandpaper.

View from the 12th floor

Today I had to get up early as I was changing apartments at 9 am so was up at 6 am to turn the heater on for my shower and then packed the rest of my things.  Showered, did my hair and face and the owner of the apartments came to help me move and showed me the new apartment.  It was actually Sophie's old apartment that I am in now, so I am fairly familiar with it.
My skin is much better this morning - the worst area had been the chin and the top lip area and this is now longer exhibiting the sandpaper syndrome and feels more like normal skin, but softer than it was previously.  Parts of my forehead are also returning to more normal skin type feeling, but the sides of my face and the top of my nose are still feeling a bit rough to the touch.  So hopefully, with another 3½ days to go before my flight back to the UK, everything should be back to normal.
Nikky will be calling round just before noon to take me to see the specialist who does the tummy tucks as I am sorely empted to have this done as well to get rid of all the stretch marks from when I slimmed down from 265 lbs to my present 135 lbs - I would then be able to wear a bikini again LOL.

Later:
 Just returned from my consultation with Dr. Villasis who again, is an absolutely charming man with a bright, happy smile and although his English was not as good as Dr. Pimentel's, he was perfectly understandable.  He explained what he could do to give me the smooth tummy I wanted, but also told me that my bulge was  due to the excess skin I had created during my fat period and that I had no fat left there now, just skin, so there was no need for liposuction.  No wonder it wasn't disappearing no matter what I ate or how much I exercised.  He explained thoroughly where he would cut and where the scar tissue would be, so I am happy with that as well.
Nikky will call round later this evening to give me a quote.

Day 1 Post Laser Treatment

I awoke about 5 am this morning with my face on fire so I got up and had a look and it was swollen and very red - like as if I had been out in the sun all day without a sun block on.  I applied an ice pack for about 20 mins and let the heat dissipate from my face and then went back to bed.  Woke up at 8 am again and it felt tight but not painful - and the skin now feels odd like it did last time - like fine sandpaper, so if my last treatment is anything to go by, it should return to normal in about about a week's time.
For a fuller understanding on how the fractional CO2 laser treatment works, please see here.
I will be going to see Dr. Pimentel later for what might be my last visit to him before I leave for home.

Later:

I saw Dr. Pimentel and he removed the remainder of the stitches, except those inside my mouth which he said would dissolve in the next month or two.   He also recommended that I have a further one or two laser peels once I am back in UK in order to get the maximum effect from the treatments which I have had, so I might have another one and then a further one next year when I am back in Peru.
Me encanta Perú

Final Laser Skin Resurfacing This Evening

Well the dreaded day has arrived - well evening really as Nikky picked me up at 6 pm to take me to Medi Esthetic for my final CO2 laser skin resurfacing treatment.  After a wait, I was shown into one of the many treatment rooms where a young technician cleansed my face and then applied liberal amounts of the anaesthetic cream to my face and then left me for about 20 mins for it to take effect.  Nikky left at that time as she had to go and see another client.  I was then asked to change rooms to where the fractionating CO2 laser was situated and then the doctor came in and started the treatment.
He started at pretty much the same strength as last time, but he was going over areas which only had fine lines  as he worked down towards my chin area, I noticed a perceptible change in the note that the machine was making - and a much more perceptible change in the amount of pain.  I almost jumped off the treatment table in shock, but gathered my nerves and signalled for him to continue, but it was nearing the threshold that I could take.  He went over the chin and lower cheek areas several times (about three I think) and then he tapped me on the shoulder, I opened my eyes and he softly said "Finito" with a broad smile  Thank goodness for that.
Unlike the previous session when the young technician applied a mask to my face and left me for about 30 mins, this time she tenderly kept wiping my face with a cool soothing liquid, and did it feel like heaven.  My face felt like it was on fire and swollen to the size of a melon, but after she had finished I went to the bathroom and checked and it was fine - just a little red and very slightly swollen.  I called Nikky to tell her I was ready for collection and she said that Senõr John would call to collect me and she would ring me when he arrived at the clinic.  About 30 mins later she called me to tell me that Senõr John was waiting outside for me and he took me back to my apartment.

Final Visit to Odontodigital Today

Went for what turns out to be my final visit to see Dr. Cueva at Odontodigital today.  After his usual warm greeting and a happy smile he set to work fitting all of the new lower crowns into place.  They look fabulous - no more crooked, worn teeth at the bottom now.
He also fitted to new upper denture into place and although I will still have to use dental glue for the time being, the upper teeth are just perfect.
For a full report see my separate page on Cosmetic Dentistry in Peru here.

Had my PRP Skin Rejuvenation Therapy Today

Nikky called to collect me at noon and took me to Medi Esthetic where I would have my PRP treatment.  Unfortunately I had to wait awhile until things were available for me to begin the treatment.  First I was escorted to a reasonably sized room and after removing my jewellery was asked to lie down on the treatment table for the technician to take my blood.  DOH!!! The poor lass couldn't find a vein (which is not unusual, I have been black and blue in the past when I have had to give blood samples as my veins lie quite deep  and everybody has difficulty taking samples).  After one attempt she gave up as she didn't want to do any damage and took me out from the clinic to another clinic specialising in blood tests, and a nice guy looked at my arms, laughed and nodded his head.  However, after a few minutes of tapping and hand clenching he did find one and managed to get enough blood out of me for the treatment.

After arrival back in the Medi Esthetic, I was taken back to the room and lay down for a while until another young girl entered and proceeded to apply an anaesthetic lotion to my face in the areas which were to be treated.  I then waited for about a further 10 mins for the lotion to take effect and another young girl came in to actually give the injections of my platelets back into my face.  Was it painful??  No not really, unpleasant in some areas (and nowhere near what I feared it would be on my top lip) but completely OK in other areas.  I have certainly experienced far worse sessions of electrolysis.  I did feel very swollen though afterwards but she returned and proceeded to dab my face with something which cooled my face down very quickly and that was that - the treatment was finished and I was free to go.

I called Nikky and she returned about 15 or 20 minutes later to collect me and take me back to my apartment.  After about an hour back in the apartment, I did feel my face stinging a little (no doubt as the facial anaesthetic started to wear off), but nothing too painful and I didn't even need any painkillers to control it.

For a fuller explanation about what PRP Rejuvenation Therapy is, please see my separate page on this topic here.

Important Notice

Nikky has asked me to point out that because of a number of factors (surgeon too booked up, clinic availability, accommodation availability) it is very difficult to book your surgery at short notice.  It could be possible sometimes (say in the event that somebody had to postpone their surgery for reasons beyond their control), but generally she would need a minimum of 2 to 3 months notice of you wanting a particular date.