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Facial Plast Surg 2022; 38(03): 240-244
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1735648
Original Research

Postoperative Pain and Opioid Use after Facial Feminization Surgery

David W. Chou 
1   Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, California
,
Nikolas R. Block-Wheeler
1   Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, California
,
Rijul Kshirsagar
1   Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, California
,
Kathleyn Brandstetter
1   Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, California
,
Andrew Kleinberger
1   Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, California
,
Charles Shih
1   Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, California
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Abstract

The objective of this study is to characterize surgical pain after facial feminization surgery (FFS) and delineate postoperative opioid usage. It is a retrospective cohort study. It was performed in a multicenter integrated health care system. Electronic medical records were reviewed for patient demographic characteristics, medical history, pain medication prescriptions, and responses to a postoperative pain survey. Student's t-test and the Mann–Whitney U-test were used for bivariate analysis. Fisher's exact tests were used for categorical data. Seventy-four patients who underwent FFS were included. The mean (standard deviation) reported “average” postoperative pain score was 4.3 (2.3) out of 10. A total of 58% of patients reported pain lasting 5 or fewer days after surgery. The severity and duration of postoperative pain was similar between patients who underwent partial-FFS or full-FFS. A total of 68% of patients required fewer than 15 opioid tablets. There were no significant differences in the quantity of opioids prescribed or used between patients who underwent partial-FFS or full-FFS. Older age and premorbid mood disorder did not correlate with greater severity/duration of pain or number of opioids used after surgery. Most patients required fewer than 15 opioid tablets after surgery and experienced less than a week of postoperative pain. Patients undergoing full-FFS did not appear to experience significantly greater pain than those undergoing fewer procedures. Older age and premorbid mood disorder were not predictors of worse pain outcomes or greater opioid utilization.

Keywords

postoperative pain - facial feminization surgery - gender affirming facial surgery - opioid use - safety


Publication History

Article published online:
16 September 2021

© 2021. Thieme. All rights reserved.

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