Facial Masculinization
Facial Masculinization Surgery
A defined brow ridge, a wider jaw angle, a squarer chin, a sharper border between jaw and neck. At YOUNIFY Clinic, a Healthy Aging & Wellness Center based in Bangkok, Thailand, that structure is planned from your own skeleton, with implants shaped to your measurements rather than chosen from a shelf where the anatomy calls for it.
Care you can measure
Figures from the YOUNIFY surgical programme.
01 — Imaging
Imaging decides where an implant can safely be fixed
The scan is what turns a preference into a plan.
A CT scan of the facial skeleton is taken where forehead or jaw augmentation is planned. It shows bone thickness, sinus position, and the course of the nerve that runs through the mandible, all of which decide where an implant can safely be fixed.
Where a patient-specific implant is chosen, the design is produced from that scan and reviewed with you before manufacture. The surgical team will tell you which route your anatomy calls for. Recommending the more involved one where the simpler one would serve is not how this consultation works.
A patient-specific implant adds several weeks between the scan and the surgery date, for design and manufacture. Plan travel around that rather than the other way round.
What facial masculinization actually changes
Three features carry most of the recognition weight, and they are the three that surgery can address most reliably.
The brow ridge. A defined ridge above the eyes, with a flatter and more backward-sloping forehead above it, is one of the strongest structural markers of a masculine face. Where it is absent, projection is added over the brow.
The jaw. Width at the mandibular angle and a clear border running from the ear to the chin. Where the jaw tapers, that width is added, and where soft tissue blurs the border, the neck is addressed at the same time so the new jaw line is actually visible.
The chin. A masculine chin is generally wider, more square at its front surface, and often more forward. Height and projection are both adjustable.
Soft tissue matters as much as bone here. A well-shaped jaw implant produces very little visible change if the submental area is full, which is why contouring of the neck is planned alongside rather than afterward.
Stock implant vs patient-specific implant
The two routes differ in how they are made, how they sit against bone, and when each is the right choice.
| Stock implant | Patient-specific implant | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is made | Manufactured in a range of sizes and shapes | Designed from your own CT scan and manufactured for you |
| How it is fitted | The surgeon selects and adjusts one during the operation | It sits flush against your bone with no gap |
| Where it is preferred | A symmetrical jaw with straightforward anatomy | Where the two sides differ, where a previous implant sits poorly, or where the change wanted is large |
| Effect on the edge | A stock shape can leave a visible step at its edge where the change is large | The edge is designed to run into your own bone |
| Effect on scheduling | No additional wait before surgery | Several weeks between the scan and the surgery date, for design and manufacture |
How we plan your result
Where a patient is early in hormone therapy, sequencing matters more than technique.
Who this is for
- Transgender men and transmasculine people seeking facial changes as part of gender-affirming care
- Non-binary people who want specific features defined without a full masculinization plan
- Cisgender men whose brow, jaw, or chin reads softer than they would like
- Patients who have had implants placed elsewhere and want a second opinion on position or size
02 · Procedures
Procedures performed at YOUNIFY
Grouped by facial third. Not every patient needs every group.
Upper third
A defined ridge above the eyes, with a flatter and more backward-sloping forehead above it, is one of the strongest structural markers of a masculine face.
What it treats: Brow projection, temple width, brow position.
Procedures: Forehead augmentation builds projection over the brow with a shaped implant, creating the ridge and the flatter forehead slope above it. Temporal augmentation adds width at the temples where the upper face reads narrow. Brow position adjustment lowers and flattens the brow arc, which reads as more masculine than a high arched brow.
Middle third
The middle third is built up rather than reduced, which is the clearest way in which masculinization is not feminization in reverse.
What it treats: Dorsal height, cheekbone definition, midface volume.
Procedures: Nose reshaping builds dorsal height and a straighter profile line rather than reducing it. A cheek implant adds definition along the cheekbone with a shape that reads angular rather than rounded. Facial fat transfer redistributes volume where the midface is hollow.
Lower third
Width at the mandibular angle and a clear border running from the ear to the chin, with the neck addressed at the same time so the new jaw line is actually visible.
What it treats: Jaw width, chin projection, submental contour.
Procedures: Jaw augmentation with a stock implant widens the mandibular angle through an incision inside the mouth. Jaw augmentation with a patient-specific implant uses an implant designed from your own CT scan, preferred where the two sides differ noticeably. Jaw and chin augmentation combined treats the jaw border as one unit rather than two separate corrections. A chin implant adds projection and width at the front of the chin, and genioplasty moves the chin bone itself where the change needed is larger than an implant can give. Neck and submental contouring removes fullness under the chin so the new jaw border is visible. Adam's apple augmentation builds midline projection at the thyroid cartilage and has a dedicated page of its own.
04 · Your team
Performed by board-certified plastic surgeons
Your procedure is performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon in a licensed operating room. Which surgeon performs which part of your plan is confirmed with you in writing after your assessment, before any deposit is taken.
Dr. Thanachot Kamolveerat
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Diploma of the Thai Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
View full profile →05 · Safety
Operating room standards and monitoring
Surgery is performed in a licensed operating facility with anaesthesia care and continuous monitoring throughout.
Licensed operating facility
Procedures are performed in a registered operating room, not a treatment room.
Specialist anaesthesia care
Anaesthesia is administered and monitored by a qualified anaesthesiologist for the duration of surgery.
Continuous monitoring
Vital signs are monitored continuously during the procedure and through initial recovery.
Sterile instrument protocol
Instruments and implants are handled under a documented sterile protocol.
The treatment process
First contact
Photographs taken straight on, in profile, and in three-quarter view.
Video consultation
Which thirds carry the weight in your case, and whether hormone therapy timing argues for waiting.
Imaging
A CT scan where forehead or jaw work is planned. Where a patient-specific implant is chosen, the design is produced from that scan and reviewed with you before manufacture.
Written quotation
The plan and its cost are confirmed in writing before any deposit is taken.
Pre-operative assessment
Laboratory work, an ECG, and a chest film on arrival in Bangkok, with an internal medicine review for longer plans.
Before your operation
You will be asked not to eat or drink anything, including water, for eight hours before your operation.
Surgery
Usually single stage, under general anesthesia in a licensed operating room.
Overnight stay
Usually 1–2 nights, with nursing observation.
Review before you fly
A final review with your surgeon before you leave Bangkok, then remote follow-up.
What recovery looks like
Your surgery at YOUNIFY
From the surgeon who operates to the nurses who follow up, and a private suite to recover in.
Price list
* Indicative prices for reference only. Some items are priced per area. Final pricing depends on an individual assessment. Overseas prices are indicative market estimates for comparison only. Contact our team for a personalized quote.
Your final quote follows an individual medical assessment. You receive a written quotation before any deposit.
Common questions
Is facial masculinization just facial feminization in reverse?
No. Feminization mostly removes bone and masculinization mostly adds structure, so the planning, the materials, and the risks are different. A surgeon experienced in one is not automatically doing the same operation backward.
Should I wait until I have been on testosterone for a while?
Usually, yes. The face changes over the first two to three years of hormone therapy, and some of what patients want from surgery arrives without it. Where you are early in that period the surgical team will generally recommend reassessing rather than operating.
What is the difference between a stock implant and a patient-specific implant?
A stock implant is selected from manufactured sizes and adjusted during surgery. A patient-specific implant is designed from your own CT scan and manufactured for you, so it sits flush against your bone. The second is preferred where the two sides differ, where a previous implant sits poorly, or where the change wanted is large.
Where are the incisions?
Jaw and chin implants are placed through incisions inside the mouth, so there is no external scar. Forehead augmentation is placed through an incision within the hair. Neck contouring uses a small incision under the chin.
Do implants need replacing?
Facial implants are not routinely replaced on a schedule. They are revised where position, size, or a complication makes revision appropriate, and that is discussed with you as part of consent.
Can implants be removed later?
Yes. Removal is a simpler operation than placement, and the bone underneath adapts to an implant over time, so a surgeon will discuss what the face is likely to look like afterward before removing one.
Can I have jaw and chin surgery at the same time as chest surgery?
Combining facial and chest procedures in one anesthetic is possible in some plans and inadvisable in others, depending on total operating time and your medical history. It is assessed individually rather than assumed.
What does it cost?
The price table on this page shows a starting price for each individual procedure to help you budget. It is not the price of your plan, because no two plans contain the same procedures and a patient-specific implant costs differently from a stock one. Procedures listed without a figure are quoted individually, and a written quotation for your plan follows your consultation and imaging, before any deposit.
* This information is for general education. Results and treatment plans depend on an individual medical assessment. Every procedure carries risk. Please consult a doctor before deciding.
Related procedures
Considering facial masculinization surgery?
Send us photographs and tell us where you are in your hormone therapy. A surgeon will tell you what surgery would add now, and what is worth waiting for. Consultations are by video before you travel.
Reviewed by The YOUNIFY Clinic medical team · Last reviewed
Individual results may vary. Please consult a doctor before treatment.