One Week After Lower Face and Neck Lift, and I Feel Great! - Bend, OR

I am a 59 year old female who always swore I would get rid of jowls if and when they came my way. About a year ago I began researching ways this could be done, hoping for a non-surgical option. The more I researched, the more I discovered that most people were not happy with Thermage, Zeltique, etc, so I went in for a consultation with Dr. Gallagher. He and his staff were friendly and professional. Dr. Gallagher explained the surgical procedure he would perform and answered all of my questions. I was particularly concerned about my skin looking natural, and that my mouth wouldn't end up looking weird. I also wondered what recovery would be like. After the consultation, a staff member gave me a written statement explaining the cost, said I could call back if I had any more questions or if I decided to schedule the procedure. Neither the doctor or staff tried to hurry or push me into any decision. After discussing it with my husband, and doing more online research about the surgery, I decided to go ahead with a lower face and neck lift. Further easing my mind, I heard from 2 different people that Dr. Gallagher was quite an artist and did excellent work.
At this point, it has been one week and the result is better than I had even expected. My jawline looks like it did when I was younger, and my recovery has been quite good. I do still have some swelling and bruising in my ears, the sides of my neck, and the area of my jaw beneath my ears, but it isn't bad at all. I purchased some makeup (Graftobian Corrector Palette) from Amazon.com and used it on my neck today with great success, and was able to go to the store without feeling awkward. I was diligent about wearing the facial compression mask 23 hours a day this first week, and sleeping with my head elevated, and also have taken Traumeel to assist with bruising and am amazed at how quickly I have healed. I have only used Tylenol for the small amount of pain I've had, but I have used a muscle relaxant at night so that I can sleep on my back, elevated, with that irritating face compression bandage on. I will continue to wear it at night for one more week - even thought it's been the worst part of my recovery, I think it's worth the annoyance. My ears are a bit achy and numb and the sides of my face feel a little weird, and the scars will need more time to heal before I can wear my hair back, but I'm way ahead of what I expected. I felt so vain and silly to do this, but I'm glad I did!