POSTED UNDER Facelift REVIEWS
Facelift, Eyes and Necklift - Boston, MA
ORIGINAL POST
I had surgery for a lower facelift, upper and...
Lioness_3639April 18, 2011
$15,000
I had surgery for a lower facelift, upper and lower eyes and a neck lift 8 weeks ago. I am dissatisfied with the results. My surgeon did one of my friends a few years ago and she looked great. While there is some improvement, I still have jowls and my jaw line is not sharply defined. I also had lipo under my chin and the skin under my jaw and down onto my neck is not smooth. I now have skin that is pulled to look like early turkey neck and a lump that feels like a cord that runs from my chin to my Adam’s apple. Moreover, my right eye does not look nearly as good as my left eye.
I am disappointed. I raised my concerns to my doctor after the 3rd week and he told me things would improve. Here I am 2 months later and nothing has really gotten better. In fact, the area around my jowls and mouth seem less tight than right after surgery. Is it too early to tell? Has anyone else experienced similar things only to have them miraculously improve? I’d sure like to hear that things will really get better.
UPDATED FROM Lioness_3639
I am still a believer in PS and will probably seek...
Lioness_3639April 20, 2011
I am still a believer in PS and will probably seek someone to do corrections to this lift. I don't know about going back to the original doctor. How can I trust him to correct what he didn't do right in the first place?
I think my next step will be to get second opinions from other doctors in my area. I have always taken great care of my skin, never been a sun lover so it is in great shape. My outcome, I believe, is due to the lack of skill on the part of my surgeon. Maybe he had an off day. I don't know. I felt so confident going into this surgery, now I am very hesitant to trust anyone...if anyone out there had a bad result corrected and is happy with the redo, I'd love to hear from you. I won't do anything for a year. I want my face and my attitude to experience a full recovery first.
I think my next step will be to get second opinions from other doctors in my area. I have always taken great care of my skin, never been a sun lover so it is in great shape. My outcome, I believe, is due to the lack of skill on the part of my surgeon. Maybe he had an off day. I don't know. I felt so confident going into this surgery, now I am very hesitant to trust anyone...if anyone out there had a bad result corrected and is happy with the redo, I'd love to hear from you. I won't do anything for a year. I want my face and my attitude to experience a full recovery first.
Replies (13)
May 6, 2011
Thanks for asking. Not sure still. My best friend swears that I look great but agrees that my eye could be better. I think the jowls are what they are and I am not expecting them to get tighter. So, either I have to go back to have things tightened more (which I am really not looking forward to at this time) or I am going to have to accept that this is the best I can hope for. I am leaning toward the former but not planning to do anything for awhile.
May 17, 2011
I had a face and neck lift and upper bleh. I am a slow healer and it was a year before the swelling along my jowl line resolved itself. Until then, I felt like the jowl area was not as taut as I wanted but after the swelling subsided it looks just fine. You may be a slow healer as well. It takes a lot more time than they lead you to believe. Just take a deep breath and let your body heal for at least a year. If at that time you want revision, then go for it. These doctors are not perfect and we will never look like we did in our 20's or 30's. Hope things get better for you with time.
May 23, 2011
Thanks for your comments. Still biding my time. I hope that things will improve. There has been some improvement but not nearly as much as I'd like. I think my expectations regarding the outcome were very realistic. I wasn't expecting to turn back the clock nearly as much as the surgeon said he could.
Plus, my incisions still hurt particularly behind my ears. Did you experience that as well? It has been over 3 months now and yet that area is still pretty sensitive.
Plus, my incisions still hurt particularly behind my ears. Did you experience that as well? It has been over 3 months now and yet that area is still pretty sensitive.
May 25, 2011
Yes it is very sensitive behind the ears. I started the myofacial release messages and warm packs and that got rid of it almost completely after the second message. It was amazing. Ask your ps if you can do the messages. It was worth every penny. Make sure you go to a Orth/Medical message therapist that knows what to do. It's a little uncomfortable while they do it but afterwards it feels so much better, especially if you apply warm packs and message that area once a day for a few days. Hope you get bettter soon, Notforme
May 25, 2011
No, I don't remember my incisions behind my ears being particularly sensitive after the first month.
May 10, 2011
Things will change over the next few months. Besides, you need to wait several months before having additional surgery. Sounds like you had a simular experience to mine. I was not prepared for the extent of the surgery or the true recovery time and have also lost faith in my ps. I will say that my complaints were the opposite of yours in that I feel I was overdone and will now require additional surgrey to correct a caved in appearance just below the cheek bones and I have no fullness in my cheeks any longer. You still have swelling, and the neck is the last and longest to heal. You didn't go into any detail about the eyes? and I too have had problems with retraction especially on one eye. The other eye is much more normal looking. I know how you feel taking a big risk, paying all that money, spending all the time and then not getting what you thought you would get. I think most docs minimize the extent of this whole process and even leave out some details and don't tell you the true limits of what they can do. If they truely informed patients of the nitty gritty details, limitations,risks, and length of recovery, few people would do it. Hope you get better soon. Notforme, Dallas TX
July 5, 2012
Update 18 months on.
How do I feel? I'd still give this surgeon a C-. At least I am not deformed. I have waited this long to arrive at a final conclusion about my surgery and it is as follows.
My eyes still have little lumps (or cysts) on the lids. Most are gone but a few remain. The bags are gone for the most part. When I look at myself I do look a little younger and more rested. But the scars are visible under my eyes. I do wear eye liner so it covers that up but when I am home without makeup, the scarring shows. I remember he kept the stitches in a bit longer (he said) because he had the day off on the day they should have come out. We had to move the appointment to remove them. I have wondered if that caused the scarring. He originally told me that they had to come out really quickly after the surgery to avoid scarring. Also, my eyes are different from each other. One is more open. The other has a sagging brow. My best friend said she never wants to have her eyes done now seeing what this guy did to mine. Again, I am not deformed. But these are not my eyes.
My ears still are somewhat numbish and often I experience pain in front of and behind the lobe. I massage them constantly. Some days are better than others. I have to live with it but that alone makes me scared to do any follow up surgeries. If it feels this bad now, what would happen after a second lift?
My neck is the biggest disappointment. I wanted it tighter and no turkey neck or jowls. He assured me he could take care of that no problem and he knew this was a priority for me. Now I have a lump under one side of my chin and the turkey neck is there as much as ever. At some point I will work up the courage to find another surgeon who can consistently perform a good surgery and have this fixed. I know I just got finished saying I was scared to do another surgery but vanity will out.
Is it better than it was? Yes, somewhat. I am being as honest as I can be. My profile is better. Is it as good as it should have been? Absolutely not. I have beautiful healthy skin and this surgeon should have done a much better job.
Are my expectations unrealistic? Most certainly not. He kept telling me he'd take 20 years off. I never believed that and now looking back I should have recognized that as a red flag.
I will never go back to him. I could not trust him again.
I have no advice to give you if you are looking for a doctor. Two people I know had work done by this man and at least one is satisfied. Not sure how the other one feels. I think it is a crap shoot. You do the best you can to ferret out the worst of the lot and then hope the guy (or gal) you select is up to the task on the day of your operation.
How do I feel? I'd still give this surgeon a C-. At least I am not deformed. I have waited this long to arrive at a final conclusion about my surgery and it is as follows.
My eyes still have little lumps (or cysts) on the lids. Most are gone but a few remain. The bags are gone for the most part. When I look at myself I do look a little younger and more rested. But the scars are visible under my eyes. I do wear eye liner so it covers that up but when I am home without makeup, the scarring shows. I remember he kept the stitches in a bit longer (he said) because he had the day off on the day they should have come out. We had to move the appointment to remove them. I have wondered if that caused the scarring. He originally told me that they had to come out really quickly after the surgery to avoid scarring. Also, my eyes are different from each other. One is more open. The other has a sagging brow. My best friend said she never wants to have her eyes done now seeing what this guy did to mine. Again, I am not deformed. But these are not my eyes.
My ears still are somewhat numbish and often I experience pain in front of and behind the lobe. I massage them constantly. Some days are better than others. I have to live with it but that alone makes me scared to do any follow up surgeries. If it feels this bad now, what would happen after a second lift?
My neck is the biggest disappointment. I wanted it tighter and no turkey neck or jowls. He assured me he could take care of that no problem and he knew this was a priority for me. Now I have a lump under one side of my chin and the turkey neck is there as much as ever. At some point I will work up the courage to find another surgeon who can consistently perform a good surgery and have this fixed. I know I just got finished saying I was scared to do another surgery but vanity will out.
Is it better than it was? Yes, somewhat. I am being as honest as I can be. My profile is better. Is it as good as it should have been? Absolutely not. I have beautiful healthy skin and this surgeon should have done a much better job.
Are my expectations unrealistic? Most certainly not. He kept telling me he'd take 20 years off. I never believed that and now looking back I should have recognized that as a red flag.
I will never go back to him. I could not trust him again.
I have no advice to give you if you are looking for a doctor. Two people I know had work done by this man and at least one is satisfied. Not sure how the other one feels. I think it is a crap shoot. You do the best you can to ferret out the worst of the lot and then hope the guy (or gal) you select is up to the task on the day of your operation.
Replies (0)