Facelift: Stories

I will start this review by saying I do not want people to read this a think that surgery abroad is a bad idea, I had a prior surgery in Mexico and had a wonderful experience. What I want people to know is there is a chance issues or problems that may arise and you need to be prepared for that. chances are you'll be fine but just in case get your ducks in a row. I took 10 days off work because I was told to just buy some Dermablend to cover what ever bruising I may have left and I would be able to return to work but for me that was not the case, I had severe bruising as you will see in the photos and developed a Hematoma a couple hours after surgery that my Doctor quickly drained (it is my personal opinion that that soon after surgery I should have been taken back to the OR the bleeding stopped and the area cleaned out and my recovery time would be a lot less) long story short I had to stay in Cancun longer then intended, so please if you go out of the country for surgery please make sure you have a little wiggle room in your schedule because chances are you'll be fine but sometimes things happen.

I was kept in the Clinic an extra night so the could keep an eye on me and Sherri sent Flora a English speaking nurse to stay with me both of those nights ( I really like Flora and I felt a lot better with her there) which will bring me to my next peice of advice. Take someone with you if for nothing but piece of mind, Trust me it will help you to stay calm and get through. Going alone was one of my mistakes.Now I always give credit where credit is due so I want to mention that Sherri's Husband Eric was great, He was there with anything I needed and the poor thing caught my wrath more then once as I can have a pretty bad temper at times. But he took it and still handled things for me to the best of his ability. I ended up having 2 hematomas and both were drained, I have terrible lumps from them on my face that I'm told will go down in about 6 months and I must say it disturbs me to have to go in public looking crazy (refer to photos) and doing it for 6 months bothers me even more. (so much for the little vacation facelift on the down low) The two things that are bothering me the most right now are my right eye is so droopy it looks like I have a basset hound eye, drives me crazy. And as of last night I realized I have a stitch sticking out of my head, not a suture used for closer but a white one softer to the touch and appears to be sticking out of my head. I am waiting for Sherri and Dr. Velasco to get back to me about it but I;m really worried about it because I'm afraid it might be a suspension stitch that has worked it's way out. We'll just have to see. I will add more later but I have to get to work for now.

Just wanted to do a quick update and say Dr. Velasco said it is not a suspension stitch and I can take it out with no problem which makes me feel a little better, well a lot better. The last picture I am posting I took today when I got out of the shower. Looks like my face is melting. I can't stand this droopy eye. Sure hope that goes away

Needed to add that I am 48 years old, I looked a lot older due to a mix of age and a 100 plus weightloss. I had a mid, lower and neck lift (Deep plane) upper and lower eyes (sure regret those lowers) and a littler fat transfer to the nasal folds and between the eyes

Today is week 5, I can see the neck lump going down, still have some bruising but make-up covers that. The face lumps are still hanging out and so is the droopy eye. I'm having some wound healing issues that I'm working on. If I walk around smiling really big like I just ate the cat I don;t really look that bad but if you catch me in train of thought it looks terrible. Still hopeful. Fingers and toes crossed

I will be 8 weeks out as of tomorrow, I am still nursing incision wounds and the 1 that is healing well is going to leave a nasty scar. Found another stitch I have to get the Hubby to get out tonight. The lump on my right side of my face is going down slowly but as long as it's going it makes me feel a little better. I still have googley eyes and sure do regret getting the lowers done. Positive note: I am pleased with the chin and lower face, I still haven't received an surgery report from Dr. Velasco as promised and all these weeks later Sherri from IPF still has not replied to my emails. That's OK it's plain to see once they have your money if you don't have fantastic results they can use to build their business they don't care about you. So for this reason I am changing my review to not worth it. What I want people to understand is that it's not always about the end results but sometimes it's all about the road you took to get there. I feel like I have been left alone to deal with a lot of serous issues and if not for the ladies I've met through this forum that walk me through everything and pick me up on my down days I would have most likely have had a nervous breakdown by now. These patient facilatators need to know we are PEOPLE not just $$, I will post updated pictures when I get off work tonight. I'd like to add that I am not out to bash anyone I am just giving you a true account of my personal experience. and would just hate the thought of someone seeing my before and afters and thinking WOW what a difference where can I sign up. I want them to understand how hard it has been just getting to this point so far and I have such a long way to go. My once low key facelift has become a topic of conversation in my small town. Good thing I have a tough skin.

OH the worries never end, I think the sore on the right side is turning into a keloid as it heals (Well Crap!!)

Today is my 2 month mark and I still look like I stood to close to a fire and the right side of my face melted. Still have a lump on my right side although it's not as bad as it was and I still have the dreaded droop eye, some bruising and really obvious scaring from the incisions over my ears. Oh well, The wait continues.

These photos were taken Oct. 09 at my 2 month mark. Still have lots of healing to go and my eyes are still kinda loopy but it's getting better.

I'm 3 months out now and still have bruising on my neck and in front of both ears. right side lump on my cheek is sloooowly getting better. My right eye is still drooping, Here's praying it will still heal. Good heavens, I have no idea where that double chin came from.
I think i'm gonna do what Colleen did for her dent between her eyes and have a little filler put in as I seem to have a deep line between mine now, Oh and a little botox in the crows feet. In general i'm still optimistic.

Thought I would post pictures without me smiling so you could see the problem with the eye.

For those of you that have asked about my scars from the incisions I've posted a couple of new pictures of them. They are much better and the bruising and black eyes are also better. Last picture is this morning before work.

5 months now and most everything is settling in still have a droopy right eye and some ugly scars that have to be covered with makeup but other then that it's better This will most likely be the last picture I post, I'm thinking it's pretty much my final result.

Just added my final photo and I'm pleased with my appearance. I still have the scaring but I just make sure my hair covers it and also a slight droop to my right eye which isn't noticeable when I'm smiling so I just smile a lot. The end result as far as the appearance is amazing to me, I just wish I could have given a better review but even with the results I still say the journey to get here was way worse then it should have been or could have been. To bad the people I was dealing with didn't care a little bit more for the people that are trusting them and are having surgery through them. Some compassion and concern would have went a long way and this review might have ended up a lot better then it did.