POSTED UNDER SMAS Facelift REVIEWS
SMAS Face and Neck Lift with Fat Transfer - La Jolla, CA
ORIGINAL POST
Im 57 years old and I didnt hate my face which...
MamaGunMarch 27, 2014
WORTH IT$11,000
Im 57 years old and I didnt hate my face which made this decision especially difficult. I should say I didnt hate my face in the mirror! When I hated it was in photos that I didnt take myself, in the angle that I didnt choose. If it was a pic I didnt take I found that person to be someone I didnt know! My lower face was fat!! No matter how much I would diet and although I was not any heavier than I was in my youth I still had what appeared to be a FAT FACE! I saw a few surgeons. One that I visited 2 years ago who said I "was not ready for a lift" 2 years later he said "you're ready now!" I figured that meant it was time , however, I didnt much care for him and went to the doctor who had been doing my dermal fillers for more than 6 years. He always did a great job on my lips, never making them too big or weird and I came to trust his conservative approach. One month ago he did a fraxel laser and though it is still red, the crepey skin around my eyes is gone!
I hounded him with questions and he was always patient and thorough! I felt like he understood my desires. I showed him a pic of just 4 years ago ( before menopause kicked in) and that was all I wanted. Yesterday was the big day! The staff seemed a bit rushed. I felt like that anyway. That was disappointing. A few hours later I was awake and they raved about how quick it went. That didnt exactly ease my mind! The said I looked 25 again...I didnt want to look 25 but I accepted that they were just being nice! Then I asked for a mirror hoping I would see it before the bulk of swelling set in. I was shocked to see ET in the mirror! I looked very pulled! like that windswept look that we always fear! I told them so and I think I hurt their feelings, however, I expected them to say "well you are already swollen and once it goes down you will look great" Instead they said "no you dont you look great!" I didnt and still dont know how to take this! Is this the way Im supposed to look? My eyes look slanted! I am REALLY swollen today and I expect that! I expected to look in the mirror today and hate myself but what about yesterday? What about 4 hours after the surgery? Was that swelling I saw or is that what I will look like in 2 weeks? 3 weeks or 6 months? I keep reassuring myself that none NONE of his pictures of previous clients looked even the least bit unnatural. On the contrary they looked like very little was done which is what I wanted!
Im scared to death that he pulled me too much! Has anyone else felt this way? At this point I wish I didnt do it! All the pain and agony and worry is not worth it! I am seeing them today to have the drains removed. I will ask him if I was truly swollen when I saw myself the first time and report back to you then!
I hounded him with questions and he was always patient and thorough! I felt like he understood my desires. I showed him a pic of just 4 years ago ( before menopause kicked in) and that was all I wanted. Yesterday was the big day! The staff seemed a bit rushed. I felt like that anyway. That was disappointing. A few hours later I was awake and they raved about how quick it went. That didnt exactly ease my mind! The said I looked 25 again...I didnt want to look 25 but I accepted that they were just being nice! Then I asked for a mirror hoping I would see it before the bulk of swelling set in. I was shocked to see ET in the mirror! I looked very pulled! like that windswept look that we always fear! I told them so and I think I hurt their feelings, however, I expected them to say "well you are already swollen and once it goes down you will look great" Instead they said "no you dont you look great!" I didnt and still dont know how to take this! Is this the way Im supposed to look? My eyes look slanted! I am REALLY swollen today and I expect that! I expected to look in the mirror today and hate myself but what about yesterday? What about 4 hours after the surgery? Was that swelling I saw or is that what I will look like in 2 weeks? 3 weeks or 6 months? I keep reassuring myself that none NONE of his pictures of previous clients looked even the least bit unnatural. On the contrary they looked like very little was done which is what I wanted!
Im scared to death that he pulled me too much! Has anyone else felt this way? At this point I wish I didnt do it! All the pain and agony and worry is not worth it! I am seeing them today to have the drains removed. I will ask him if I was truly swollen when I saw myself the first time and report back to you then!
MamaGun's provider
UPDATED FROM MamaGun
2 days post
Post op march 27
MamaGunMarch 29, 2014
Drains removed and reassurance that I was not overly pulled. I am much more swollen and I expected that. Still I wondered why the nurse was in the room with us with a very concerned look on her face! Haha! I guess we can be overly sensitive to anything that seems out of the ordinary!
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM MamaGun
2 days post
March 28
MamaGunMarch 29, 2014
Stayed home all day and napped a lot which is very unlike me. Well, Im not sleeping well at night so I guess it just makes sense to make up for it during the day. Swollen and painful around the stitches. I looked like an alien still!
Replies (7)
March 30, 2014
Hi MamaGun -- have a look at other people's pictures at your stage. I don't think I have seen any where people looked good in the first couple of days! Fat transfers may add to the swelling and it does seem that the swelling often peaks around Day 4 so don't let it worry you if it seems to be getting worse before it gets better. Your doc has done a good job with your fillers and you liked the work he had done on other patients so hang in there! Remember your doc and nurses have seen many other patients at this early stage so they may be able to "look past" the early swelling to have a sense of how it will be after the swelling goes down.
March 30, 2014
Thank you for the words of encouragement! I still feel so tight, however, after searching up and down and in and out ,..I can not find anywhere where after adequate time, some one says the outcome of their SMAS is still too tight. I want to just relax and enjoy the fact that I feel pretty good! I dont feel a lot of weird sensations nor do I have much bruising at all. Just feel like I have a sling around my jaw pulling my face up to my eyes :D My husband doesnt help at all with the anxiety. He tells me I look weird and doesnt see how I will ever look normal again...yea thanks! I guess thats why my surgeon gave me a lot of valium! Interestingly enough pictures dont really help. I look pretty good in pictures. They dont really reveal the swelling like the mirror does and so looking at others pictures at the same stages is a little troubling...I have to keep telling myself that the pictures dont tell the whole story! But again thank you so much for your words,,,it really helps at a time when I feel pretty alone in my worry!
March 31, 2014
PHOTOS PLEASE!!!!! It would help us if you can post before and after.
March 31, 2014
I finally got brave enough to post some. Let me know if you have some questions! :)
April 1, 2014
Thank you for the photos!! YOU LOOK GREAT. Was the surgery on March 26??? Trying to follow the post surgery...
April 1, 2014
Thank you,, the photos really dont tell the truth about the swelling. My eyes are barely recognizable to me! Yes the surgery was March 26.
March 31, 2014
Oh gosh, I'm sorry this stage is rough! I hope that once your swelling goes down you will see YOU (but refreshed). Please keep us updated. Here's what some doctors say about the windswept look early in recovery (it looks like it definitely could be swelling).
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