Facelift: Stories

Hideous experience and one I regret very much and am trying to come to terms with every day.

I had turned 50 and thought surgery would make me look fresh and youthful. I researched extensively and believed the magazines/internet and the before and after pics. Unfortunately, I didn't actually meet a patient of the doctor I had chosen who had undergone the procedures I was looking to have. I regret taking the decision to have a facelift and was uncertain at the time. In hindsight that in itself should have been enough to decide 'no'. And also for the doctor to realise that I wasn't ready to undergo this major surgery.

I am self conscious that people I meet can see that I've had work done and feel embarrassed about it. I have visible scars which I conceal with makeup. I have uneven incision lines and scars on my upper eyelids. I have damage to the lower lids (something I didn't know could be an outcome). My eyes look smaller, rounder and sunken at the outer corners partly due to removal of fat.

My biggest regret is the change to the shape of my eyes and the upper lid being rounded and sunken instead of draping against the eyeball. I had no idea this would happen and just thought the surgeon would follow the natural line of the eyelid.

Picture Kate Blanchett (how weird would she look if she was given a generic upper bleph).