SMAS Facelift: Stories

Hi Hippie Girl, I see you posted this question. I just looked up so many wonderful spa's available in San Miguel. The Reflex Center Spa, the Jasmine Day Spa, Shanit San Miguel,Oasis De Luz Spa all have many treatments, meditation and many more full scale services. I hope this helps.

Hi HippieGirl, congrats on selecting Dr K. - - you'll love your results! Had my full facelift with him back in January - I am very happy with the new young me :) Noticed that you are looking to unwind at a spa prior to your surgery (I did the same thing) and want you to know that Esencia Yoga Spa Retreat is another option for you as they specialize in services geared towards the cosmetic surgery vacation. It is affiliated with Casa Marino (it is owned and operated by Pat Marino's daughter) and therefore they understand which services are beneficial prior to your surgery and which treatments can be performed after your surgery. I had micro current treatments (to stimulate and tighten my face muscles), facials, hot yoga and massages (to calm me down (it worked!)) prior to my surgery. I was as ready as I could be for my surgery and completely at peace. They did such a great job of pampering me, and know that they will do the same for you. Good luck!

Oh thats to bad Elise, don't give up on it though. Wish you luck. Take care and hope you hang around still.

How disappointing for you - I was looking forward to your story. Best of luck with the repairs.

Hi Mary, Well Please do tell me how everything comes out when you return. I am hoping the fat transfers won't cause to much swelling. Ya I wish I had the money now to get an inside thight lift. My thighs aren't real bad, just have alittle sagging on the inside front upper thigh, and of course they could use alittle tightening. Keep in touch and maybe we can go at the same time. Want to find out the cost.

WOW that's great - I was feeling so sad for you last night.

I think you asked me about price. First of all like anything else....price is negotiable. Yes, you can ask for a break. The price I said was not for all of those items. Generally a face lift is for the lower face and neck from my experience. It also depends on how much work needs to be done. Some doctors pull the skin back and do nothing with the muscle. This is what I had originally. It is a waste of time and money. You need to fix the muscles at the same time. This is why you can get a facelift from some doctors cheaper. They are only cutting and pulling back your skin. The reason why I had to do this is because of a surgeon who took out the wrong body part (lympnode) in my neck when I was 30. He cut my neck muscle and eventually I had 2 ugly bands hanging out of my neck. Ugly. I wrote about it here. Anyway, I tried to do it on the cheap and went to a doctor that gave me a great price. Since, it was a herniated muscle in my neck my insurance covered it. He should have tightened the muscle and pulled the skin back. He pulled the skin back but did not do anything with the muscle therefore a year later it looked like I did not do anything. He also pulled a little skin on the bottom (lower face) and left me with terrible scars on my ears. Ugly terrible scars. YOU DO NOT want that. We all heal differently. I am a good healer but I do scar and need an artist to cut me the right way. Something to think about ladies and gents. I chose to do my eyes this past December...upper and lower bleph...could have waited for the lowers buy why wait? And, I did deviated septum surgery at the same time. I had 2 bad years with my fathers passing and a divorce and it really hurt my face. I aged a lot during that time. All of the crying did me in. None of the doctors fees were included but the hospital and anesthesiologist was included.....all but the lower eyes....they wanted 1870 total for the remaining hospital bill...lower eyes. I asked them if they could charge me what they would charge my insurance company which was 870 total. They agreed. Again, fees are negotiable. Also, there is a credit card called care credit. Free interest for 18 months. I want to say I paid the doctor 8K but need to double check. YOU can't take a chance with your face. I have learned the hard way. I have had to redo stuff because I was too cheap and too worried about the money. Healing at 49 is a lot different. Then 2 months later I had scar revision on my ears and neck refixed. It was called a lower facelift. My price was 8000 and it was negotiated. My hospital and anesthiologist bill was discounted via the doctors office with each of them. Anesthesia was 1400 and hospital 1175. I am a perfectionist. I want to look perfect. With surgery there is no perfect. But, I believe I chose the right doctor and yes, I do owe money but I personally could not chance doing this in another country. I have had things post op that I did not have to worry about because I could drive to the doctor's office. I don't know how to post pictures but I will once I figure it out. My best advice is to get at least 2 opinions. Look at their work. Talk to people. Research on the internet. I will be 50 in July. I probably look 40. Younger guys do not know my age. My ex husband said that for someone my age I am in the top 10%. I am not saying that....but, he does not give compliments freely. Be patient. It takes months for your end result. Stay calm after surgery. You will go thru a sadness even though you really wanted surgery. That will pass as well. Have someone who cares about you post op with you so that you can rest and be waited on. I was talking to one of the nurses post op and I told her that I was swollen and did not look like myself. She said that I was healing and to look at it in the following way.....She said, "you are in a cocoon right now and you will turn into a beautiful butterfly". I was at work last week and there was a cute little girl that I was talking to and I was giving her some treats with her moms permission. When they walked off the airplane. The mother turned and looked at me and said, "my daughter said you are a beautiful butterfly". It was as if she did not want to repeat that because it was an odd remark but felt like she had to repeat it. I am an intuitive person. I believe it was a message to me. Why would a little girl say that to someone? It was my message that I would feel that way when all of my healing is finished....I am begginning to feel that way! :) Good luck to all of you. Everyone has an opinion and not one doctor is for everyone. Go with your gut feeling. This forum is to educate others on their experience not promote someone unless someone specifically asks you for that information. A doctor could have a 100% satisfaction rate and something could go wrong. They are human.

Hi there I'm new to this forum. My name's Terrie I am 48, from England and am beginning the journey towards getting a facelift. I have had a couple of consultations with 2 surgeons in London. After coming across these really informative posts (thankyou!) I contacted faceliftmexico, whereby Pat emailed me info. How did you proceed from this point? How does the 'remote' consultation process work? Not that I'm in any hurry (just starting a course of laser work for the thread veins on my face), how soon can the process evolve from initial enquiry to having the surgery? Unlike most of the posts I've read I worry about not being totally under in the operation. How was the anaesthesia - how concious are you? What can you feel, hear, see? One last question were there any health implications in flying after this kind of surgery. The long flight I will have ( perhaps over 20 hrs) concerns me. Oh sorry - one last very quick question - weatherwise is there a time that it would be too hot to comfortably have this done? Thankyou very much for your time. Stick at this forum because you and the other women who've posted have invaluable information and experience for people like me who are starting out. Thankyou x

Hi Missmaus, I didn't do the remote consultation, Pat had me send here a series of pictures from side views and front views. They were looked at to see if I was a good candidate. In your case I would do the remote consultation being from so far away. The process can happen very fast I believe. I mean I contacted her on January 1, 2012 and had surgery March 13,2012. It all depends on the doctors schedule I would think. Here is a step by step of the process I went through. 1. Contacted Pat Marino and sent pictures of my face, told her that I was interested in complete facelift with spa stay. 2. Went to doctors and had the blood panel and EKG test done and sent copies via email, to Pat. 3. Pat sent me my date for surgery and my itinerary for the trip down. 4. I made plane reservations and sent them to Pat. As far as the anesthesia, I felt absolutely nothing. I think I remember him telling me to turn my head once, but not even sure about that. I just went into operating room and they hooked me up intravenously to sedation and I woke up in my room in the afternoon hooked up to pain meds. As far as the long flight, I had to catch 3 flights to get back home. I departed Leon airport in Mexico at 11 am and didn’t get home until 11 pm, although there was the 3 hour time difference so total time flying was about 9 hours. I won’t lie it was a long day, but by the time you leave the spa at Casa Marino you in pretty good shape. If I were you I would stay at the spa a few extra days may be two weeks total. You should be in great shape most definitely by then. I mean the long flight for me was from New York to Mexico and I was tired the day I came home, but it did not cause me any problems with my surgery. Just make sure you wear the scarf to cover you face as much as possible on the day you come home because of the UV rays can make you swell. And I can’t stress enough to drink a lot of water while down in Mexico, you don’t realize it but it is very dry and you can get dehydrated easy. So bring some bottled water with you for your trip home. As far as the weather goes , I went down in March and it was like 50’s at night and 70’s during the day, with some of the day’s 80’s. It dry there and in a mountainous region so the weather is perfect for healing. I believe the temp there is pretty constant. If you have anymore questions please feel free to contact me when ever you have concerns. I hope when you decide to have surgery you have a wonderful outcome. Take care….

Good day Miss Maus, not sure that Angel Eyes knows San Miguel's climate so thought I would help out with your question. The year round climate is mild and spring like with the hottest (and driest) month being May (80's to 90 degrees) which is not so hot when you are in a climate controlled environment of which fans are usually enough to keep you comfortable. Hope this helps.

Hello missmaus My doctor said you tend to swell in a plane, so no salt and lots,lots,lots of water when flying in ... Perhaps if you arrive a day before to relax , get a massage and settle down after your long flight , it would be the best .. My flight won ' t be that long and I will have my operation the next morning ....but i won ' t be eating chips on the planes !! :-D But as angeleyes posted it ' s just the best to drink a lot of water.

Thanks for all your informative and in depth advice, much appreciated. Kind of makes me feel like we're all sitting in a room having a chat! I'll contact Pat with regard to sending photos etc. There might be more questions further down the line. Just one thing to put out there - did any of you have any reservations about the outcome of your surgeries? You all look totally transformed but I have a little irrational fear - ' What if I don't like my new face?' What if the tweek here and there is not enough/too much? How good is dr Koeliker at seeing just what you need? For example I had my hair highlighted today and although i took in photos of shades i liked and ones that I didn't. It didn't come out quite how i wanted ( I know there are variables that dictate outcomes) kind of realise that what is in my head - how I see tones for example can be different from the next person. I know you, Angeleyes, had problems of jealousy. I wonder whether i might get 'you looked better as you were' or 'I don't like what he's done there'. The other thing I'm getting with people I'm telling is a real resistance, like 'what do you wanna do that for? Or 'you don't need it' ( I do ). Partly it's a cultural thing. Less people have surgery in England than you do in the States. We somehow have an aversion to vanity! The thought of having the surgery is like standing very close to a cliff - I feel excited and scared stiff at the same time. Can any of you share your experiences surrounding your surgery - your hopes and fears and outcomes. Thanks once again all of you! Fond regards, Terrie

Great news. Good for you and thanks.

I'm so glad you came back! I am 54, and am beginning to research this surgery. If I can ever get the nerve and the money, I will definitely want to talk with someone like you about it!!!

Hi Christys, Thank You, and I would be glad to answer any questions you have. I will tell you it will make your life better because when you feel good about yourself it affects everything around you for the good. People ask why do women feel the need to get facelifts, and they try and say that it's because were trying to look young... well Ya!, who wants to stay looking like a saggy tired looking mess for the rest of there life. Not me. :-)

Thanks so much for all of your posts! Hang around; hopefully I will need your advice soon!