Very Unhappy - Scottsdale, AZ

I forgot to include in my update regarding the chin redo that left me with a huge, zigzag scar under my chin that I also never had my lower eyelids done. The initial work plan and agreement included my upper and lower eyelids. When I went to AZ for the surgery (not before), the Doctor told me he could not do my under-eyes at that time because of the swelling from all of the other procedures. He said I would need to return for that, and at that surgery he would also tweak my upper-eye lids because he was going to be conservative during the first surgery due to the swelling, and that he would finish my upper-eyelids when I returned for my lower-eyelids.

As I stated previously, when I returned to have him fix the lopsided and lumpy chin I’d been left with, he did not want to talk about my eyes, but changed the subject after I brought it up. It was obvious he just wanted me to move on, so I did. My upper-eyelids were never completed and my lower-eyelids were not done at all. All these years, after the rest of my face was worked on my under-eyes remained puffy, which means I still looked and look tired all of the time.

I felt ripped off, but then again, since under-eyes are harder than upper-eyes, maybe I should count it as a blessing. Regardless, ethical practice required at least acknowledging and talking to me about what he'd said he was going to do, instead of just pretending finishing my eyes was not part of the plan I signed up for.

He lifted the corners of my mouth (which I regretted) but they’re back to their original downward slant, but unfortunately under my upper-lip is still numb and odd-feeling and my the relaxation needed for my original pretty smile didn’t return.

The large zigzag scar running under my chin from the underside tip of my chin to my throat is still visible if I raise my chin but at least it has faded substantially. The skin pulling at my throat where he ended the incisions under my chin still pulls and puckers oddly and as I have aged and my muscles and skin are doing the normal aging drooping it is becoming more visible. That means it will be more obvious as I get older.

My eyelids were left with wide red scars above the lash-lines and they’re still there. Since he didn’t remove enough extra skin from my eyelids, they never did look really refreshed and now it’s as if I’d never had that surgery done.

The fat that was moved higher on my cheeks made me look like a chipmunk, but then completely dissolved back to normal after about five years. I’m glad, but that also means the money spent on the most expensive procedure was a complete waste. That’s especially galling because I was happy with my cheeks in the first place and hadn’t requested any changes to them, but the doctor claimed the procedure would create "a better outcome.”

While the fat added to my upper-cheeks dissolved, the pulling on my facial muscles remained the same so the tightness that creates a weird smile, exposed gum when I smile that I’d never had before the surgery, the pulling on each side of the nose, and a raised ridge running horizontally under my nose from the pulling is all still there; it’s permanent.

The gland under my ear on one side that he had to keep draining blood from for about two to two-and-a-half weeks post surgery *which he said had never happened to him before and he couldn’t tell me why it kept filling with blood and swelling) has continued to frequently swell and ache. It suddenly swells up and I look like one of a toad on that side, and it aches, and then it goes back down and stops hurting. I don’t know what triggers it, but I’d never ever had that problem before this surgery and the injury that was done then.

If I could do it over again, I would never allow one surgeon to be a jack of all trades and do all of the procedures. I would not have multiple procedures done at the same time. I would not allow myself to be talked into anything more than what I went there for in the first place. I would not allow a surgeon to touch me who doesn’t listen carefully and answer all of my questions thoroughly, but instead acts distracted and in a hurry.