49 Year Old with a Neck That Looked 70! - Washington, DC

Thank you so much! I feel so much more confident; I didn't realize how much effort I put into covering my neck and just how self conscious I was. I feel younger inside and out! I'm so glad that you are doing so well.

He really is. If you only care about a warm and fuzzy doctor he isn't the right one to go to, but if you want a perfectionist that does work, he is the one to go to! I work with surgeons and not one person can tell I've had anything done. Everyone just keeps asking what i'm using on my skin, have I lost weight, ect....

It took about 5 weeks before I could sleep on the side of my face again. My ears still have a "stuffy" feeling inside and are kind of numb to the touch. The sides of my face near my ears still feel a little numb and occasionally my neck muscles tighten up. Apparently all of this is normal and it can take up to a year to be back to normal. That being said, everyday your face and neck will look better and better instead of worse :) I do remember have a light red mark from my lower ear to my neck but it went away. I finally can move my head side to side, quickly and fully. It will improve! The only thing that still bothers me, is that the inside of my ears sometimes feel itchy. I think it's because the sutures have not fully desolved. I have my follow up appt in a week for before and after photos and I will get the sutures snipped out.

Michelle, thank you for your reply. I was getting a little concerned about the red marks on both sides of my neck. It just follows down my muscle. My doctor thinks it is the tension. I wasn't expecting this kind of a recovery, but reading from all sorts of message boards etc, like you said, it is normal. I guess I was expecting to be playing tennis after 2 weeks. I think I am out of the league for this year. I didn't realize that, but don't want to risk popping a stitch or pulling a muscle. I am 4 weeks out and still sleep in an almost sitting position because I try to cut down on the swelling to under my neck. I love the results. I have already got compliments and I love looking in the mirror lol. I work in a hospital and work 12 hours shifts so I think the gravity makes the swelling worse after so much time on my feet. The days I can rest and take it easy without bending over alot and without turning my head,I have much less swelling and uncomfortable tightness. I have all dissolving stitches around the front and back of my ears and around the back side of my base neck. They are pretty heavy duty, or at least feel that way. Im not sure when they will start to dissolve. I wear my hair down to cover them. what sutures are you having taken out? My cheeks are still numb also. I am careful not to scratch them because I wouldn't feel it. Although it hurts to rub oil on my face, the pressure. I was told by a massage therapist to use the emu oil. I bought some and love it for my neck and face. i wanted to treat the dry feeling and prevent any stretching. I think pregnant women use it on their bellies to prevent the stretch marks. My ears will also block occasionally. I try to open and close my mouth a few times and sometimes that unblocks them. I can't complete a yawn cause it hurts too much so it makes me yawn again! Cant wait for that feeling to pass! I am glad I had it done also. I have always kept myself in shape and there are some things that are just hereditary that you cant do anything about (the infamous turkey neck). Now my neck looks better than when I was 30! I can't wait to see your photos. Good luck getting the sutures out. Did you have to stretch at all or just try to remain stationary with your neck to get it to loosen up? Im taking celebrex. Did you take that and for how long? I just got a refill cause I thought it helped with the swelling. Thanks again.

Thanks so much! I am still a little puffy and my ears still feel numb but am progressing everyday. Sure don't miss my turkey neck!

No problem, that's the great thing about this site...being able to asked things that others have already gone through! First, I still feel some pain. It's not back to normal when it comes to sleeping. I still can't comfortable sleep on either of my ears so the side is out for now. During the day my swelling seems to increase with a lot of activity. I went back to my doc yesterday as a matter of fact because my neck and sides of my face seems hard and puffy. It seems as I begin to increase my activity (going back to work) the circulation to my face increases and it becomes painful. We have to keep in mind, that no matter how common these procedures have become, it is still pretty major surgery. It will take time for the muscles to acclimate to their new positioning and skin and nerves to 'wake' back up from anesthesia and pain killers. I have been out in public only as far as the grocery store and my office. I actually got the comment that I looked "great and so rested" from a co-worker who just thought I'd been out of the office for vacation. I think we will have the most success if we keep our expectations realistic and allow our bodies to take the time to heal. It didn't take overnight to begin dropping and sagging, it is going to take time for the surgery to give us it's maximum results. Hang in there and don't rush yourself back into anything!

He went in under the chin to 'lace up' the neck muscles and then pulled the lower jowls up. Everyday it looks better. You can't even see where in cut under my chin anymore! I was fortunate to get a surgeon that is an expert at doing the incisions behind the ears, many still do them in front. I like to wear my hair in a pony tail and I didn't want the scars to show.

Michelle, Do you not have any incisions in front of your ears at all? Where are your incisions? And you're results are awesome!

meant to say...your results are awesome!

Thanks for your reply, I feel numb but it's getting better day by day. :) x

no I was adamant about going to a surgeon that was ecpert at behind the ears incisions. I wear my hair in a ponytail a lot and didnt want scars in front of my ears. My hair stylist is literally the only person that can see my incisions.

I am now 5 days post op. I had all four of my kids without an epidural but this pain topped it! I hate to say that because I don't want to discourage anyone. I do however, want people to know the things that I didn't know ahead of time. First, the pain pills were so big and chalky I couldn't swallow them and was without pain medication for two days. I had to have the Dr. call in a lesser pain med, hydrocodone, instead of the oxy because it came in a smooth caplet form. It didn't wipe out the pain just took the edge off but that was a relief. Another thing I didn't know was how trapped I would feel inside the bandages. I got so swollen that the edge of the wrap around the front of my neck cut into my skin pretty deeply. I also have not had a BM since before the surgery; probably because I haven't eaten much in the way of solid food due to how difficult it is to chew.

I'm 5 days in now, too! I took 10mg Norco every 4 hours for the 1st 2 days & then just 1/2 a pill the 3rd day & now Tylenol & that's just for the neck pain from sleeping upright.

Hang in there! I think I miss sleeping on my side more than anything...it just feels so weird to lay on my ear though. The ears still feel a little alien to me.