vicki932

Is there a reason why you chose this treatment vs the deep laser treatment that is about the same cost and has had positive outcomes?

Oh sorry - just noticed your surgery was about 4k. It's the average cost that shows near 10k, which makes no sense to me.

But - I think you said you didn't have to stay in the hospital.

thanks again.

Cindy -

Thank you so much for sharing your story, and posting such great photos. Your scars are scary right after your surgery, but now they are barely noticeable. I am seriously considering the surgery, but am terrified if something went wrong. I have no idea how often someone dies from the surgery - or how often complications after surgery continue in the persons life. Any plastic surgery or surgery has its risks, I know.

My question to you is mainly on cost and time off work. I've read that the cost is about $2000 to $3000, depending on where you live in the country, so am wondering why your surgery was near 10k. Also - you said yours was outpatient surgery, but I've read that generally after surgery one must remain in the hospital for two days. I thought $3,000 was not much for having 2 days in the hospital. Wondering why laser surgery on the face is $5,000+ done in less than 30 min on average, and an arm lift would be cheaper (random thought, not really a question).

Lastly, time off work. I've read a person can return to work 2 to 3 weeks after surgery. That's a lot of time off work. Was this true in your case? I'm sure it depends on the type of work, but I work as an admin assistant, so behind a desk all day. No lifting. Just at the computer and printer, and phone.

Thank you again...and again for sharing your experience with everyone.

I think if 6k is a lot of money for a risk, then you made a good decision. It's been over a year for me, and it's really depressing to think I spent almost 9k on it all (I got talked into the fillers, etc.). I actually think it was the fillers that I was pleased with because once the fillers wore off is when I started to see my face looked worse than before going in. Again, I think everyone has different experiences. I'm actually considering a chemical peel. They're less expensive, and I've heard can be the same if not better results. It's all very depressing to see one's skin change so quickly...I'm not blaming the procedure since it was a risk, but it was a lot of money for a 3 to 4 month of feeling good about my skin. and now, photos from last year don't seem real. difficult to post a new photo on Facebook to replace last years. :) so very very vain.

I had the treatment done a year ago. The first two or three months I really noticed the change and so did friends, however, I had also had botox and some fillers, so have no idea without that how it would have looked. around 6 months later, I felt as if I had more wrinkles and looked older than when I first had the treatments. Was it worth it? Probably not if you're struggling for cash, but to be honest it made for some good photos for a couple of months, and I felt good for a couple of months about myself. :) I actually keep thinking that maybe I just had bad luck, and the treatment didn't work and I sort of want to go back. How does Jennifer Aniston look so good without a facelift and other stars? They have to be doing something besides fillers, so assumed laser treatments. Not sure, but these days really down after spending 6k or more on the CO2 treatment and a year later look worse than the day I went in. As far as the aftermath, the face stayed red longer than I thought it would, and the face was really swollen and scary looking for a week or so, but not complaining about the aftermath since it did look good once healed (for a brief period). Oh, that's what got me is that the doc said that it was supposed to improve with time, but it just got worse with time.