Harvey Stern

I am a 57 yo retiree, and my decision to have a facelift was carefully considered over a period of several months. I sought a referral "to one of the best" from my GP who recommended I see A/Prof. Harvey Stern. Following my first consultation with A/Prof. Stern, I decided there and then that I would proceed with the surgery, and we set a date for the surgery. A/Prof. Stern is an excellent communicator and provided a detailed explanation of what the procedures would involve, the potential risks and all associated costs. The one thing A/Prof. Stern did not provide which I had requested, was to see pre/post images of his former patients. However, I accepted the fact that surgery outcomes are different for every individual and felt confident that I was in good hands. My admission to Strathfield Private Hospital was the most efficient I have ever experienced. After waking up from my surgery, I was in a lot of pain, particularly behind my head where the drains were. The nurses initially refused to administer stronger drugs and it wasn't until I insisted on speaking to my surgeon that they agreed to contact my anaesthetist for her advice; whatever I was given definitely worked. The morning after surgery, A/Prof. Stern came to visit me and confirmed that surgery went as expected, and that I would be discharged the next day. Prior to discharging, the nurses removed the drains behind my head which was an immediate relief, and the baulky bandages from around my face, and replaced them with a compression bandage. The first 3 - 4 days post surgery were perhaps the most uncomfortable - I needed regular pain relief and was unable to speak properly, I also had limited movement in my jaw which made opening my mouth to eat somewhat painful. The removal of the sutures (which was relatively painless), was done over a period of 2 weeks. During my second follow-up consultations with A/Prof. Stern, I discussed with him my concern that the outer corners of my lower eyelids now have the appearance of being pulled away from the eye and is affecting my vision. A/Prof. Stern said that this would correct itself in time and not to worry about it. I will monitor this over the coming weeks and if my eyes don't return to normal by my next follow-up consultation, I will ask him what revision surgery is needed to correct the condition. Over the past two weeks, I have been gently massaging my face and neck and performing gentle stretching exercises to help improve mobility in the neck ad to ease the stiffness - I feel it is making a difference and will continue doing this. Next Tuesday will be four weeks since I had my surgery. The swelling and bruising is now minimal and I'm delighted at how much better I'm feeling. My next follow-up appointment with A/Prof. Stern is in three weeks' time and I hope that all my bruising will have disappeared by then. I can genuinely say that I am satisfied with the result and highly recommend A/Prof. Stern to anyone else considering a facelift. My only advice to others is be well informed of your procedure, and just set yourself realistic expectations, that way you won't be disappointed. An excerpt of A/Prof. Stern's bio is provided below for your interest: A/Professor Stern is Head of Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at both Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Strathfield Private Hospital. He completed Plastic Surgery training in Australia and Scotland, before further training specifically in breast aesthetic and reconstructive surgery at Emory Clinic in America. Professor Stern has previously served as Chairman of the Board of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery within RACS and has also been appointed to clinical expert panels for government.Updated on 5 Mar 2019: I'm now into my fourth week. Bruising on my chest has disappeared completely. However, the bruising around my neck and beneath my eyes is still visible; more so on the right side of my face. I still feel tightness around the neck and have limited mobility so am unable to turn my head fully to the left/right. My face does feel swollen and there is numbness in front of and behind my earlobes, and also under my chin. As for the incisions, I'm really pleased with how they are healing - hardly noticeable. The pulled down look on the outer corners of my lower eyelids has not not changed since last week and I'm having to apply eyedrops to moisten the eyes.Updated on 6 Mar 2019: It's worthwhile taking images to track how the face is healing. As mentioned in an earlier post, I had a mid face and neck lift, and upper/lower eye lids. Post surgery, my outer lower eyelids took on the appearance of being pulled away from the eye. I didn't expect this to occur and have been assured by my surgeon that it can be easily corrected if the condition does not improve once the swelling has fully subsided.Updated on 19 Mar 2019: I'm happy that my face is finally starting to feel normal again; the bruising and swelling is now minimal and the feeling of tightness around my neck is easing - I can turn my head a little more to the left/right. As you can see from the images, my lower eye lids still have the appearance of being pulled away from the eye. Apparently, this can sometimes happen following lower lid surgery and the condition may correct itself. However, I've been assured that a supporting suture in the outer corner of the eye will correct this and I will definitely be asking that this be done as soon as possible.Updated on 25 Mar 2019: 7 weeks have passed since my surgery and I'm so relieved to be feeling 'normal' again. I saw my surgeon yesterday to discuss my lower outer eyelids which are looking droopy post surgery. He has again assured me that this is most likely going to correct itself in the coming months however, I am not entirely convinced of this and have requested that they be corrected. My revision surgery has been tentatively scheduled for late May - if there is no visible improvement by then. Happy to report that the revision surgery is going to be done at no cost.