Dr Miller is the absolute best. He is an artist and everyone in his office is wonderful to work with. He repaired my abdominal hernia a with a full tummy tuck and did a revision liposuction to ensure it looked perfect. 2 years later I got pregnant again (not recommended), but my results are still amazing. My tummy popped right back and looks better than it ever did before my pregnancies. I am so happy I worked with Dr Miller and his team.
I feel so lucky to have this amazing team right here in the San Diego area! I couldn’t be happier with the results of my breast augmentation from Dr. Miller and his team! I described how I’d like to look and put my full trust in him when it came to size and type of implant, type of incision, etc. and I’m SO glad I did! They’re as large as I want and still look proportionate for my body type and small frame! He’s a gifted surgeon and truly cares about aesthetics which I’m so grateful for. The consultation was extremely informative and in-depth which I appreciated. I felt very comfortable with him right away and had all of my questions answered. My pre-op appointments went very smoothly. I enjoyed speaking with nurse Christine and hearing about her experiences. She made me feel very confident in my decision and put my mind at ease when it came to the recovery process! Crystal and Katie were really informative, as well, and always made me feel comfortable and excited about my surgery! The day of surgery went smoother than I could have ever imagined, and it was nice having the surgical staff with me every step of the way and easing my nerves (before and after)! I have a low pain tolerance and Dr. Miller was very helpful and considerate with my pain management. I was also very happy with my Anesthesiologist, Dr. Gaconnet. I was extremely nervous about being put under, but he calmed my nerves the night before and the day of. I was pleasantly surprised with how I felt after surgery (not totally groggy and out of it and no nausea at all)! During the entire process (consultation up until now at almost 5 months post-op) a staff member has always been available to answer my calls and address any questions right away (even during the Coronavirus pandemic)! As for the surgical center, I enjoy the calming and relaxing atmosphere of the facility (very spa-like). It isn’t intimidating like other medical offices and makes you feel at ease. Everyone in the office has always made me feel so welcomed from the second I walk in! I now see Jen regularly for my Botox treatments and am very pleased with how she addresses my wrinkle concerns without overdoing it. Again, I feel incredibly lucky to have Dr. Miller and his team in my area and am beyond happy with the results!
I needed a lift 'to put things back where they belong' I researched for 2 years, including consultations with 3 different surgeons. My droopy eyes and saggy lower face, to be specific. The outcome is just what I wanted and comments from friends who did not know, like : "you look rested" or " your new diet sure makes you look fresh" only confirmed that this was totally worth it. I'm super happy that I recognize myself in the mirror, a younger self. I don't look 'tucked' or different.
After saying I would never, ever have a tummy tuck, I got tired of looking at the apron of skin that was still present 15 years after a gastric bypass, and more than 20 years after having 3 kids. The truth is, no amount of sit ups will rid you of the excess skin and the damage done by childbirth. My doctor (Scott Miller) was recommended by another doctor of mine, as well as her nurse. Dr. Miller and team took their time to provide me with a thorough consultation, and worked with me closely on the scheduling. My surgery was performed in the surgery suite of the doctor's office, right next to the hospital. I woke up alert and well rested after the surgery. After the surgery, which went very smoothly, I spent the night with a caregiver in a hotel. Although I initially disliked this idea, it was actually awesome. I was well cared for, comfortable, and all medications were managed for me so that I was comfortable and could sleep. My caregiver was amazing, a true angel. My recheck occurred the following morning at the doctor's office, with my caregiver driving me back. I never had any real pain at the incision, which is hip to hip. 2.5 pounds of excess skin was removed. The pain and discomfort for me came from the liposuction on my abdomen. This was the worst of it, and lasted quite a while. In addition to the drains, I was given a binder (like a velcro girdle) to wear, and immediately after surgery, it had an extra layer of foam inside to help reduce swelling. I found the binder to be comforting as well, like an added layer of protection. I also had two drains which stayed in for 12 days or so, which I really disliked, but in the end, it was a good thing. I did have to have a few needle aspirations after my drains were removed, due to some additional fluid, but since my abdomen was still numb, it didn't hurt. (But it did make me squeamish!) My healing process went very smoothly, and I was able to fly away for a 2 week vacation at 4 weeks post op, with the approval and oversite of the doctor. I followed all the rules, and wore the post surgery binder religiously for 8 weeks. I wore it for a while longer because it helped with the swelling but also made me feel more protected. Dr. Miller and team set up a solid protocol for care, treatment, supplements and medication as needed. I found that by following all instructions, I healed very well. The physical results were visible immediately, and have continued to get better as time has gone by. I initially did not want liposuction, but it truly was the cherry on top, and gave me a waist for the first time in my life. The results are truly stunning, almost unbelievable. I really wish I had done this sooner. My scar healed fairly seamlessly, save for one small little disolving suture that refused to disolve. That was corrected easily in a few quick visits. The incision closed and sealed quickly and without issue. My scar continues to heal, and I have been diligent in using the silicone sheets and silicone ointment for scar treatment available from the doctor's office. I still have some numbness and slight tugging, but I look and feel great. I would highly recommend this surgery if you are looking in to it. I will definitely be returning to Dr. Miller for future work when I am ready.
If I could give Dr. Miller and his amazing group of people more than 5 stars I absolutely would. From the moment I called to schedule a consultation, to my 6 week post op appointment, I was made to feel like a million dollars. I was referred to Dr. Miller’s office by a friend, and taking her recommendation was one of the best things I could have ever done. Choosing Dr. Miller for my breast augmentation was one of the best, most comfortable experiences of my life and I would absolutely recommend this office for any cosmetic procedure that you may want. I got exactly what I wanted yet somehow so much better than I could have ever imagined. The nurses and front desk are absolutely incredible people and Dr. Miller is just the absolute best. I am over the moon happy with my results and will continue to come to Dr. Miller and his team for any of my cosmetic needs.
I think a detailed review is important, especially with something as important as altering your appearance. had nothing but a fantastic experience at Dr. Millers office. Everyone on his staff is wonderfully accommodating and sweet in their own way- they really work hard to make sure that you feel as comfortable as possible. I heard about this office from a friend who had also had work done here- and having a close friend as a personal reference was important to me. I had been researching doctors for years between the east and west coast. When I heard how amazing my friends experience was I jumped right in for a consult. I immediately felt comfortable and opted to book my surgery the same day! I had a specific time frame I wanted to have my surgery completed by and his staff seriously worked with me to make that happen- even after I had to change my surgery date because of work obligations! I ended up having my surgery I believe a month and a half to two months after my initial consult date. Dr. Miller did not "over-sell" or push me in to unrealistic sizes. I am a very petite person and made it clear that I did not want to look like a malibu barbie- I simply did not want to stuff my bra anymore. He pulled up photos of previous patients with similar body types to me, as well as drew pictures of different "shapes" people tend to like, all to help make sure the correct decision was made in terms of size. I was originally an A cup and wanted to be a "full C". I was torn between 350 and 300 ccs. I was really nervous about going to big- but also did not want to be too small. The doctor ended up choosing to do 300 on left and 325 on right to help even out my sizes- and I opted to have the implants inserted around my ariolas. It was literally the perfect size. The day before surgery I got a call from his anesthesiologist to answer any questions I may have about the anesthesia process, and who the day of I got to meet. I thought that was a nice touch and really made me feel more comfortable. The day of surgery, they had this amazing leg massage machine to help circulation- but really felt more like a massage. His nurse, Jen talked to me and scratched my head and my arms while I drifted off, and I woke up to her right nearby. My recovery process was wonderful- I did have one day of extreme pain and his nurse was immediately available to help me alter my medication dosages for that one day. The next day I felt a million times better!I did not even need to take all of my pain meds. After day 3 of recovery the only thing I took was Valium before bed- and I did not even need to finish THAT rx. It was a very smooth process. For each of my follow up visits everyone was just as sweet as accommodating as always. Everyone was always just as excited and happy with the results as me- which I thought was awesome. I did not every even for a second feel like a number. When I went for my final follow up, I even got a little "goody-bag" that had reusable silicone nipple covers so I can wear cute clothes without a bra! I seriously can not say enough good things about Dr Miller and his staff. Katie, Jen, Crystal, all were absolutely amazing! There was a newer nurse whos name I can not remember, and his anesthesiologist who I do not remembers name as well- but they were equally amazing! I am EXTREMELY happy with my results- oh, and NO SCARS! His incision location was literally so perfect that I do not have scars! They are exactly what I wanted! If you are on the fence between doctors, you seriously dont need to look any further. This doctor knows is stuff, and is good. His staff is amazing. The work is amazing. I am the type of person that does research on top of research and question everything, and I did not doubt the process once. They really are amazing. Thank you Dr. Miller! You gave me the body I always wanted!! And thank you to his staff for making it an amazing and comforting experience! I can not thank you all enough!
never thought in a million years would I ever consider having some work done. After years of taking care of my terminally husband - I looked to be 70 years old. I went to see about some Botox with another firm and was basically told that I was way beyond Botox. I was referred to Dr. Miller and you can not believe how awesome I look. I am 53 years old and I had lost a lot of weight and had extra skin around my eyes and my neck looked like a 100 year old woman. Dr. Miller gave me a whole new outlook on life. I love looking in the mirror and taking pictures. best part about it I don't look like I had a "face/neck lift" I look FRESH.. His staff is amazing and Dr. Miller is just amazing - my life will never be the same - Thank you Dr. Miller!!!
Desperately needed to feel like me again. I was a large c before having twins and finally decided 4 years of giving birth and being a very saggy AA that it was time. Met a couple doctors and decided on Dr Miller due to his personality and understanding of my wants and also for being realistic with my time and recovery! Everything was so seamless, from my actual surgery to all of the pre and post op appointments. I felt like i was in great hands the whole ride and Dr Miller was also always averrable for me to call (which I did on a friday night) if I was concerned!
I had breast fed my two sons for 1 year each and it left my breasts deflated and saggy. I felt uncomfortable in a bathing suit or braless, not to mention naked. Having surgery was not something I had ever thought that I would do, but a friend had done it and looked great so I started to consider it. Wow thank goodness I did!
I have "interviewed" four doctors. Two of them were recommendations from friends and two were chosen based on reviews on this site. It was an interesting, albeit slightly confusing process, to get input from 4 experts. There was general agreement on my lower face - face and neck lift. However, my brow area has been a concern for a long time. My brows sit too low on my head and compound the drooping of my eyelids. Also, since I've spent so many years trying to hold up my brows to open my eyes more I have deep grooves across my forehead plus the groove in the center. The recommendations ranged: fillers and botox, temporal brow lift and endoscopic brow lift. Some recommended upper and lower bleph, some only upper.I actually met "my" doctor as the third consultation. I knew pretty immediately that he was the right guy. He was friendly and open, spent a lot of time talking to me about my concerns, explaining in detail the possible approaches and then his recommendations. I never felt rushed and could ask as many questions as I wanted. Another plus is that he was recommended by a friend-of-a-friend who got a great result plus a friend of hers got an excellent result.So, long story even longer, after talking to the 4th guy I chose Dr. Scott Miller. I will be having a face and neck lift, endoscopic brow lift, upper and lower bleph. I considered a rhinoplasty too but felt I just couldn't a) handle that much and b) it increased the cost about $5K.At this point I am experiencing considerable anxiety about the whole thing. Mostly I'm worried about feeling anxious when I have trouble sleeping or can't move my head easily or whatever. I have a tendency to panic attacks and so I end up being afraid of being afraid . I have a list of questions that I will be asking the surgical nurse tomorrow. I've already been told that I will have plenty of meds (pain, anxiety, sleep) to keep me comfortable. I've had other surgeries and generally speaking the anticipation is much worse than the actuality so I keep trying to remind myself of that.I thought posting here early and writing about my experience might help me and help others. I hope so anyway. The pictures in this post were taken during my consultation and then posted to TouchMD under an account created for me. They're very unflattering pictures (YIKES!). I'm also posting the same pictures with the doctor's drawing on them which he did as he walked me through his recommendations and the process. Updated on 12 Apr 2015: I told the patient coordinator at the doctor's office that I had a bunch of questions. She could answer some of them but suggested that I might like to speak with the surgical nurse since she could answer more of my questions. I thought that was great and will speaking to her this week. She also volunteered that if I still was concerned or had questions that she would schedule a brief consult with the doctor again. I don't think that's necessary but we'll see what the nurse has to say. One thing I asked and she told me (which was a relief) is that when I come back the day after surgery for the post-op check they'll wash my hair! Then I'm not supposed to wash it again for 7 days BUT if it bothers me I can come in and a nurse will wash it for me again! I thought that was a great sign of a good surgical practice. Here are some of the questions I'll be asking. If anyone can think of some others pipe in! Get tranquilizers for post-op? What pain meds are prescribed? Do they help you sleep? Concerned about anxiety How restrained is movement Do I have to sleep on my back? Can I turn my head when I sleep? What if I have to yawn or sneeze? When do the screws come out? (They put a couple of small screws in your head to 'fix' the browlift) Can I wear earphones? Glasses? Any restrictions on wearing my reading glasses? Hairline? Will the browlift change my hairline? Expressions? I have a very mobile face and, am told, make a lot of faces when I speak. Since that's part of my personality...that won't change? Hair washing? Arnica? Anything else I should have to help healing? Eating/drinking restrictions? Updated on 14 Apr 2015: I was scheduled to speak with the doctor's nurse and ask questions (as I posted earlier) but it turned out she had a small family emergency so the doctor spoke with me himself. I thought that was great that he willingly stepped in and spoke with me. He answered all my questions and spoke with me about my anxiety. He acknowledged that it's not surprising to feel anxiety before such a procedure and especially not given my history with panic. He gave me more details about the procedure, what to expect during and after. He reassured me (he was looking at my pictures that he had taken while we spoke) about the various things that I'm having done, what to expect, what he would be shooting for, etc. Overall it was really great and I feel much better having spoken directly with him. Partly because he gave such thorough answers and partly because he took the time. I didn't feel rushed and he answered everything candidly and completely. My anxiety, in general, has been better. The responses I've received from others who have gone through this has helps a lot! (Thank you to those kind ladies :-)) Now I just get a little freaked out about the actual surgery (i.e., SOMEONE IS TAKING A KNIFE TO YOUR FACE). But Dr. Miller was very reassuring there too and said I would have some Valium for the night before so I get a good night's sleep and that once I sign the forms that morning they'll give me a tranquilizer "just in case." That showed me he understood and would accommodate my "issues." Gack! I'm really going to do it! Updated on 9 May 2015: My pre-op appointment is in a few days. Last week I got very upset and even more scared than I have been. But, mostly, I just started really questioning whether this is what I should do. Shouldn't I be working on being okay with myself. That I'm getting older, I look like I'm getting older. What I really want is feel okay with how I look no matter how I look. And, I felt like my husband wasn't on my side. That he didn't really "approve" even though I promised that he'd support me whatever I chose. We ended up talking, then fighting, then talking. And, then I realized that it's really just about me. Whatever I may think I want to feel...it's NOT now I feel. It bothers me a lot that my face is showing these signs of age, that I don't look my best. I said to myself, "should I stop coloring my hair?" "wearing makeup?" "getting facials?" Where is that line. What's okay to do in an effort to feel better about my appearance? What's okay for me to feel about my appearance? And that's when it hit me. There is no right answer. There's no universal truth here. I feel how I feel. And this is important to me. So, I'm back on board. When I go from my pre-op I have to pay for the procedure. If I back out after that I will lose half to all of that money. It's do or die time. And, right now, as of this minute. I'm doing. Updated on 11 May 2015: I know my anxious concerns are all anticipatory. I know that how I will feel and what it will be like after surgery will be different than what I imagine (both better and worse) because it's hard to know what things are REALLY going to be like. I continue to feel better about it, I continue to practice sleeping on my back (which isn't going great but better) and I continue to tell myself, "so big deal...you'll have a few sleepless nights..." :-) It's interesting that someone mentioned a neighbor having a health issues: that's exactly what happened yesterday. I saw a neighbor being brought home from surgery - she was diagnosed with an aggressive ovarian cancer - and I felt pretty guilty to be worrying about cosmetic surgery. But, then I realized that her misfortune really doesn't have much to do with me other than sympathizing with her plight. It's the old "children are starving in Africa..." Whether I have surgery or not will not make my neighbor not have cancer nor will it affect anyone but me. There's no cosmic trade-offs here. Although this is a LOT more expensive than other things I've done in the name of vanity(?) or self-esteem...it's not fundamentally different when I think about it. Are facials too much? Is moisturizing and wearing sunscreen too selfish? I think there's a continuum and each of us needs to find that line for ourselves. I'm fortunate enough that I can spend the money. Could I give the money to charity or some other "worthy" cause? Of course I could...but I've decided, in this instance, that I'm my priority right now. All the encouragement on this site is enormously helpful! I will post again after my pre-op visit in 3 days. I have found others' details about their journey very helpful and I want to share my journey as well. Updated on 20 May 2015: I thought I'd post a little video of myself so I could see myself in a more natural way as opposed to pictures which are static and hard to see how you "really" look. I'm still dealing with some anxiety but it's getting better. I've continued to "practice" sleeping on my back and elevated. It's better. I've found a pretty good setup with a pillow behind my shoulders and then a "save-your-face" pillow used behind my neck so my chin stays at 90 degrees. It's really quite comfy. I still have trouble really staying asleep that way but I am able to relax and kind of drift. In actuality, I think, in general, I'm worrying too much about sleeping. As a younger person I was a great sleeper. I could sleep anywhere, anytime and for a long time. But, now I realize, that I just don't need that much sleep. Even with all my wakefulness at night, sleeping less hours I feel fine during the day. So I'm just going to try to relax about sleeping or not sleeping. Also, I have found Amazon Prime Music so I have playlists of relaxing, dreamy music playing softly and that combined with my pillow setup is giving me confidence that I'll be able to work through any discomfort during recovery. All-in-all better. At least, the last couple of days. I had my pre-op appointment and Dr. Miller spent time with me allaying fears and answering questions. Then the surgical nurse spent a lot of time with me. There are a lot of instructions. Starting two weeks before surgery they gave me a regimen of vitamins that I take morning and evening. Then two days before surgery I add another thing (Bromelin). All of these are to help with healing. She explained that I have to keep my chin at 90 degrees all the time and to not turn my head. I'm to expect the most swelling around my eyes (from the upper and lower blephs). I think now that I've gotten pretty good resting setup I'll be good :-) I hope the video helps others and I'll try to do more post-surgery. Updated on 25 May 2015: Someone asked me to post the pillow arrangements I've found that I think work well for me. The blue neck pillow was provided by the surgeon. I didn't like it at first...felt a little chokey...but I've come to like it more and I think it will be good for sleeping because it will effortlessly keep my head steady. The other is called a save-your-face pillow (just google it). This, in the way I have it arranged, is similar to a travel pillow but so much around the throat. It's ver comfortably supportive for when I'm more awake. Note that we have adjustable beds so the upper part of the bed is inclined. I have a soft bed pillow behind my shoulders and back...then one of the support pillows just behind my neck above the pillow behind my shoulders. I'd be interested in seeing other people's solutions. And, since these pictures horrifyingly show off my neck drooping it'll be an interesting comparison post surgery. Updated on 1 Jun 2015: Tomorrow's the day! I'm a bit nervous but mostly excited and looking forward to being on the other side of the surgery. I've successfully slept on my back two nights now and actually am finding it pretty comfortable the way I have it arranged. I take 1/2 Xanax before bed and, if I wake feeling anxious, take another 1/2. I also keep my iPad with headphones by my bed. Again, if I wake I can just pick it up and it's "tuned" to my Kindle book with audio. So, I just listen to the book and find I drift off again pretty readily. I'm hoping all my hand-wringing and worry are much more than is warranted and I'll find that once I'm done and back home I'll heal quickly and be happy with my results. Fingers crossed. Wish me luck. I will try to post photos and status during my recovery. Updated on 4 Jun 2015: Day 2 Post Op. Not quite the breeze I was hoping for but every hour things are better. Will write more when I'm a bit less out of it but I have been taking pics. Updated on 5 Jun 2015: Progressing along. My eyes are pretty irritated still and the doctor doesn't want me to "use them much." Which is pretty hard when you're just lying around. But they're improving and I'll get the stitches out Monday. As you can see in the picture there's lots of swelling and bruising around my jaw and throat. That pretty annoying plus there's kind of a tugging feeling where the staple are behind my head. All-in-all I'm doing quite well I think. I'll write up more of a description of things as I feel better and can use my eyes (rolling them at the moment ;-)). Thank you everyone for the support and well wishes. You all have been awesome. I can already see significant differences that I wanted in my face and once I'm past this early healing I'm sure I'll be a lot happier :-) Updated on 6 Jun 2015: As many on the site have said, once past day 3 you're definitely feeling a lot better. My eyes feel pretty irritated but I've been really good about keeping cold compresses on for the first three days and I think that really helped to bring down the swelling. Mostly they just feel kind of irritated (my doctor told me to use Refresh Tears eyedrops lavishly and they do help). I'm sleeping better but still waking up every few hours. Partly because I have to pee (every since the surgery all the water has been trying to leave my body) and partly because of sleeping on my back. I think it tends to make me kind of phlegmy and snore-y and it wakes me up :-) Sometimes I experience a little anxiety...just a "I wish this part was over with already..." But, it subsides quickly. It's hard not being able to use your eyes the first few days because everything I would do to distract myself involves my eyes. I played audio books, sometimes put on a movie that I was familiar with so it didn't matter if I couldn't see, music. Still...kind of tedious. I do find I like playing an audio book during the night. I fall asleep and it keeps going so it's just kind of like company. For some reason it's comforting. As you'll see in the picture this is definitely a colorful day. Lots of bruising around ears, jaw and throat. Annoying but not painful (unless you accidentally touch it). A couple of friends dropped by to keep me company for a bit last night and kept exclaiming about my "baby face." I definitely can see a difference and am looking forward to seeing what I'll look like with less distortion from swelling. Updated on 8 Jun 2015: Yesterday (day 5) was not a good day. Was very "uncomfortable" on my right side from swelling, eyes felt irritated, still not sleeping great. I finally decided to take a Vicodin in the afternoon (I've been sticking mainly with Tylenol) and that helped a lot. But today was a new day! I slept better. Still only sleeping a few hours at a time but I wake up, take some Tylenol, and generally can drift back off. Sleeping on my back is getting easier. The worst part now is that my jaw tends to open (from gravity I assume) and then my lips feel dry. Plus a bit of snoring...loud enough to wake me up :-/ Anyway, I slept quite soundly when I did sleep and feel more rested. My son took me to have the first set of stitches removed. They took all the sutures from my eyes but left the "blue whiskers" for the next time. She took out most of the staples from the back of my head, and a bunch of sutures and staples from around my ears. The next removal round will be Thursday (today is Monday). I seem to be healing well. Still a lot of swelling but definitely getting better. I feel like I look kind of weird. My eyes are still pretty swollen as is everything else. I find if I move my right eyebrow it hurts but I can't seem to move the left one at all yet. I'm hoping that as things continue to resolve themselves I'll be happy and glad to have gone through it! Updated on 9 Jun 2015: I want to write about my experience in the first day after surgery while it's still fresh in my mind but not so fresh that my feelings are distorted by the discomfort. I will say that regardless of discomfort or downright pain it was a feeling of tremendous relief once the surgery was over. As soon as I came home I realized that huge weight was lifted. Read on for gory details but if you'd rather not know them stop here :-) As a reminder: I had a face/neck lift (SMAS), quad bleph and endoscopic browlift. When I woke up in recovery the first thing I remember is someone saying "we're removing your catheter" and then that happened. What I thought was, "really? you couldn't have left me asleep another 5 minutes?" but it was fine. Then I noticed that the tips of my ears hurt. A lot. Like they were being pinched really, really hard. One eye was swollen completely shut and the other I could sort of see through a slit but everything was blurry. I don't remember much of the ride home. I had a nurse - really a caregiver (provided by my surgeon) to take me home. I had written out detailed instructions for getting to my house, gate codes, alarm codes, etc. My husband was already home waiting for us to arrive. I decided to stay in a recliner in the room closest to the bathroom. We have two recliners in that room and this way the nurse could be in one and me in the other. It was comforting having her nearby. The caregiver tried to get me to eat right away so I could take the pain meds. I wasn't really up to much but I had some Jello. I think I took a Norco at that point but it's kind of fuzzy. My ears were the worst. Very painful. I had a drain (didn't realize that right away) and the wrap around my head was very tight. I assume that the pain was from swelling against the wrap. Then, to my surprise, I felt like I had to pee. My husband and Betsy (the caregiver) helped me navigate to the bathroom. It was tricky with one blurry eye and I think I felt pretty dizzy. Sure enough I did have to pee. Now, one of the things I fear the most is nausea. As I say to doctors, you can do most anything to me as long as you don't make me nauseous. And, honestly, I didn't really feel nauseous. But as I came out of the bathroom, everything decided to leave my tummy very suddenly. It wasn't horrible actually (usually I'm a terrible puker...takes me forever...I fight it) but just gushed out. I think it was the dizziness. Fortunately, my husband was able to grab a big bowl. I kept that bowl between my legs the rest of the night...like a security blanket. Betsy kept referring to it as my "binkie." Never got nauseous or thew up again. But, I don't think I kept much, if any, of the Norco in my system so the ears were bad. I was able to eat a bit more but really had no appetite and was a little afraid of becoming nauseous if I ate. And, I kept having to pee. I felt so bad but every hour or so I'd croak "Betsy...I'm sorry...I think I have to pee AGAIN" and she'd walk me to the bathroom. Then I'd get settled again and plaintively ask, "what time is it?" Hoping that hours and hours had passed while I dozed because I had my post-op appointment at 8AM and knew they'd remove the wrap. Usually, only an hour or so had gone by. I swear I must have peed a dozen times during the night. I guess all the fluids pumped into me during the 5 hour surgery had to come out. As the night wore on, I gradually got steadier on my feet and the intense pinching feeling subsided somewhat. Betsy emptied the drains sometime around 10'ish? Perhaps that helped. It was kind of interesting as the night wore on I felt as though the tightness was moving down my head...kind of like gravity was pulling it down...which, in a way, it probably was. Besides the ear pinching, the worse part was my eyes. They felt very tender and irritated. Betsy kept replacing the cold compress on my eyes frequently and that was soothing. At some point, I decided I wanted to take Tylenol (rather than the Norco which I feared a bit because I hadn't eaten much). The Tylenol was actually pretty effective at reducing the discomfort. Finally, finally...the time rolled around to go to the post-op appointment. Betsy drove me and got a wheelchair to get me into the office. The doctor came in and removed the wrap. It was definitely a relief although, perhaps, not quite as relieving as I was hoping. Then he removed the drain. FYI, "the drain" is a thing that runs under the skin, behind your neck going from ear to ear. It has a vacuum thingy on the end that pulls fluid out. Removing the drain goes like this, "okay...1..2..3.." and zap he pulls it out. Yip! Then he stood back and admired his work. He seemed very pleased with himself so I took that as a good sign. He said I'd done an excellent job of keeping my head still and at a 90 degree angle so that my neck was looking very good. Perhaps he says that to everyone...but it was cheering. Then he announced, "I'm going to put a light wrap on." I said, "Please don't" which he ignored. It was quite light and loose. And I could take it off the following morning. The wrap was annoying but not bad really. And it was nice when it came off the next morning. Updated on 10 Jun 2015: Since a lot of people have asked me questions about what I've written of my experience I will continue to provide details of my recovery. Basically, at day 8 I'm feeling much, much, MUCH better. Although I still have swelling it's reducing, bruising is receding nicely and overall I feel I'm seeing my new face emerge. Reviewing my feelings and challenges of the first week, I would say it is not a walk in the park but it is not horrible suffering. A lot depends on your attitude, the specific procedures you're having and a realization that the time will go by and will seem very brief through the lens of time. Now for the details. If you prefer to skip that stop here :-) Like any healing process, recovering from this is not linear. I had periods where I felt better and then I'd feel worse again. In a way, that was the hardest. Feeling better gave me an expectation that it would just be clear sailing after that but, like everything, there were ups and downs. I described in detail my first night in my previous post. I'll kind of pick up from there. After returning from my post op appointment I went to bed (rather than the recliner). I'm fortunate to have lovely Tempurpedic adjustable beds so I could easily adjust the incline. The post op instructions from the surgeon were very specific and strong about a) sleeping elevated, b) keeping your chin at 90 degrees and c) not turning your head. They said to "never" have a pillow behind your head as that tended to push your head forward and not to sleep upright as your head would tend to fall forward during sleep. And to always be resting your head on something. Since I also had my eyes done (quad bleph) I was "not to use my eyes" and to keep cold compresses on them pretty much all the time for, at least, the first 3 days. No reading, no TV. When I read the instructions pre-surgery it completely amped up my already pretty high anxiety. What was I going to do to distract myself from my discomfort?! Everything I like to do involves my eyes. I'm a side/tummy sleeper so I like to lie flat. The surgeon's office gave me this plushy neck pillow and I bought a 'save-your-face' pillow. I experimented with those pre-surgery. I "practiced" at night keeping my head still and at 90 degrees. And I would recommend doing that. At first, the practicing just made me more anxious because I was so focused on it being uncomfortable. But, then, I got to a place where I thought "my guess is post-surgery you're not going to want to be turning your head much anyway and, almost, certainly not going to be lying on your ears or face" and kind of surrendered to that part. Then, I stopped trying to sleep all night on my back. I would try a bit, maybe doze off...but I would wake up, feel a little anxious and just say "just sleep however and try to rest. You're better off getting rest than all this 'practicing' since you don't know how it's going to be." Post surgery, I would say I was right. There is really no way you can sleep other than on your back with your head pretty still. The swelling really won't allow it. I found, especially the first week, that the extra pillows were not useful. The most "comfortable" way for me was to elevate my bed approximately 30 degrees and then put a soft, fluffy pillow behind my shoulders and let my head fall back over the top edge. That really worked pretty well. And, since, i had to keep compresses on my eyes anyway, it didn't matter that i couldn't easily see the TV or a book. I have staples on the incisions behind my head. They are not as uncomfortable to rest on as it might sound. The incisions, in general, are pretty numb anyway. Most of the discomfort is from swelling (tightness) and, in my case, my freakin' eyes. I kept a bowl of ice water next to my bed. The first few days I used a lightweight washcloth and soaked it in the water and then draped it over my eyes. Ohhhh...it would feel so soothing to have that cool cloth go over my eyes. As for what to do when you can't use your eyes...well, the first day, I was pretty dozy but I would listen to audio books and then kind of drift in-and-out. After that I was still kind of sleepy but it did get kind of boring and a bit depressing. I found if I put a movie on that I was familiar with or was more of a "talky" movie I could just listen and not be too bothered about not seeing. By day three I was feeling better. I was pretty bruised looking at this point (see photos) but it's amazing how quickly your body goes to work healing you. I found the tightness around my jaw and throat annoying but very tolerable. My eyes were much more of an irritation (maybe they took my attention off my neck...ha!). I had tape on both lids and my right eye was (and is) much more swollen than the left. The doctor had suggested using Refresh Tears liberally in my eyes and that helped quite a bit. I guess because of the swelling your tear ducts are not functioning that well so putting the drops in was very soothing. I don't think you could overuse them. I would say, oddly, days 4-5 were the worst in a way. Especially day 5! I think in some ways I was feeling a lot better overall but was getting pretty bored just lying around. I could use my eyes more but I still had the sutures and tape so couldn't really see that well. And using them for any sustained period they would get pretty irritated feeling again. I used the compresses intermittently during that time and I switched from the wash cloth to what my doctor had recommended: soaking 4X4 gauze pads in the ice water and using that as a compress. It was much lighter than the wash cloth and much smoother. After a while the wash cloth would just feel so heavy on my face (I know it sounds ridiculous but it did) and the texture started irritating my skin. If you're having your eyes done I would experiment with both. The washcloth holds the cool longer but the gauze pads are light. Maybe alternate. Day 5 I could see that the bruising, especially around my eyes, was receding quickly but I was having a lot of discomfort on my right side (apparently not unusual for one side to be more tight or uncomfortable that the other). I hadn't been taking anything other than Tylenol for pain because...wait for it...I had a fear of constipation. I had surgery on my foot last fall (broken metatarsal) and took the Vicodin for the pain and ended up pretty constipated. It doesn't sound like a big deal but it's REALLY uncomfortable. The doctor had recommended getting a stool softener to take if you were going to use the Vicodin. But the Tylenol worked pretty well for me so I figured why chance it? But by the afternoon of day 5 I was getting pretty down. Between the boredom, the irritated eyes and the tugging, tight feeling on one side...I had it! So, I broke down and took the Vicodin (actually Norco which is Hydrocodone plus Tylenol). Ohhhhh. That was such a good idea. Within 15-30 minutes I had so much relief it immediately brightened my mood. I took another one before going to sleep and was able to sleep more soundly which also helped. Since then I have gone back to Tylenol and it's working fine. I did take the stool softeners just to be sure and. thus, had no "issues." (As an aside, the surgical nurse told me that they had a patient who was taking the Norco regularly and not using the stool softener and they ended up having to send her to the hospital because of the constipation. They had to "clear her out" she was to impacted. Yuck. Word to the wise.) On Day 6 I returned to the surgeon's office and they started taking sutures and staples out. Removing the tape from my eyelids, removed about 1/2 the sutures and clearing up some of the clots and stuff was a tremendous relief. They also removed some sutures around my ears and some staples from behind my head. That made a big difference. Once the tape was off my eyes I could see much better and the irritation was less. As I posted, it was (and still is) a little unnerving to see myself, especially my eyes, so distorted from the swelling. I think I thought "sutures out...everything will be gone." Wishful thinking :-) They look better each day and I can see that I now have eyelids! But everything is still pretty swollen although a lot less uncomfortable. As with many things (I liken it to child labor or maybe even child rearing) while you're going through it it seems interminable but looking back it seems to have gone quickly. For those of you, like me, who struggle with anxiety and worry over whether "you can do it" I say...you can. Once you have the surgery, you'll have a brief period of mild pain, not-so-mild discomfort but it recedes hourly. All the anticipatory anxiety is gone...you're in the s**t now! As with an illness, you just make your way through it. It's no fun having a cold or the flu...but you get through it and you get well and you feel fine. It seems like that to me now. Is it worth it? I haven't made an absolute decision yet but, as my new face, emerges with the recession of the swelling and bruising I'm beginning to think "yes! yes...it's worth it." Updated on 12 Jun 2015: Things continue to heal and get better. Still a fair amount of swelling everywhere. Went back for 2nd post-op visit. The surgical nurse removed more "stuff." There were two types of stitches in my eyes: intermittent and running. The intermittent ones (the more traditional type of stitch) in my eyelid were removed on day 6. The running stitch of polypropylene was removed yesterday, day 9. It was another one of those "okay...1,2,3..." and the nurse tugged the end and pulled it out. It stung a bit as it caught on clots or whatever but not bad. There were four of them. Then she proceeded to remove all but one staple on each side from the back of my head, some staples from around my ears (still have one on one side and two on the other) and clip more stitches around the ears. Not painful. Of course, with more stuff out I could feel more of my head and what was incision versus what was dried blood (yuck). There were a couple of ridges of dried blood and pulling at them felt like pulling a scab. Not good. So I got a brainstorm and took some coconut oil and rubbed it into the various clotty places on my scalp and then let it sit there for about 15 minutes. Then I thoroughly (but carefully) washed my hair with baby shampoo. Put some conditioner on the ends...not allowed to have it on incisions yet. That helped a lot. There's still more patches but I made a huge dent and now I have a technique! I also wanted to mention that when I first came home I wanted to be able to listen to books or music on my iPad during the night without disturbing my husband. I have these very comfy ear bud type of headphones but I was reticent to put anything in my ears. Instead, I draped the cord for the ear bud over the top of my head and let it dangle next to my ear. I turned up the volume a bit and voila! It worked really well either draped over the head or behind the head...depending on my position. To my great surprise, I'm no longer minding sleeping on my back much. And, in fact, I think it's helped my chronic back pain enormously! My back feels great whereas I often have various crinks and aches in my upper and lower back. Cool side effect! As for sleeping or lying or whatever, I found two pillows in various combinations worked well. I used a pretty soft, fluffy pillow behind my shoulders with my head kind of flopped over the edge so the pillow supported my neck. That worked great early on. Now I'm able to have the pillow a bit higher and behind my head. That feels good because the back of my head got kind of achy from being rested upon so much. The other pillow is a 'save-your-face' pillow which looks kind of like a weird butterfly. It's meant to be used when you sleep on your side as there are cutouts on each side that would allow your face to be kept off the surface. But, I used it kind of like a neck pillow. When I wanted to sit more upright I would elevate the head of my bed pretty high (you could mimic this with pillows against a head board) and then I would put the save-your-face behind my neck and lay my head back against it. That way my head was supported but my chin stayed at 90 degrees. My level of discomfort is way, way lower. As the discomfort in my eyes, face and neck subsides, I'm a bit more aware of my forehead. It sort of feels like a gentle kind of pressure. I can move my eyebrows now...a bit. There's a bit of pain toward the inner part of the eyebrow when I move a certain way but nothing horrible. And! Here's a fun thing: about a month before my surgery I learned of this website called how-old.net which given a picture will estimate the age of the person. When I did it back then it estimated my age as 58 which I felt was pretty good since I'm 64 and people often said I looked young for my age. So, just for fun, I decided to do it yesterday. Took a picture of my "new" self and the estimate was 36!! THIRTY-SIX!!! Not that I think I really look that young but still...it was encouraging :-D Feel free to guess my age from the posted picture for today :-) Updated on 15 Jun 2015: Time has certainly gone by although I can't say it has exactly flown. Mostly because it's boring. My eyes get irritated if I use them too much which I do. I mean, I have to do something! But for the most part, every day still brings improvement in various things. As you'll see in the pictures, I still have a fair amount of swelling around my right eye and left jaw. Weird. The bruising has receded a lot but there's still a fair amount under the chin and neck. I have much more movement in my neck now which is nice and I find I can sleep much more soundly. I still sleep on my back which is increasingly comfortable and now I can partially turn my head to one side or the other for a while which makes for a nice change. I still have to remember to take Tylenol pretty regularly. Not so much for pain, per se, but there's various twinges, itches and irritations that it helps with. I find by the end of the day my eyes feel quite irritated. I use the cold compresses for a while and that helps a lot. I've been out to lunch and stuff several times and no one seems to notice my "weirdnesses." No small children flee screaming. I'm supposed to see the PS tomorrow and get the rest of the "stuff" out. That will be nice. Nothing is exactly bothersome stitch/staple-wise but there are various tugs and pulls that are annoying. Plus I still have to be careful about where things are and not touching them or pulling them or whatever. I plan to return to work in two days. I'm a little apprehensive about it but also looking forward to getting back into the groove. Apprehensive because I still feel a bit tired and worn out...mostly from not sleeping great I think. Could also be that I'm not getting enough activity (physical or mental) so I'm hoping once I'm back at work my energy levels will come back quickly. Surprisingly (and pleasantly) I've lost about 8 pounds since the surgery! At first, mostly due to lack of appetite but, then, by paying more attention to what I'm eating and not using food as a treat or distraction. We'll see if I can keep that ball rolling. In general, I'm hoping my younger look will spur me to get into better shape and, generally, take better care of myself. It's odd, but kind of what I hoped for, that by doing this surgery and giving myself a more youthful visage I feel more positive and optimistic about going forward in life. NOTE: The pictures posted today are badly lit and I think it's making the bruising (and my skin in general) look more discolored and mottled than it actually is. Updated on 16 Jun 2015: It's hard to believe that it's been two weeks although the days certainly dragged at times. Oddly, I woke up today feeling loads better. Throat less tight, eyes less irritated and generally just good. And this, even though I didn't sleep very well. Today was the day to remove all remaining stitches, staples and posts. It's nice to have all that stuff out although some pretty gnarly scabs remain. I'm told they'll just figure themselves out and, eventually, just fall off. Removing the posts from my head felt a bit weird. I could feel her turning it like a screw but not at all painful. I'm clear to sleep on my side, wear makeup, DRINK! Although, I'm going to take it easy on the drinking since I'm trying to continue the weight loss and shape-up I've been experiencing. I'm a bit down though. My husband is leaving in the wee hours for a week long business trip to Argentina. I can't say I needed much help really beyond the first day or two. He's a bit of a workaholic so he's not been around all that much but I always look forward to our time together in the evenings. So, nothing to do with the surgery really...just that I'll miss him. And...big day tomorrow. Back to work. I told only 3 people (women) that I was having this surgery. I'm a software engineer so most of the people I work with are men. The beauty of that is when I said "I'm taking two weeks off in June" they don't ask any questions. Of course, they likely won't notice any difference in my appearance either. Or, possibly, they'll notice *something* but won't know what it is. I think I've gotten a great result. Very natural...I still look like me...but a more rested, youthful me. It's funny when I look in the mirror, especially when I'm not thinking about it, and I catch sight of myself. I don't grimace anymore :-) The me I see is much more inline with the me I picture in my head. One of the jarring things about an aging face is that it is so at odds with that picture. Not long before I had my surgery (but after I had scheduled it) a cousin was visiting from out-of-town. I took her to my son's home and he had dug out a couple of pictures. One of them was my cousin and her brothers holding a baby. My son insisted that the baby was him. I said, "don't be ridiculous...look how young Beth is...it can't be you." Then he showed me another picture from that same day with me and his dad holding the baby (or, as we now know, my son). I saw myself and thought "holy crap! look how young I am!!" My cousin, who I insisted was too young in the picture for that to be my son, is two years younger than me. It was funny. But I also realized that the picture of myself in my head is pretty similar to that young picture of me. No wonder it became so dystonic to catch sight of myself. That mental picture was so off from the reality. But now! Much closer. Obviously, I don't look 25 but a lot of the sagging and folding and crinkling have disappeared. It's like my face has been ironed :-) Anyway...it'll be interesting to see what, if any, reactions I get tomorrow. I'll let you all know. And thanks, again, to everyone for the generous encouragement and support. It's really been very cool to feel like I have so many people rooting for me and my successful recovery. Updated on 18 Jun 2015: I returned to work yesterday (day 15 post op). I was a little anxious about it since my eyes were still feeling kind of irritated and I have some tightness around my jaw and throat. But...I figured "you gotta go back sometime..." And, I was eager to see if people noticed a difference. I had told a few of the women with whom I work that I was having "some work" so they were expecting it. They were all very interested and complimentary...but what else could they be? The interesting thing was the men's reactions. It became clear that even people who didn't know I was having the surgery noticed something was different. I have a meeting, first thing in the morning, with my team and got a few double-take kind of looks. After the meeting, one of the guys (someone I've known for a long time and is a regular lunch buddy) came into my office and said "you did something!!" That was fun...that there was enough of a difference that he noticed. Several others have made comments as well. Since I'm a software engineer, I spend a lot of time looking at computer screens and was a little concerned that my eyes would not be cooperative. But my fears were groundless mostly. My eyes were a bit wonky throughout the day (there's a fair amount of tightness and some dry/irritated feeling) so it was hard to forget about them altogether. I was able to function fine though and even do some code debugging in the afternoon. The other blissful thing is that after my suture/staple/post removal two days ago I was cleared to sleep on my side. It was heaven! I can fall asleep so much more easily that way. I have to kind of prop the pillow so my ear isn't pressing too hard and it's a little tricky figuring out what to do with my hands (I typically rest a hand under my head or cheek). But it was fine and I feel so much more refreshed with some solid sleep hours! I did realize yesterday that there was one stitch that hadn't been removed. I called the surgeon's office and was able to swing by there on the way to work to have it taken it out. It was just inadvertently overlooked. While I was there the surgeon came in to check me out (he wasn't available due to a surgery running long when I was there the day before). He came and I said "behold!" He was very pleased and pulled out my pictures from the consultation to see the difference. It was pretty cool. I told him about my results with the how-old.net site (see the screen capture) and he said to his assistant "we should do that for our patients!" My face still feels a bit not-quite-my-face. There's various tight things, itchy things, twinge-y things, numb things...but I can see daily changes in swelling reducing and bruising disappearing. I didn't even wear cover up makeup today...just some blush and lip gloss. As the discomfort of the first week fades in my memory, I am increasingly happy with my decision to go forward and with the result I got. According to the surgeon, my result will continue to improve and he gave me a referral to an aesthetician who does lymphatic drainage facials to help with some of the residual swelling. I wanted to say, again, how appreciative I am of the support I've received on this site. People are really kind, generous and lovely and it helps both with answering questions, calming fears and sharing the results! If anyone is contemplating these kinds of procedures feel free to message me with questions...I'll do my best to share what I've learned :-) Updated on 1 Jul 2015: Hard to believe it's been four weeks already! I've been back at work for two weeks now which has been kind of fun although a bit challenging at first. When I first returned my eyes were still pretty irritated feeling and, since I'm a software engineer, staring at a computer all day was a little tough. I returned on a Wednesday. By the following Monday my eyes were, suddenly, a lot better. I still have some irritation at the corners especially on my right eye. But no problem with vision or using my eyes for extended periods of time. I got lots of double-take looks from people. If they're someone I'm pretty friendly with I'll clue them in that I had surgery. They invariably say something like, "you just look so great...i didn't want to ask. but you look so young! so rested!" I love that because it's exactly what I was going for. I wanted to look natural and like myself. Both the men and women are fascinated and ask lots of questions. I'm always considerably older than my co-workers. I went back to school in my thirties to get my masters in computer science after having my three kids. Software was still quite new in those days and it was overwhelmingly young people straight out of school entering the profession. So, with this surgery, I feel like a pioneer blazing the way for my younger friends :-) They're very interested in the procedures, the process, everything. It's cute and fun. As others report, I still have a variety of weirdnesses going on. Every day is an adventure. I'm sleeping SO much better now that I can sleep on my side and tummy. Still have to be a bit careful about placing my face and hands but less and less. But now that all the anxiety has gone I sleep soundly and through the night. That helps enormously! I still have quite a bit of swelling around the jaw and under chin area. It results in a very tight feeling around my throat - sometimes just below the jaw and sometimes more at the base of my neck. My forehead is also still somewhat swollen as are the outer eyelids. The incision areas are all still pretty numb which means I have to be pretty careful trying to remove scabs since I can't feel what I'm doing and, mostly, can't see either. The forehead, in particular, just above my eyebrows is both number and somewhat sensitive. It gets better each day too. The changes are smaller and smaller but definitely still occurring. I'm having the lymphatic drainage thing twice a week (she uses this wand that creates suction and runs it repeatedly over the various swollen areas) and I think it helps. However, yesterday - one day after a treatment - I started feeling crappy in the afternoon. This could be a result of the treatment as it does help release "toxins" into your body. Or, it was just a bad day. Hard to say. I definitely think the treatments are helping. The most obviously (to me) swollen area is under the chin and the neck. After the treatments those areas seem smoother. It's still quite numb under there but I do feel an easing of the tightness around my throat. More and more when I look in the mirror I'm very pleased with my results. And here's a benefit I hadn't anticipated: when I put on eye makeup I don't have to pull the corner to smooth the eyelid. It's just already smooth!! Updated on 31 Jul 2015: Well, that actually went by pretty fast. Of course it didn't seem like it all that time. Surprisingly, to me, I'm STILL in a healing process. I, mistakenly (like an idiot) , thought "out of work two weeks" means "you are fully recovered and healed in two weeks." Uh no. The healing process is really amazing and, for the most part, the bruising is gone after two weeks. And your discomfort level has subsided considerably. But things are most definitely healing within. I have regained a lot of feeling around by ears and back of my head. Still have swelling but much reduced. My forehead...particularly at my brow line became super sensitive to touch (in the areas that are less numb) but also sometimes super itchy. Weird. I can comfortably put on and wear my reading glasses whereas for a while it was a little uncomfortable to do so. I'm quite happy with my result! I really see a difference and I feel A LOT better about myself. I'm taking better care of myself: eating better (I've lost 16 pounds since surgery), exercising. So, I'm still 64 (yikes 65 in three weeks) but I find that much more comfortable than I ever have or thought I could. It may be "shallow" that my outward appearance seems more youthful and that make me happy. But isn't seeking happiness what we're all doing? This is working for me and I'm lucky enough to be able to do it for myself. I think Dr. Miller did a great job. Exactly what I wanted. People definitely notice that you look "better" but, unless I tell them...which I often do...because I think it's pretty cool...they'll say "you like good...rested." And maybe that's what youth is...you've been able to get enough sleep that you actually look rested :-) Updated on 18 Aug 2015: I've been having a lovely time enjoying my new look. I get funny looks from people who haven't seen me in a while...never gets old :-) Then they look puzzled (like they're trying to figure out if I really look different, or did something, or what...) and say something like "you look sooo...you look really pretty...really rested..." Depending on who it is I'll say "thanks!" in a real perky way (like I hear such things all the time) or "well, could be the facelift!" They took pictures again and then gave me my before and after pictures from the same angle, same lighting. It's pretty cool seeing how different my result is from before but without it being artificial or weird looking. Thought you guys would enjoy seeing them too! Updated on 8 Oct 2015: The photo (although making me look slightly insane) was taken at just about 4 months. I think my result is great! Natural. Looks like me but better :-) I get a lot of long pauses when seeing people I haven't seen in a while followed by "you look......so good...so rested." Love it! At just about 4 months to the day my forehead suddenly feels lots better. It's been one of the lingering things that the area between and just above my eyebrows was super-sensitive to the touch and still quite numb. Now it's feeling a LOT better. The only remaining weirdness that I notice is right under my chin and my throat. Just a feeling of tightness and still some numbness. Overall...feeling great and very happy with my result. Looking back at my anxiousness and getting through that first week or so, I can now say I am VERY glad I did it. I think it's one of the best things I have done for myself. I feel so much better about myself and am taking much better care of myself. And I just feel lots more upbeat and ready to engage with life!
Your question presumes all faces are equal, all aging is equal, and all goals are equal.I'll have a Big Mack, please!Every patient has difference genetics, physiology, anatomic ramifications of aging, and a unique individual beauty which can be revealed with proper vision and surgical approach. One size fits all only works in fast food ... and maybe not even then!
My first instinct is to tell you, "no, it can't be reversed". My second thought is to tell you, "you need to wait 6 months, then be evaluated by a board certified plastic surgeon to evaluate your situation and see what can be done". But, I have been in practice 20 years and I have seen situations where early intervention can save everyone a lot of unnecessary stress and actually allow a better result in the end, even if further modifications are necessary. While this is not the norm, it occurs often enough to merit an urgent comprehensive evaluation by someone with much experience and expertise in this area.
The fact that your eyelid and brow problem are not just "how they are" but change based on time of day, situation, and irritant indicates a physiologic or system issue. If it was me, I would go to the Shiley Eye Center at UCSD and see Don Kikkawa. I work in conjunction with him often and find him to be comprehensive, insightful, and meticulous with these complex functional eye issues.
In my opinion, Botox is not going to give you the lift you are looking for.An endoscopic brow lift, on the other hand, could elevate the brows selectively in the outer third as you have indicated in your picture. It would require 2 quarter inch incisions behind the scalp hairline (each about 2 inches from the center). Recovery would be 1-2 weeks, but there may be some residual bruising (easily camouflaged) for another week or two.
We are honored by our military patients' confidence in our office and the quality of our results. We appreciate and thank you for your service and offer a "military discount" as a token of our appreciation for those who serve our country.Like any elective surgery, you need to inform your superior's of your planned absence. I believe he surgical details can remain confidential; but, this can vary by service, so it's best to check. Bottom line: It's done all the time. We know because we do it all the time! Your timetable looks good. You probably can return to light duty in one week, although you still wont be cleared for heavy lifting or pushups, etc... for at least a month.