About me: I have been on RS for several years now, read and researched and asked questions, looked at many before and after photos, followed many surgeries and the healing process, and even videos of the procedure (ew!!). I don't believe there is ever "too much information" lol. In 2014, I started truly considering a neck/face lift. Menopause had done a number on my face; seemed like overnight I had aged at a ridiculous rate (and losing 20# didn't help either.) But I decided I wasn’t ready then. Too uncertain if I truly needed it, too worried of the outcome and recovery, and too expensive: how do I justify THAT kind of money just on my face? As time went on I continued to look at my reflection every day and not like what I saw. Family photos showed a tired me, a sad and saggy neck and face that didn’t belong with my personality. In Jan of 2015 I had the most wonderful vacation to India with my 80 yr old mother, but when I looked at our many photos, I saw that my neck looked as old as hers. I could even see how often I tried to hide my neck with my hair, with a dupatta (long scarf) or something in my hand. Well that just ain't right! I had previously gone to 3 plastic surgeons and gotten estimates/quotes (sounds like I went to a auto body shop) for face and neck lifts. Different doctors, different approaches, different prices. All very nice and qualified doctors. I went back to the second doctor I consulted with, Dr. Wyatt To. He specializes in facial surgeries, nothing else. No boobs, no butts, no bellies. He studied my face like a work of art, and liked what he saw. He suggested the LA Lift, which is his patented procedure. It’s a combination of a SMAS face lift and neck lift with platysmaplasty done under local anesthetic with oral sedation. Which brings me to now. I had a second consultation with Dr. To in April. He reacquainted himself with my face, still very pleased with my bone structure, skin elasticity, and felt I was a good candidate for the LA Lift. I like Dr. To very much; he's such a gentleman, soft spoken with an artist's eye and sculpture's hands. "Just do it!" my best friend said, so I did. I made the decision, paid my deposit and set the date. May 25th, just a month away. Oh, and I added lateral brow lift at the doctor's suggestion, which will help improve my eyes without bleph surgery (which I do not want) Since i have been researching this procedure for so long, I found that very few reviews focus on the local anesthetic approach. It just seems so strange to not have general for such a lengthy surgery. And the idea of being 'conscious' or 'awake' is slightly terrifying. So are the needles (ya, I watched the videos, omg.) So I will be very specific with the details as well as the experience with the doctor and staff, pre-op, post-op, and follow ups at 3 and 6 months. I'm not going to go crazy with photos, just a few at a time with good lighting and well focused on the important details. So whoever wants to follow, hop on board and ride the "OMG, What Have I Done??" train with me! Updated on 25 Apr 2017: I'm at the 30 day mark, and not close enough to the surgery date to freak out yet. I do have some concerns at this time though. I don't smoke but I do vape. Smoking is a no no, and my dr said no nicotine at least 2 weeks prior. I've read other reviews where they said no smoking 3-4 weeks, or even 8 weeks prior to surgery. So I've gone to 100% ZERO nicotine in my e-liquid. Of course my dr still said no to that, so I'm not sure what I'll do. I do realize the importance of this, so I fully intend to do whatever necessary to make this surgery a total success!! If that means quitting the vape, then so be it. I'll have to quit drinking 2 weeks before too. Hmmm... Then there's the pre-op doctors appointment. I called my primary and asked if this visit could be coded so the insurance would cover it. It's a routine physical, but with EKG and blood (which of course isn't covered.) The nurse got a bit noisy and offended and said "It's PRE OP, we can't change that!" I'm like, okay okay, chill out lady. I was just asking ;) My center said the blood nicotine test might be expensive, but that they could do a urine test on May 11 at my pre op appointment. Which I think they do anyway, so not sure if I need the blood nicotine test. Maybe I'm just being cheap now, which is ironic *lol*. I'm spending as much as it will cost to repair the front porch, so I am now referring to this surgery as 'fixing the front porch'. The ladies at work know when I refer to the "porch" I'm talking about my face. I'm enjoying writing all this, whether other's read it or not. Something therapeutic about putting all these thoughts into a blog so to speak. Updated on 26 Apr 2017: Good lord, I thought it would be prudent to take a few pics of me today, 28 days pre-op, but I wasn't ready to see these!! Seriously, it's not like I don't see this face every morning. Photos are rarely flattering, and the few that I actually like are when I'm smiling, but I didn't realize until just now how freaking old I look... Updated on 2 May 2017: Now I'm second guessing this whole adventure. I was doing alright until Sunday, when I received news of my sister-in-law's terminal cancer getting the best of her (the end is imminent, just a matter of time.) My choice to have cosmetic surgery suddenly seemed ludicrous, selfish and totally unnecessary. At 60, her life is ending, and at the same age, what am I thinking about? My face?? When did I become so vain? If you ask anyone who knows me, they will say this is completely out of character for earthy, natural, barefoot Sue. Yet, here I am. So, I keep asking myself: In the big scheme of things, is my face getting old really that important? “I don’t look that bad…it’s a lot of money…I’ll be the only one who notices…but it’s for me, not for what others will think of me, it's what I want…this is a whole lot of downtime and I’ll be out of commission for most of the summer…what if I have complications, nerve damage, ugly scars, wounds that won’t heal, lopsided face, tight ‘noose’ neck feeling for the rest of my life… Okay, that’s enough for today. Tomorrow I see my dr. She’s very outspoken, so I’m curious as to what she’ll say about this surgery… Updated on 3 May 2017: I've been meaning to cut my hair, but not sure if I should do it before or after the surgery. Any suggestions? Updated on 4 May 2017: A lot has happened in the last few days. First, my BF accepted a job offer with a start date of May 15th. He has been looking for over a year, so this has been most anticipated and he has accepted the position. But, that means he will not be able to take care of me May 25th-26th :( Also, my SIL is getting close to the end, and the potential for a conflict due to funeral arrangements is greater now. I can just imagine my luck that either I would miss the funeral, or show up as the Giant Q-tip to provide comic relief. So the date has now been moved to Sept 7th. This also gives me all summer to work on the yard and house (1900s total restoration). Might just get the REAL porch done! I realized yesterday, after squawking like Chicken Little, that I am ready, oh so very ready to get this surgery done and get through the recovery. So now I must wait, and I'll still be on RS to follow others on their journey. Wiscogrl, I'll be watching your every move with envy! Thanks again to everyone here. Such a great, supportive group you are :) Updated on 15 May 2017: She went peacefully on Monday afternoon, I drove the distance to be with family and spent the week...a very long, sad, difficult week. I think I reflected more on life during these 6 days than I have in the last 10 years. Life goes on, even if changed, it remains the same. Family matters, happiness matters, and life is oh so much shorter than we ever imagined. The tears we cry, the laughs we have, the hugs, the jokes, the trying times... its all so wonderful. "Could Have Been Me" by the Struts: "I wanna taste love and pain Wanna feel pride and shame I don't wanna take my time Don't wanna waste one line I wanna live better days Never look back and say Could have been me Could have been me" Until next time my friends. Live Long and Prosper *rockin' the Vulcan hand* Updated on 11 Aug 2017: 27 days, just 4 weeks until I go in for the procedure. I haven't really thought about it until just a few days ago, so I did the blood work, and have my pre-op visit on Aug 17th. That will be the time to discuss my concerns and confirm what exactly will be done. I researched arnica montana as a topical for bruising, and bromelain (pineapple) for an anti-inflammatory supplement. Other than that, I don't know what else I would add as a supplement for the bruising/swelling. I have my recliner, probably won't be able to wear my glasses so a tablet is how I will watch my entertainment. I have my protein shakes, and other than that, I think that's it. If anyone who is reading has any suggestions, please post them. I feel like I may be missing some prep information. Updated on 24 Aug 2017: So I am two weeks out from surgery. My ps is so awesome, and his assistant is an angel. We went over the procedure, took pics, and he made lots of notes. I got to pick my music, which will be Pink Floyd, mostly Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. Some Vivaldi too, but hopefully I won't be hearing much of anything. I just want to drown out the sound of any cutting. 14 days. I have changed my diet to no alcohol *ugh* Taking 1000 mg of Vit C daily. I stopped vaping nicotine months ago, so no worries there. I'm going low carb also. That's my plan, not the ps. I want to lose those last few pounds before surgery, and also eliminate any inflammatory foods. I'll be eating raw pineapple along with the Arnica the last two days. It still doesn't seem real, like it's someone else getting it done and I'm just talking about them :) Updated on 25 Aug 2017: I took a photo of me today, just now, in the bathroom at work which is where I notice my loose skin the most. I look okay, angle and lighting make all the difference of course. I just wanted to have one more good look at how I really appear to myself. Updated on 6 Sep 2017: Less than 24 hours to go. I'm definitely getting nervous now, even though it still feels like it's happening to someone else. Very surreal. Xanax is my friend today, so I'm glad I'm not busy at work. Recliner is in place in the living room. I found that a towel rolled up behind my neck will give me more support. I think the swelling in the neck area will be very uncomfortable so I don't want my face falling forward and putting pressure there. TV is easily viewed, and I have a tablet pillow to watch Netflix as I drift in and out of sleep during the night. American Horror Story marathon lol We bought a Ninja to make smoothies: blueberry, kale, banana, chia and kafir. We also made seaweed/shitake/miso soup (low sodium). And I have my protein shakes. I think that will take me through the weekend. I am to wear a button up shirt, no bra, loose pants and warm socks as the room will be cool. I'm mostly worried that tomorrow, when the surgery begins, I will not be 'under' enough. I have a high tolerance to pain meds, and 1 Vicodin may not be enough. My dr also upped my Ativan to 3. I feel like I might be that horse, the one who doesn't go down after the first tranquilizer, who kinda staggers around until the second or third dose brings her down. But I love my doctor, and his assistant Danielle is amazing, and I am confident I will be in good hands. In my head I see myself and bf walking into the op room and seeing the smiling faces and feeling the kind hands lead me to the chair...and...then it will begin...oh my. Vivaldi playing softly, lights bright as dr begins drawing on my face, planning the improvements to my 'front porch'. To my RS friends, if you have questions please ask, and if you want pics, please also ask. I will try my best to take them in good lighting and at good angles. :) Updated on 8 Sep 2017: Well, that wasn't too bad at all. Slept relatively well the night before, and was up with all my meds and ready to go by 7:30. I predicted, this little filly needed one more sedative. I wasn't worried, just wasn't loopy or drowsy enough. The Dr could tell when it was time, and we turned on Pink Floyd 'Wish You Were Here' while he gave me the injections. Most were hardly felt at all. I stayed awake for 90% of the surgery, could feel the tugging and pulling and positioning and cutting and burning, but with "Welcome to the Machine" and "Wish You Were Here" playing in the background made it seem like a dream. I wasn't supposed to touch my face, so every time my hand went up for an itch, the Hand Police would catch me and scratch my nose for me. A couple of times I just played air guitar, ya know, like I wasn't really reaching for my face. The nurses liked that lol After it was all done, they wrapped my head in a giant cotton swab and sent me and my bf out the back door. Had a fruit smoothing for dinner, rested and slept and watched TV. Not much pain, but it was there so I took the pain meds. Mostly it was hard to see the TV or watch the tabled, angle was all wrong. This morning we went for the follow up. Dr loves everything, was very pleased with the outcome. Bruising is minimal, swelling hasn't really started yet (that will be to come). All in all, a very splendid adventure. Updated on 8 Sep 2017: Some closer ones of the sutures and staples. I think he did a splendid job! Updated on 9 Sep 2017: It has begun. The super tight feeling, the serious swelling, the tingling. It's all normal, I know, but that first day is so misleading. You feel wonderful because there isn't any real swelling yet, and the bruising is just starting. So I need to hold onto my hat and ride this out for another 5-7 days before I start to see the real results. Updated on 12 Sep 2017: Washed my hair (awesome!!) and had the stitches out, dr said everything looks great. They put surgical tape on the incisions and said to leave them on until they fall off on their own. After that I use the scar cream. I must say, this has been a most interesting experience. The tightness and numbness in the face really can't be described very well. It's bizarre, like wearing a plastic mask pulled tight around the ears. It does hurt, but not enough to be bothersome, just always there. The tightness in the neck is not bad, no feeling of choking or 'clothesline'. Wearing my glasses is a bit of a bother as it irritates the temple area. I tried sleeping in bed last night...big mistake. Even with a bunch of pillows, I slid down during the night and woke up around 5 am with my face swollen and throbbing and a headache. Back to the recliner for a few more days, maybe through the weekend. Seriously, don't try it, because it truly is a setback you don't need. The swelling is the hardest part, so keeping it to a minimum really helps. I haven't felt any remorse or depression at all. I don't look in the mirror except in the morning to brush my hair. I tried taking pictures, but the swelling today looks pretty bad. This is the only time I felt a bit sad. No matter the lighting or the angle or whatever, in every picture I looked like a victim of domestic abuse. And that made me think of women who are abused, and what it must feel like for them to know that others can literally see their suffering in their face. If I had to go back to the office, I could do it. Most people say it takes weeks to feel 'normal', but if I'm just sitting at a desk, there's no difference between the office and at home. I'm working from home this week, just 5-6 hours a day. Sitting at the pc is good, gets me out of the chair and away from mindless TV. Helps with the boredom for sure, and I feel productive. That's all for today, need to get back to work. I'll check back in on Thursday at day 7. Updated on 14 Sep 2017: Me with makeup, just playing around a bit. Swelling is up today, so my cheeks are really puffy. Updated on 19 Sep 2017: First day back in the office. I'm feeling pretty good, swelling going down a bit every day. The numbness also subsides a little every day. Still a bit lumpy, I can feel it under my jaw mostly. Incisions are nearly invisible in front of my ears and at the temples. Yesterday the Dr. took off the surgical tape, and drew some blood out of my left cheek as the bruising was quite noticeable. The incisions are great, and he is very happy with the results. Now on to full recovery! Thank you all for following, it's been quite an adventure and I'm very happy I committed to the surgery when I did. "So long and thanks for all the fish ;)" Updated on 27 Sep 2017: Just thought I should post a few pics of the incisions. I'm still amazed at how beautiful Dr. To's work is. I have a hard time even finding the ones above the ear and by my eye brow. I can't see behind the ear, but it feels like nothing there. I'm sure it's red, and soon I'll be applying the scar cream. Updated on 16 Oct 2017: Loving that I look as young as I feel now. Little to no makeup, out in the sun, enjoying game day (Go Ravens!!) Updated on 16 Oct 2017: Sorry, deleted the other pic. This one is a bit better. Go Ravens!! Updated on 25 Oct 2017: Yeah, I just realized how much I put myself out there with some of these pics. My family doesn't know, and it only takes one person to join RS and search to find out what I've been up to. So my apologies for any missing pics, and I cropped the begeezers out of the others. Here is my most recent photo, at 7 weeks. Updated on 30 Oct 2017: Posting a side by side of before and now, just for reference.
Botox is a Must! - Frederick, MD
Hi ladies. I’ve been reading about lower facelift reviews on RS for the last couple of years. Thank you for posting your experiences. They really helped me a lot! So I decided to post a review here thinking it might help others who are interested in these procedures. I consulted five doctors over the last 2 years and finally made my mind and chose a surgeon. My surgery date is August 2 and preop on July 20. I still can’t believe it I’m doing this! A little background about myself; I’m 56 and have taken really good care of my skin. I don’t smoke; I try to eat healthy and exercise regularly. But skin sagging with age is unavoidable no matter what. Only in the last 2 years or so I’ve noticed the jowls start to form and neck skin started sagging. I just look tired/angry even when I’m perfectly rested and happy. I read that aging changes often appear to happen quite suddenly and this is exactly what I’ve noticed about myself. In my 40s and early 50s I got botox and fillers but stopped a couple of years ago as it has become so expensive to maintain. I knew one day I would want to have a fl. The most difficult part has been choosing the surgeon. All the surgeons I consulted seemed very experienced. A couple of them quoted me over 20k!! In the end I decided to go to Dr. Wyatt To in Frederick MD. My consult was back in January and he was the 4th surgeon I consulted. He does only faces and does it under local anesthesia. It’s a bit scary thinking that I’m doing this under local. My consult with Dr. To lasted about 45 minutes and he thoroughly analyzed my face and answered all my questions. It will be a SMAS lift with neck lift. He told me the results should look natural and not overdone. To address volume loss he suggested fillers. Dr. To doesn’t do fat transfer. I had fat transfer under the eyes in 2014 but lasted only a few months. So, I will try fillers after the surgery. My surgeon wanted a clearance from my eye doctor so I went last week. My eye doc said I have very dry eyes and it could get worse with lower eyelids surgery. So he recommends that it should be done very conservatively. I had the upper eyelids done last August and fortunately I didn’t experience any dryness, blurry vision or any other complication. Any thoughts from those who had their lower eyelids done? The office showed me lots of before/after photos and the results are amazing. The office is about 2 hour drive from my house and the doctor wants to see me the day after surgery so I will spend the night in a hotel near the office. The total cost is around 10k!! It's a lot of money to spend and I hope it will be a good investment for my face :) I plan to take off work about 16 days to recover at home. Do you think it’s enough time to fully recover? I work in an office setting btw. If you have any suggestion for supplies I need for recovery or you have any advice please leave a comment. I appreciate your support. Updated on 24 Jul 2018: Hello lovely ladies. I had my preop visit last Friday. The doctor went over the procedures and took photos. I shared with him some photos when I was younger so he can see how my face changed with aging. He prescribed antibiotics, anti-anxiety pills, anti-nausea patch and pills, and pain killers. The office also provided some items for me including vit C, arnica and silicon gel. I will have to be at their facility at 7:30 am on the day of surgery. So I'm planning to stay in a nearby hotel for two nights, the night before surgery and the night after since he wants to see me a day post surgery. All fees have been paid and I'm ready for surgery! Updated on 4 Aug 2018: I can't believe I'm done already. Surgery went very well and I am recovering at home. Sorry I couldn't update sooner. I have been feeling washed out. Resting at home. No pain but I feel tightness in the neck area. The sides of the face are numb. Going back to the doctor's office on Monday for sutures removal. I plan to write in detail later. Updated on 6 Aug 2018: Hi ladies. Today I had my sutures removed at the doctor's office. It took about 45 minutes and was painless. Healing is progressing well. No more compression garment to wear yay! The nurse put tape with glue after removing the sutures. It's a water proof tape that's supposed to fall off in a couple of days. I also started to use the arnica topical on bruises. This was provided by the surgeon's office among other items. I am still swollen. Also thre's a lot of numbness and I was told feeling comes back slowly. Please feel free to ask questions and I will try to answer you. Thanks. Updated on 26 Aug 2018: Doing well. Sorry couldn't update sooner. Attached are after photos. It's the first time I put makeup on. Photos are unfiltered. I saw my surgeon look look last week and he is pleased with results thus far. I am also pleased. I still have swelling on jawline and under the chin. There is also still numbness near the ears. I tried to upload a short video but it didn't work and will try again. I hope you're doing well and I will try to update soon! Enjoy your day. Updated on 17 Mar 2019: Hi ladies. It has been a while since I updated. Happy spring to you! Just to update you on my results. I am still happy about my face and under eyes results. The hollowness under eyes is still there but the surgeon didn't say that the procedure would resolve this. It was a skin pinch as there was exess skin under the eyes. I am thinking about doing fillers under the eyes. As for the scars, they are now invisible. The scars behind the ears are bumpy but no body can see them. They get a bit irritated sometimes and itchy. I am however not completely happy about my neck. As I was healing I have noticed the skin under the chin was not that tight and also the neck bands were still there. I thought I would give it more time to heal. But now I am concerned that these issues won't resolve on their own. I plan to talk to my surgeon when I see him next month. Here are some photos showing the neck. I am not wearing any makeup. Let me know what do you think and if you have any questions. Thanks Updated on 23 Apr 2019: Hello lovely ladies. Just an update regarding my follow up with my doctor as promised. I mentioned to him about the neck bands and loose skin. He said the neck bands are the muscles but he didn't address my concern about the loose skin under the chin. He kept saying I looked youthful and I agree about that. I think I told him about the loose skin about 4 times but he wouldn't comment on it!! I find it very weird though. The nurse was present by the way. I'm still not happy about the neck and it does bother me. I might send an email to the coordinator and explain to her and ask her to ask him if he could do a touch up. I paid 10k for this and I deserve to be completely satisfied. I can't rate this procedure worth it unless I'm 100 percent happy. I will post some updated photos soon. Thanks again for your support and sweet comments. Updated on 17 May 2019: Hi friends. So, I communicated with my surgeon regarding the neck. He suggested that I do Lipodissolve and he will do it at no cost to me. This is the first time I heard about this procedure so I checked RS for information. From its name I thought why would I want to do this as I do not have fat in the neck area. Just to be on the safe side I asked RS doctors and I'm glad I did. So far I got 3 doctors saying I would need a neck revision to get the best results. In fact one doctor said Lipodissolve could easily make matters worse! I just do not understand why my doctor thinks that Lipodissolve will correct the problems I'm having. Btw this procedure is not FDA approved and I read mixed reviews about it. Patients had enormous amount of swelling after the procedure. I let my doctor's office know that I am not interested in Lipodissolve and I explained why. I will see if he is willing to revise his work. Otherwise I will request a refund. I would like also to get a second opinion so I scheduled an appointment next month. Has anyone done Lipodissolve? Please let me know. Thanks Updated on 17 May 2019: I just received a response from my doctor's office that he would like to see me to discuss other options.My appointment is in early June. I know he does Kybella and Thermage and other rejuvenating non surgical procedures. I will keep you updated. Updated on 10 Jun 2019: Hello lovely ladies. I had my follow up last week. It was a 10 minutes meeting with the surgeon. He just checked the scars in the back of the ears (those are for the neck). They still haven’t completely flattened and they feel tender when I press on them. He recommended I continue to massage them. For the neck he said that even if he does a revision it wouldn’t make a big difference! He demonstrated this by pulling the skin of the neck. Again he mentioned the lipodissolve and said he would inject very little. I told him my concern is not fat but sagging skin and prominent neck bands. He said lipodissolve might improve it! I find that very vague statement! He said the swelling from lipodissolve lasts for 2 weeks. From my experience these surgeons always don’t tell you the truth. I read on rs that the swelling from lipodissolve is tremendous. I would be naïve if I take a risk and do lipodissolve. The office staff told me that they do fillers for neck bands but I was not willing to pay $590. I was very disappointed in the results and the fact that he said revision won’t help. I believe that the surgery didn’t deliver the neck results I was seeking. As you can see from the before photos I didn’t have a lot fat or sagging skin in my neck. I really don’t understand why I didn’t get a smooth neck. It might be the technique he used but I’m not a doctor so really not sure. I thought if he was willing to revise the neck he should be able to improve it. He actually acknowledged that the results are not perfect but said I should enjoy what I got and then in 5 years I can have another procedure. I find it weird that he told me prior to surgery that results should last 10 years! Well even if I decide to have a revision I’m not going back to him. By the way I already consulted another surgeon in my area about the neck and he agreed with me that I should have had better results. But he doesn’t recommend revision right now because this will just create more scar tissues and said I should give it a couple of years before I consider revision. I think it’s a good plan for me as I can't afford another procedure right now. Ladies: has anyone had the filler in the neck to smooth the horizontal bands? I heard about botox to minimize the bands. But I don’t like to use botox in the neck as I’m concerned that it might affect the ability to swallow. Rating of results: Neck I would give it a C only because there is only little improvement. Eyes: I had a pinch skin procedure so he removed a bit of skin but didn’t remove or redistribute the fat. I still have extra skin and now I noticed I have more eye bags especially when I smile. I asked the surgeon that I consulted for the neck to do filler in tear troughs but he said it would just make my eyes puffy because the fat needed to be removed during the procedure. I would give the eyes C+. Face: There is some improvement but everyday I notice some sagging. The skin on the left side has started to loosen up. God knows if the results would last long. Btw I had fillers in the laugh lines and cheeks by another surgeon. I plan to post a separate review soon. Face results B. Overall I am not sure if the results were worth 10k and 2 weeks of time off!!
Absolutely! I love my Kybella results. I can see my jawline again and my profile is what I remembered it to be. I'm so happy that I had this done. The procedure was easier than Botox in that I was nervous about the injections but honestly: Botox injections are pinchier than Kybella injections were. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
