Coming up on my 5 month post-op review - how should I speak honestly about my concerns without fear of upsetting my surgeon?

You should bring up all concerns. It is not confrontation. It will help you surgeon decide if the issues can be fixed or not. She/he can then give you an objective opinion on the expectations being realistic or not.
Regards
Dr. J

Hello! That's understandable that you want to avoid confrontation and don't want to upset your surgeon. Most surgeons, however, get a less-than-ideal result at least a few times a year. In my own practice I will sometimes (about twice a year) decide with a patient that we didn't get quite the result we were looking for. I view it as a collaboration--I'm not a mind reader, so unless the patient voices her concerns, I don't know what they are. I appreciate my patients sharing their thoughts, and I will honestly share mine as well.

I usually will not do a revision before one year, as it can take this long for the lift to fully heal. I'd recommend voicing your concerns after you look at the before and afters. Its also common for patients to forget how they used to look, and think their results aren't that great when in reality they look amazing compared to before!

Good luck

Thank you for the question. You seem like a polite and kind person, and you should not have any hesitation to speak with your surgeon. Your surgeon will want to know how you feel, and this will lead to a productive conversation about the next steps in order to further improve your outcome. I wish you the best of luck. Vasileios Vasilakis, MD. Fellowship-trained plastic surgeon. Houston, TX.

I wish you were my patient. My patients speak freely if something bothers them and they don't care if my feelings are hurt. With all surgery nothing is perfect. A facelift doesn't mean all your wrinkles will be gone or that everything you thought would be improved gets improved. It sounds like your pleased overall but there are some areas that bother you. Talk to your surgeon and find out if there is anything that can be done. Trust me plastic surgeons hear complaints all the time and if something
bothers you there's nothing wrong with saying so