45 Years Old Female; Nervous/Excited, Scheduled for SMAS Face/Neck Lift with Chin Implant on 11/14/17!

I feel I look much better than before surgery. Seeing my profile pictures makes me happy!! If I could only feel the same way about my front view :-(
I think Dr Miller.does an excellent work at lifting the neck. And if your only problem is skin laxity (lower face/neck), you'll get great results. Now, if you like me, have a more challenging problem, it will be harder to find the perfect surgeon :-(

Hello everyone! Here is my 6 month update, as promised :-)

I had my 6 month post-op (and apparently my last one!) yesterday. When I was leaving the office, I was told I did not need to be seen anymore... I was kind of disappointed because I have expressed my dissatisfaction with the jowl/neck line (specially left side) results since the beginning. Maybe that's why he does not want to see me anymore lol

Yesterday, every time I mentioned what I see as a problem in my lower face (jowl/neck area), or how I feel my chin implant shifts to my left, instead of helping to balance my face, he dismissed my concerns and kept telling me how I look so much better and that he did everything he could for me. Basically, he does not see what I see or better said, does not want to deal with it! I wish he was a little more willing and understanding. I truly feel some micro-lipo to that area could help and I mentioned it to him and he said “no”. I know he is the surgeon and knows better? than me but I do see my face everyday and know it better than anyone, and from what I have seen on other reviews, sometimes a little lipo makes a huge, positive difference. Something positive about yesterday’s appointment I want to mention, is that I complained about my ear lobes being still very swollen and he offered to inject some medication (steroids?) to help with it. He did that on my previous appointment to an area inside my scalp, where I had a bump at the incision site and it helped. I hope it helps the same way this time!

Also, I saw many of his reviews talking about him as an artist and perfectionist, well, he was not with me… He does not want to acknowledge that there could be further improvement and better results in my area of concern (left lower face/jowl/neck area). When I mentioned the micro-lipo and he said no to it, he said maybe he could put some filler in that area, which is something I don’t want (in my mind, fillers will make it look heavier) or maybe lose a few pounds. I want to be clear that my weight was never a concern at my initial consultation. He did not mention it or said results would be better or worse because of my weight. I actually brought it up to him on my pre-op because I still have some pounds (a little more than 10) I want to drop and I wanted to make sure that losing that much weight would not mess up my results. I’m size medium, not a plus sized person. After I had my last child (3 years ago) I struggled getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight and I’m still a little over 10 pounds heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight but nothing crazy! I exercise at least 5 days a week, for an hour each day, and eat fairly healthy but I’m still struggling to lose that weight. I figured for me to go down to my pre-pregnancy weight I have to starve myself, and I’m not sure I want to do that… Anyways, my complain about my lower face area goes beyond having a chubby face (which I know is part of me, have always had a chubby face, even at my lowest weight).

I was hoping this surgery was going to help me to balance my lower face (and that’s why I agree to do a small chin implant, too), besides taking care of the extra skin in my neck area. I truly believe there could be further improvement to that area but my doctor is not willing to work with me and I don’t want to force anything. I want to say, again, that I’m very happy with my neck area and the fact that I no longer have that ugly hanging skin!!! I WON’T LIE, I LOVE THAT!! But I want to be honest with my review and I cannot say that I’m 100% satisfied with the outcome of it… At the end, the purpose of this review is to help others like I feel other reviews helped me (and I hope they were as real as mine). You be the judge!! I’m just telling you how I feel… Maybe I’m way too critical of myself? Maybe I’m asking for too much? Something impossible/unrealistic? Maybe you see my pictures and think I’m going crazy? Or maybe not?... Use your good judgement, do your research and go into your surgery feeling you picked the best doctor, like I did… Hopefully you will not be disappointed!!

Here is the GOOD & BAD about my experience so far:

GOOD/POSITIVE! ?
** Dr Miller specializes in face/neck surgery.
** He is double board certified.
** Has great reviews.
** His website before and after pictures are great.
** The scar placement he uses is very good (most not visible).
** Is within driving distance of my home.
** I loved the overnight stay (right after surgery).
** He is nice (just not willing to admit results could be better).
** His assistant (Sandy) was great at the beginning of this process (before surgery). Always on top of it. She was one of the reasons I ended up having my surgery with Dr. Miller. The other surgeon I liked, had a careless assistant.

BAD/NEGATIVE! ?
** Dr Miller is more expensive than the average OC facial surgeon (At least the ones I consulted). I think mostly because of his facility/operating room fees are higher.
** Sandy was a little pushy about scheduling surgery. She said Dr Miller’s surgeon fees were going up and the quoted price was to be honored only if I scheduled surgery by certain date.
** He prefers to perform surgeries under general anesthesia.
** I kind of expected to have follow up appointments until about a year after surgery, not to stop at my 6 month post op.
** At my 6 month mark, results are “good” but not “great” and I don’t feel he is willing to do anything else to make it better. I’m still hopeful time will help improve my results.
** I keep researching treatments (micro-needling, profound RF) to improve my jaw line area. Then I feel I paid enough not to deal with any of those procedures and I still find myself thinking about them.
** After I had surgery, they were not willing to see me on the day it was more convenient for me. My pre op appointments were always arranged to meet my needs but not once I had surgery. I remember when I scheduled my post op appointment (once I went back to work) and asked for an appointment on the usual day (Friday) I had scheduled all my previous appointments. The receptionist went to ask Sandy if she could schedule me for that day and I heard her saying “no”. I wasn’t mad about it but it did make me feel that since I had paid for their services already, meeting my needs wasn’t that important anymore…
** I used to get a text and phone call to remind me of my appointments. That did not happen for the appointment I had yesterday. I had to call the office to make sure my appointment was in fact on schedule for yesterday and then I was told my appointment was actually ½ hour earlier than what I had on my notes. I’m glad I called!!