POSTED UNDER Facelift REVIEWS
Beth's Facelift Journey - Allentown, PA
ORIGINAL POST
The Day of Surgery This year I decided it was...
WORTH IT$12,000
The Day of Surgery
This year I decided it was time to take care of the sagging jowls and the turtle neck. It was not a difficult decision for me because I knew I had a great plastic surgeon and this would actually be my second dance with face cosmetic surgery. I had a lower face lift performed 20 years ago to diminish the appearance of those deep lines call nasolabial folds – the ones that run from the outside of the nose down to the lips.. That surgery was very successful and I looked fresher and rejuvenated. But as the years went by, gravity took its toll on my face. The laws of physics and nature dictate that with age, our skin looses its elasticity. As a result, I had sagging of the jaw and neck line skin, accompanied by those loose folds of skin in the neck and around the mouth. The nasolabilal lines also returned. I also had some excess skin on my upper eyelids. Everything together just gave me that “droopy dog” look, It had to go. No only for me but for my husband who is 16 years younger than I am.
While I had some idea of what to expect, this time I would be undergoing a few procedures at the same time: Blepharoplasty ( upper eyelid), Rhytidectomy( face lift) and a Neck lift.
The surgery itself consists of an incision near the temple in the hairline then tracing a line in front of the ear, circling the ear lobe and behind the ear, ending again in the hairline . For the neck lift, a small incision is also made under the chin. The underlying muscles are tightened, excess skin is removed and then re-positioned to create a better defined and rejuvenated look. The eye lift involved removing some excess skin on my upper lids, One thing for sure, I did not want that “Joan Rivers” plastic face look. I did not want to change the way I looked. I just wanted a fresher look.
As I searched the internet for before and after pictures of the procedures, I did not find a step by step map of the recovery process. So, I decided to chronicle my procedures to give anyone who is contemplating this surgery an idea of what to expect. Everyone is different and people heal differently. SO this is just one personal account of what you may experience going through the healing process.
I arrived at the Ambulatory Surgery Unit at 6 AM on Wednesday, November 25,2015. The nurse started an IV ( she was very good) in my left hand and then I met with the anesthesiologist. I told him I really didn’t want to get sick coming out of the operation and he told me not to worry- he would give me some medication to keep my nausea at bay. Next, the nurse gave me a shot of heparin.
I’m a little bit more of a complicated surgical candidate. I had a kidney transplant 4 years ago and after I returned to work 10 weeks later I developed clots in both legs from sitting at my desk all day and ultimately a serious pulmonary embolism. I have a great team of doctors and they resolved the clot issue. Since I don’t have any hereditary tendencies for clotting I only had to stay on the anti-coagulation medication for 6 months.But with every new surgery of any type, as a safeguard I give myself shots of Heparin( Enoxoparin) before and after the surgery!
Dr. Subbio, my plastic surgeon, came in to go over the procedures with me once more and used my face as a canvas as he drew magic marker lines and dots all over my face????. It was time to take the walk down the hallway to the operating room.
The last thing I remember was the anesthesiologist telling me “Here We Go” and then I woke up in recovery. Everything from that point until I got to my room was pretty much a blur. It was almost 6 hours of surgery. I was staying overnight to make sure I had no complications from bleeding. My face hurt, but nothing that some pain medication didn’t take away. My blood pressure had elevated to the 147/80 range – which isn’t that bad, but for me it’s high. Pain will do that to your blood pressure so it’s important right from the beginning to keep the pain under control. The nurses were great and started to ice my eyes to keep the swelling down. The compression bandages were pretty tight which made it hard to eat but I managed to get down a cottage cheese and fruit plate. After a little nap I pulled out my iPad and took my first picture. It wasn’t pretty. I already had bruising around my lips from the fat injections Dr. Subbio did to diminish some wrinkles around my lips and jaw line. I had one drainage line and not much of anything draining. After a visit from my husband and some Facebook it was sleepy time. And I actually slept well.
This year I decided it was time to take care of the sagging jowls and the turtle neck. It was not a difficult decision for me because I knew I had a great plastic surgeon and this would actually be my second dance with face cosmetic surgery. I had a lower face lift performed 20 years ago to diminish the appearance of those deep lines call nasolabial folds – the ones that run from the outside of the nose down to the lips.. That surgery was very successful and I looked fresher and rejuvenated. But as the years went by, gravity took its toll on my face. The laws of physics and nature dictate that with age, our skin looses its elasticity. As a result, I had sagging of the jaw and neck line skin, accompanied by those loose folds of skin in the neck and around the mouth. The nasolabilal lines also returned. I also had some excess skin on my upper eyelids. Everything together just gave me that “droopy dog” look, It had to go. No only for me but for my husband who is 16 years younger than I am.
While I had some idea of what to expect, this time I would be undergoing a few procedures at the same time: Blepharoplasty ( upper eyelid), Rhytidectomy( face lift) and a Neck lift.
The surgery itself consists of an incision near the temple in the hairline then tracing a line in front of the ear, circling the ear lobe and behind the ear, ending again in the hairline . For the neck lift, a small incision is also made under the chin. The underlying muscles are tightened, excess skin is removed and then re-positioned to create a better defined and rejuvenated look. The eye lift involved removing some excess skin on my upper lids, One thing for sure, I did not want that “Joan Rivers” plastic face look. I did not want to change the way I looked. I just wanted a fresher look.
As I searched the internet for before and after pictures of the procedures, I did not find a step by step map of the recovery process. So, I decided to chronicle my procedures to give anyone who is contemplating this surgery an idea of what to expect. Everyone is different and people heal differently. SO this is just one personal account of what you may experience going through the healing process.
I arrived at the Ambulatory Surgery Unit at 6 AM on Wednesday, November 25,2015. The nurse started an IV ( she was very good) in my left hand and then I met with the anesthesiologist. I told him I really didn’t want to get sick coming out of the operation and he told me not to worry- he would give me some medication to keep my nausea at bay. Next, the nurse gave me a shot of heparin.
I’m a little bit more of a complicated surgical candidate. I had a kidney transplant 4 years ago and after I returned to work 10 weeks later I developed clots in both legs from sitting at my desk all day and ultimately a serious pulmonary embolism. I have a great team of doctors and they resolved the clot issue. Since I don’t have any hereditary tendencies for clotting I only had to stay on the anti-coagulation medication for 6 months.But with every new surgery of any type, as a safeguard I give myself shots of Heparin( Enoxoparin) before and after the surgery!
Dr. Subbio, my plastic surgeon, came in to go over the procedures with me once more and used my face as a canvas as he drew magic marker lines and dots all over my face????. It was time to take the walk down the hallway to the operating room.
The last thing I remember was the anesthesiologist telling me “Here We Go” and then I woke up in recovery. Everything from that point until I got to my room was pretty much a blur. It was almost 6 hours of surgery. I was staying overnight to make sure I had no complications from bleeding. My face hurt, but nothing that some pain medication didn’t take away. My blood pressure had elevated to the 147/80 range – which isn’t that bad, but for me it’s high. Pain will do that to your blood pressure so it’s important right from the beginning to keep the pain under control. The nurses were great and started to ice my eyes to keep the swelling down. The compression bandages were pretty tight which made it hard to eat but I managed to get down a cottage cheese and fruit plate. After a little nap I pulled out my iPad and took my first picture. It wasn’t pretty. I already had bruising around my lips from the fat injections Dr. Subbio did to diminish some wrinkles around my lips and jaw line. I had one drainage line and not much of anything draining. After a visit from my husband and some Facebook it was sleepy time. And I actually slept well.
bethrokus's provider
Replies (1)
December 10, 2015
The second picture is my after surgery once I got the nerve to get out my iPad and take a picture.
UPDATED FROM bethrokus
14 days post
One day post surgery
Today I go home! Had an early breakfast of scrambled eggs, english muffin and milk. I'll probably say this a number of times in this blog, but here goes: Stay away from salt. My face already seems a little more swollen than yesterday and salt does not help that at all.
The nurse disconnected the IV - I received fluids overnight to make sure I didn't dehydrate and to make up for any blood loss during the surgery ( but that is usually minimal).
I spent a little time in the bathroom cleaning up my face, being very careful not to rub or pull at the skin. It was time to take the magic marker off my face. Wow, I feel better already, however very puffy. My ears hurt from the compression bandages but it feels good to be cleaned up. Already have more black and blue bruising since yesterday.
One of the plastic surgery residents came by early and took off my bandages to check the stitches. Everything looked great so he bandaged me up with clean dressings and I called my husband to come and pick me up at 10 AM.
I received my prescriptions for Percoset, Cephalexin and Enoxoparin. Normally antibiotics are not needed, but again, kidney transplant... immunosuppressive drugs... you get the picture. The nurse gave me discharge instructions. PAY ATTENTION - these are important for your recovery.
1. No lifting anything over 15 lbs. ( I had this down pat because of my transplant - I still don't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk.)
2. Light activity only - do not bend over at the waist and get your head lower than your heart. This only adds to the swelling. And if you are on heavy duty pain meds, you will get dizzy and fall over ????
3. Ice the affected areas ( more on that later)
4. Shower as tolerated ( YAY!!) but use mild soap and water and only pat dry the incision areas.
5. Regular diet ( however I changed that to low/no salt diet to keep swelling as little as possible)
6. Apply antibiotic ointment ( over the counter) daily to sutures.
7. Call the office in 24 hours to make an appointment for drain removal.
Get my clothes, I'm outta here!
The rest of the day was just relaxing ( after all it was Thanksgiving) and I napped on and off all day. Hubby cooked but I didn't feel much like eating. I stayed on the Percoset faithfully to make sure the pain did not grab hold and then I could not control it. Good news: my blood pressure is down to 123/68.
The nurse disconnected the IV - I received fluids overnight to make sure I didn't dehydrate and to make up for any blood loss during the surgery ( but that is usually minimal).
I spent a little time in the bathroom cleaning up my face, being very careful not to rub or pull at the skin. It was time to take the magic marker off my face. Wow, I feel better already, however very puffy. My ears hurt from the compression bandages but it feels good to be cleaned up. Already have more black and blue bruising since yesterday.
One of the plastic surgery residents came by early and took off my bandages to check the stitches. Everything looked great so he bandaged me up with clean dressings and I called my husband to come and pick me up at 10 AM.
I received my prescriptions for Percoset, Cephalexin and Enoxoparin. Normally antibiotics are not needed, but again, kidney transplant... immunosuppressive drugs... you get the picture. The nurse gave me discharge instructions. PAY ATTENTION - these are important for your recovery.
1. No lifting anything over 15 lbs. ( I had this down pat because of my transplant - I still don't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk.)
2. Light activity only - do not bend over at the waist and get your head lower than your heart. This only adds to the swelling. And if you are on heavy duty pain meds, you will get dizzy and fall over ????
3. Ice the affected areas ( more on that later)
4. Shower as tolerated ( YAY!!) but use mild soap and water and only pat dry the incision areas.
5. Regular diet ( however I changed that to low/no salt diet to keep swelling as little as possible)
6. Apply antibiotic ointment ( over the counter) daily to sutures.
7. Call the office in 24 hours to make an appointment for drain removal.
Get my clothes, I'm outta here!
The rest of the day was just relaxing ( after all it was Thanksgiving) and I napped on and off all day. Hubby cooked but I didn't feel much like eating. I stayed on the Percoset faithfully to make sure the pain did not grab hold and then I could not control it. Good news: my blood pressure is down to 123/68.
Replies (4)