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POSTED UNDER Lower Facelift Reviews

Biltmore Lift with Dr. Harley

UPDATED FROM sparrow13
1 year post

Scar

WORTH IT$6,400
Though it is still pink, the scar on my chin has improved a lot since the last scar revision, but the scars around the ears continue to bother me. They are difficult to hide with makeup. Dr. Harley did a revision on the scars next to the ear lobes to remove some of the scar tissue in July, just a few months ago, so they are still in the process healing. The nodules are still there, but not as noticable. However, because of the partial revision, the tension between the two scars shows creases in the skin, which is very obvious with makeup coverage. The top portion of the scars, especially on the left side bothers me a lot. I normally scar white, but this one is spread out and sunken. Also, the skin behind my right ear puckered. The lift worked. I just did not have the best outcome when it came to my scars. I have looked at other pictures and see different outcomes. If I could hide them with makeup, I would. Now I just make sure my hair covers my ears all the time, which is bothersome at times. Dr. Harley was very attentive and accommodating with my initial concerns, but I will have to wait until the summer before I can do anything and am reluctant to ask him to do another revision. On the bright side, I am fortunate that I do not have to deal with red keloid scarring.

sparrow13's provider

David H. Harley, MD

David H. Harley, MD

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

4.9 | 338 Reviews
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My surgery was June 22, 2017. There isn't a whole lot more that I can add to all the positive reviews already posted on this site regarding Dr. Harley. I heartily agree with all of them, especially about his character and expertise. His staff is pretty wonderful, too. I am so happy I came across RS and all the reviews that led me to Biltmore Plastic Surgery. If I were to have anything like this done in the future, I wouldn't go anywhere else, nor would I recommend anyone else to a friend. My sister had a similar procedure elsewhere; she was not happy with the results at all. It was actually a pretty horrible experience for her. When she arrived to pick me up to take me to the hotel after my procedure, she was so impressed with his staff and Dr. Harley. I felt bad for her because she later expressed her regret in not learning about him sooner and was remorseful for not doing more research. I am typing this post 2 weeks post-op and can say that I am very happy with the results. There is definitely marked improvement of the jowl area and neck. I am a little concerned about how the scar on my chin is healing, but the ones in front of my ears look good. The normal swelling or bunching of the incisions/skin behind my ears are still there, but they are no longer sore. The feeling in my right ear is back to normal, but the left ear lobe is still numb. My face was pretty round and swollen the first few days right after surgery, but the swelling has gone down significantly...enough to feel comfortable going out in public. I actually have high cheekbones, but you can't see them yet because there are knots of swelling under each cheek that rounds out my face. To someone who has never met or seen me, they would think this is just how I normally look. I did take arnica tablets before the procedure and used the topical gel some on the bruising after, but eventually stop doing that because it was so messy. I put the gel in the refrigerator so that it would be cool when I put it on my face and neck. I also made pineapple smoothies here and there, but no blueberries because I get a slight immune reaction to them. The pain meds gave me wicked dreams. I am a side sleeper, with no head pillows, so the only way I could go to sleep sitting up was to take them for the first week. I have managed to go without the last three nights, but I also caught myself trying to role over to my side a couple of times. For me, the sleeping sitting up has been the worst part of the whole process.

Replies (5)

I, too, am a patient of doctor Harley's and ended up with very noticeable scars. My surgery was early Feb 2018 so I'm 9+ months out. The scars by my earlobes are wide and raised. I've had consults with a few local PS out here in CA and all of them said my skin was closed under tension, hence the wide and visible scarring. I need a revision and am hesitant to go back to Harley. If he didn't do it right the first time, what are the chances he will the second? I also have to have my eyes redone. Did you have both ears done? I have puckering behind my ears as well. I regret not going to a PS that places the incisions inside the tragus. My best to you. I hope you heal well and without scars!
Hello! I am just now seeing your post. I did have both ears done. One side scarred worse than the other and I still have the lumps at the bottom of the ear-lobe that he was supposed to have cut out when he did the revision. Ironically, though, it is the wide white scar that is making me so self conscious. I went to see another PS just to get his insight and he said there was a lot of tension and he was surprised the scar was so far from my ear. I still do not know what to do. Now it is getting warming and I really want to wear my hair up.
Did you ever have your scar revision?
I did have a revision several months ago. Dr. Harley followed up with me and asked me to come back so he could do a revision. It is a bit too soon to tell since they are not completely healed, but I think the scars will be an improvement. He tried the fix the puckering behind the one ear. I do not see an improvement there yet. I think the scar is still healing, though. It is still a bit tender when I try to massage it. I am going to give them all a chance to heal.
I don`t know what many people go to this Dr I do not like he do the cut in the side of face look so bad. I will never do with him
ORIGINAL POST

My surgery was June 22, 2017. There is definitely...

My surgery was June 22, 2017. There is definitely marked improvement of the jowl area and neck. Without posting before pictures (all were lost when my phone broke...but may find some backups later), I am having some issues with the scar on my chin. I pretty much agree with all the positive reviews about Dr. Harley's character and expertise. However, I am having an issue that has not been addressed yet. The scar under my chin is not healing well. It looks like it opened on the left side and it is pretty long. I emailed him the picture today, July 5, so I hope he will be able to fix this by a scar revision and/or corticoid shot (ouch).

Replies (27)

Hi Sparrow, Your jaw and neck look lovely, but I definitely see what you're saying about the chin incision. Is it painful? Please let us know what Dr. Harley says.
It is pretty sore and inflamed, but not oozy. He replied and said that it will take a little longer to heal and did not recommend antibiotics yet unless I really wanted them. However, I got his message after I was already prescribed dycocycline for a tick that I found on my head this afternoon. He was a big one and had been there a while, which might account for some of the nausea I was feeling the other day. I took some Amoxicyline that I had on hand because I thought the back of my ear and chin were getting infected. Who knows. I really am disappointed about my chin since it is the most visible area and I am almost 2 weeks post op.
You look like a teenager/ good luck with healing
Your face looks so tight and smooth! I had one trouble area with incision too - my right ear and chin healed quickly, but my left ear took much longer to close, stayed kinda oozy etc. I was afraid it was infected, but it wasn't. Are you wearing silicone tape?
Thank you. I have taken pretty good care of my skin with minimal looseness and sagging; with exception to the beginnings of jowls, neck area, and under my eye area due to allergies. However, the lift appears to have helped the eye area, too, at least for now. It may loosen up a bit after the swelling. My face still looks rounder than it really is. I have these two swollen knots between my ears and cheek bones, but the swelling and bruising gets a little better each day. There is some faint bruising left on the cheeks, but it doesn't bother me enough to use makeup to cover it. I rarely wear makeup, but might end up having to use it to cover the scar on my chin. I have been using the silicone tape. I gave it a rest the night my left ear and chin were swelling up; I thought it might be aggravating the chin incision. I will get the before pics posted soon. I wasn't planning on putting my pictures up, but now that I've gotten this far, I might as well.
Side note: Dr. Harley did provide his cell phone number so that could contact him over the weekend, but it was my choice to wait until the holiday was over because I did not feel the swelling was an urgent matter. He promptly responded to my email today with instructions. After reading my initial post, I typed it in such a way that seemed to imply that he had not addressed the issue in a timely manner. I just meant the one and only problem I was having had not been resolved because I had just sent him the email with the issue.
How are you healing? I hope your chin incision issues have resolved and that you're feeling great! :-)
Hey there! I think I read that Lichy was having a similar issue and had to drive there to get a steroid shot. I think she said in a response that it helped. She has a review, but hasn't updated in a while. Prayers and love your way. Hope it all resolves, soon. Looking good beyond this issue. I did have a similar area by my ear that did this and he called in more antibiotics and upped my washing schedule to include antibacterial soap. I would heavily advise to leave your phone away from chin and ear right now. They are so germ infested and I think wiping phone down often or just using speaker phone and washing hands after handling the phone would be good, too.
Good tip on the phone use.
Yeah, it just so happened right where I had issues is where that top of my phone was hitting. I might be wrong, but when you have this going on, you can't be too careful. After I read about the tick stuff, I am telling you, might be a good idea to get a culture on that. Is the stuff you are on for tick bite same as what Dr. Harley gave? Even if not, might be worth a culture. I was vowed to get one if the antibiotic did not work and he called in the same one I had in surgery, so that was my thinking.
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