Lip Lift Journal (Photos!) - Beverly Hills, CA

I've always hated my mouth.

When I was a child, it was an awkward shape and wouldn't close properly.

As a teen, I was teased about having a "big mouth" or a "monkey mouth."

In my twenties, things improved a little -- I guess I finally grew into my mouth.

Then, in my thirties, I started doing face exercises, and my mouth improved even more. But I always hated being photographed -- I usually smiled a big smile or put on a goofy face because I felt so insecure about my mouth.

Then, when I was 35 or so, I had to have stitches next to my nose. Unfortunately, it lifted that side of my mouth ever so slightly Dang! Now I had an awkward AND crooked mouth. Talk about adding injury to insult (ha ha).

Fast forward to my (eek!) fifties. I noticed that I had a lot of facial tension -- I couldn't relax my mouth. And I was getting these smoker's lines even though I don't smoke.

After a lot of massage, I found out that, for nearly twenty years, I had been "pursing" my lips into a "nicer" shape. And when I finally learned how to relax my mouth, YIKES!!! I didn't even recognize myself!! Who was that mean old witch staring back at me in the mirror?!

I decided to fix my mouth for once and for all -- I would get a lip lift to (a) reduce the length of my 20mm upper lip, and (b) adjust the crookedness.

I researched a lot of doctors, and decided on Dr. Andrew Frankel in Beverly Hills. I chose him because of the photos in his gallery, because lip lifts was one of the procedures he featured on his website (surgeons who don't do them often don't usually feature them on their websites). I also considered him because he is a specialist in rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty -- I figured that anyone who does a LOT of rhinoplasties has got to be really good at stitching up the nostril area under the nose.

When I met Dr. Frankel, I was impressed. He answered my questions and spent a good amount of time looking at my mouth and measuring it. His suggestions of how he would go about correcting the asymmetry sounded good. And to make matters better, he was soooo pleasant -- and there was easy parking. How's THAT for Beverly Hills??!!

So, I booked my date and anxiously waited for the big day....

TODAY!!

The surgery center was lovely. The nurses were so nice! And my little recovery room was cozy and cute (not that I had to spend long there -- I didn't receive general anesthesia).

I was awake for most of the surgery and, except for a few little pulls around the sides of my nose, I didn't feel a thing. I have had a LOT of dental work, and I was worried that this surgery would be just as stressful. Not so! The lip lift surgery was a very soothing experience. ;-P

Afterwards, when my hubby came into the recovery room, he didn't flinch (what a man!) despite the fact that I looked like a red-haired Daffy Duck. Well... I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

I will update this review as my healing progresses. Wish me luck!

First of all, thanks very much for the nice well-wishes. ;-)

OMG, people aren't t kidding when they say that Day 2 is worse, as you can see in my photos.

A few general comments:

-- I look very "crusty" with blood. I am scared to scrape it off because of the potential for scarring -- I don't want to disturb the actual scab, so I'm letting it flake off "naturally" which happens little by little when I apply my 2x or 3x daily Aquaphor (which I like better than Vaseline). ALSO, I did not get the "glue" that surgeons like to apply to incisions. This is because I am latex sensitive, and I might have reacted to the adhesive in the glue. I would look a LOT "cleaner" if I had the glue, and hopefully the lack of glue doesn't give me a bigger scare... I mean, scar.

-- The outer sutures are quite visible, and it doesn't look like there are a LOT of them... but there are lots of stitches... layer upon layer of sutures. Dr. Frankel told me that he put over one hundred stitches in there. Sheesh! My hubby cut his chin open last year. We went to an emergency clinic, and they put only 10 stitches in his face. Luckily, he didn't get a scar because of the location of the gash.

-- Pain was pretty bad last night. I am terrified of getting hooked on pain medications, so I try not to take the strong stuff. Anyway, I was trying to get through the night with just extra strength Tylenol, but I broke down in the middle of the night and took the prescription Hydroco. Then I slept better. In fact, I ended up snoozing until 1:00 pm!!! I feel much better, despite the swelling, and so far have only needed the Tylenol today. Yay!

-- To elevate my head, I slept which my upper body on a pile of pillows, feeling like The Princess And The Pea. Why don't they call the story, The Princess ON The Pea?!

- I am ravenously hungry, but I can't chew. My hubby, bless him, is at Whole Foods right now getting me a couple of containers of soup. I'm going with the Chicken and Red Rice soup and the Salt-free Vegetable soup because (a) they aren't spicy, (b) lower sodium (helps keep the swelling down), and (c) they have very little Gluten -- in addition to latex, I am gluten sensitive. The last thing I need is to swell up any more!!

Hopefully tomorrow I will look more normal. Except for my hubby and you guys (people reading this review), I haven't let anyone see me. I have three kids -- two are out of town doing the college thing, but the youngest is still at home. He knows I had surgery, but I haven't let him see my face yet. Luckily, I've been sleeping a lot, and he's been really busy and taking take of his own food, etc. Bless him. ;-)

Yay, the swelling is starting to resolve. Not as much as I would like, but it's getting there.

I'm obviously healing nicely, but I'm nit-picking at myself because there's not much else for me to do. (I'd love to be doing housework, but I not supposed to bend over. Hey, a girl can only do just so many squats to pick up the dang dog toys!)

Nitpick concern #1: As the swelling fades, there is a "drawstring" (puckering) effect on my face -- see the Day 3 photos. I hope it's not permanent because I don't fancy becoming a walking, talking pair of boxer shorts!

Nitpick concern #2: The lower half of my face is a sickly green color... not very evident in the photos, but glaring at me in the mirror. Dare I shower? Or would I melt?! (That was a silly reference to the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz)

Nitpick concern #3: The incision/sutures on the left side of my nose are more swollen and tender than the other side, and there is some yellow stuff, which I hope isn't pus or something gross. (I know, I know, TMI) Aaaaah! I really, really don't want to get an infection. I'd call the doctor, but it's the weekend, and he did say that there would be some oozing. I just wish I had asked what COLOR the oozing was supposed to be. If it's worse by tomorrow, then I am going to call the doctor. I hope I don't have to.