Asymmetry and Scarring After Neck and Mini Facelift

I had been very self conscious of my double chin for years. Not the only problem feature, just top of the list.

I guess like most people, I considered going to Thailand for surgery because of the smaller price tag.

I did my research on Real Self and elsewhere looking for a good hospital and then a good surgeon at that hospital.

I settled on Bumrumgrad Hospital and looked at two surgeons, Dr Poomee and Dr Teerasit. I ended up going with Dr Teerasit based on good reviews.

My first impressions of the hospital and Dr Teerasit were good. Everything is very modern, they put you through a battery of tests to confirm your fitness for surgery, the rooms and service are (almost) like a 5-star hotel. And Dr Teerasit had an air of confidence. To be fair he did go over the risks with me and showed some before and after photos of people who were not satisfied with the result of surgery he did,

I told him I my plan was to have a neck lift. He convinced me I would get a more balanced result from a combined neck and mini facelift and showed some pictures of other patients he had done this procedure on. They are looked within the limits of acceptability to me.

I decided to go ahead with this procedure as well as abdominal liposuction (that's another story). I have had numerous general anaesthetics including intubation in the past. However, when I woke up after this operation I felt like I had a broomstick rammed down my throat, couldn't swallow and for a couple of days could hardly breathe.

When the bandages came off, the asymmetry was obvious. The left side had been pulled much more tightly to the back, to the point where it prevented me rotating my head to the right much. At the same time there didn't seem as much upward lift on the left.

The effect of this was that the left side of my face seemed fatter, the mouth and chin slanted downwards more than previously, my earlobe was dragged back and out of sight and the shape of my eye (not shown in the pictures) was altered. Also, there was a large vertical haematoma on my neck on the left about 5cm behind the ear and just below the "anchor point" on my scalp. I also noticed that whereas the scar on the right side was mostly tucked right in behind my ear where it joins to my head and in the hairline, the scar on the left was about a centimetre behind the ear and below the hairline. Also, because that side had been pulled back so tight, the wound had broken open exposing the cartilage underneath. The final thing I noticed was that it was as if my Adam's apple was just below the skin an when I swallow you can see the inside of my neck working (if that makes sense).

When I queried Dr Teerasit about these features, he said the asymmetry was just due to swelling and it would even up as I healed. When I asked about the haematoma, the position of the incision on the left and the large area where the wound had opened up, he said not to worry and that it would all heal up. He also then showed me a picture he had taken before the procedure showing my face was not symmetrical in the first place.

In the 10 months since the operation, I have looked at numerous photos of myself and while there was a slightly unevenness before it was never like this. Also, the work done on the left is just too different to the work done on the right. In fact, it's almost like the right side was done by a skilled plastic surgeon and the left was done by a totally different person.

Anyway, I know you're supposed to wait a year before judging the end result, but 10 months is pretty close. I'm putting a couple of before photos as well, so you can be the judge. All in all, I guess I blame myself for the outcome. If I had my time over I think I would probably hold on to my money or save for a bit longer and have the procedure done at home (Australia). As it is, I'm probably going to have to go for a revision. I am very hesitant to go back to Dr Teerasit for this.