Cheek Lift/Brow Lift - Don't do it!

I have wanted to fix my nose for over 20 years (Broken it twice playing sports and it was very deviated). I did my research and picked a good PS in my area (well known for fixing noses). The problem...one week before surgery, as we sat in his office, I decided maybe, since I was going under, why not try to improve my 44 year old face? He was all TOO happy to oblige. A brow lift and cheek lift with a little lipo under the child would make me look "stunning". We all want to look younger and more attractive, so what could go wrong?

My cheek lift/brow lift has left my face contorted and round (from oval to round) and my eyes with a completely DIFFERENT shape (from round to cat eye). I have unanimously gotten concerned reviews from friends and family (with only my closest BFF/cousin telling me the polite truth of, I liked how you looked before more). Not ONE has said anything positive or helpful and most seem to just be praying my face goes back to normal.

IMO, Plastic Surgeouns are willing to give you a "discount" on doing an extra procedure, but it in the end you are the one paying the price doubly! I did not do my research on how truly long the recovery process is and how MUCH it changes the shape of your face. i just TRUSTED since my nose would be fixed why not a little upkeep on the rest?

My doctor has told me I am at 60-70% swelling done, and that only 20-30% max remains, so I am not hopeful my look will change too much. At this point, I am just waiting for six months to pass so that the doctor can take out some of the stitches to force my cheeks to drop a bit (my eyes, formally round and very big, are now permanent Joan Rivers/windswept look and I'm still not sure about my prior oval face which is now completely round). I do not look like myself and have to spend the rest of my lift either accepting I have a "bad Hollywood" face or go back under the knife for revision...but I don't know if I dare as I don't trust this PS, or perhaps any PS, anymore.

I wish a doctor on RS would actually make a comment apart from "be patient, it takes time" and "results are at least better than it looked before". How about admitting a PS messed up and now the patient has to live with it? Stop blaming the patient or the way their body heals...the PS is the one we rely on for results, they are the experts. I am sad, upset and angry at myself for getting vain and quickly making a decision to do a procedure I DID NOT NEED and now have to live with the consequences the second half of my life. THIS SUCKS. DON"T DO IT>>> love what God gave you and live with aging, trust me it's a lot better than living knowing you took the gamble to go under the knife and LOST.

At 45 I went to Dr. Clark's office for a rhinoplasty (deviated septum, bulbous tip). In complete transparency, my outcome could have been avoided if I had followed my gut-instincts (after meeting Dr. Clark) and consulted with another surgeon. Beware... a plastic surgery can be considered a "success" by the surgeon even when the patient is left unhappy with the results. Proving medical malpractice for elective surgery is very difficult. If you are not happy with the results, you will be left with the lifelong results to mourn every time you look in the mirror (or find yourself paying another surgeon to correct the mistake).

I work in the legal field, and in my first meeting with Dr. Clark he told me about two other lawyers/former patients who'd sued him in the past (he said he'd won). I wasn't sure what to make of this...oversharing? hubris? I put it aside along with my misgivings from other behaviors/comments he'd made during that consult. In short...I ignored my gut feeling because he constantly reassured me he was the best in the area (another red flag). We settled on a rhinoplasty, and when I also inquired about raising my eyebrows, he told me that procedure can be risky and leave people with a "scared" expression. He suggested a mid-face/cheek for a more youthful appearance (a procedure I'd never heard of that does nothing for your sagging eyelids/brows). I agreed without researching the procedure. 

Almost immediately friends and family noted something didn't look right--mainly with the cheek lift. As the days turned into weeks,I would make frantic calls to Dr. Clark, who would assure me "your friends are jealous of how beautiful you are" (yes...that really is a statement he made and technique I am sure he uses on most patients). He assured me that they would get used to my new look and beauty. He also reassured me that my completely changed eye shape was due to swelling, and would resolve. When I sent before and after pictures, he curtly responded "you are smiling more in the after picture". Shortly after that, Dr. Clark became "unavailable" when I'd call and office staff, despite my leaving several voice messages and emails, never returned my inquiries. Getting my medical/surgical notes to take to another surgeon took weeks.

As the months turned to years, my eye shape when smiling has not gone back to normal. Because the cheeks are so full, they push up the lower corners of my eyes and my once almond eyes, my best feature, are gone when I smile. I have numbness/nerve damage to the cupid's bow area of my nose (where the deviated septum was straightened). My nose continues to drip constantly (a concern Dr. Clark did see me about two weeks after the surgery, as it can be a sign of more serious issue). When I speak my upper lip doesn't move much due to the nerve damage-making for a very odd/ventriloquist dummy-talking look. My bulbous tip remains exactly the same. I have hair loss on the areas of the temple where Dr. Clark made the incisions as well as tightness and discomfort from the scars (feeling like wearing a tight headband constantly). The one positive: the deviated septum was fixed/inner nose straightened and because the rest of the nose was not changed, that part of my face/nose looks the same as pre-op. Trust me, having my nose remain the same shape w/ a bulbous tip despite an expensive surgery is a blessing given the negative outcome of the cheek lift!

Cut to the chase..I waited over two years to write this review. As a licensed professional myself, I did not want to give another licensed professional a review that could hurt their business, but after the pain, expense and disappointment I've gone through, I feel it's my duty to do so. I am now joining the negative reviews others have left (and which I'd dismissed before as picky or unrealistic patients--as Dr. Clark told me they were). I am writing this for those seeking plastic surgery as a warning and precautionary tale. I am quite sure I was written off by Dr. Clark and staff as a "problem" patient years ago but I am neither a vindictive person nor unrealistic in my expectations for plastic surgery that cost me $17k. Do your research. And if you ultimately decide to go with surgery...less is best. Don't let the surgeon talk you into doing more. Don't go with a surgeon who tells you they are the best...talk to others and do your research first!

A cheek life WILL change the shape of your eyes when you smile. My doctor suggested this procedure after I said I wanted a brow lift! I didn’t know and wasn’t told how much it can have an effect on your eyes. Do NOT do it!! Try fillers instead. I’m stuck with tiny eyes for the rest of my life and have to get botox to try to stop the muscles in my cheeks from lifting so much. Even after weeks of crying about it to my doctor’s office and on RS, I was swelling and would go away. Here we are two years later and I’m angrier than ever I let this surgeon talk me into this procedure is never even considered! Do not do it!!!