Detailed Recovery Journal--from Despair to Joy!

It’s been four years since my lower facelift, and I’m still pleased with the results. I ended up having a revision neck lift with Dr. Mustoe in April of 2020 to address some unexpected sagging beneath my chin. He did it at dramatically reduced cost, since it was within two years of my original surgery, and he wanted me to be happy for many years.

I’m definitely looking more my age these days (48), with a little laxity in my neck and around my jaw. I knew the results wouldn’t last forever, but overall, I’m still really pleased. I look younger today than I did when I went in for the surgery, and people are uniformly shocked when I tell them I’m almost fifty!

One of the best side effects of looking younger is that I feel younger, too, which has encouraged me to continue investing in my health. I prioritize nutritious food. I exercise regularly to support my physical and mental health. I go out dancing with my friends and enjoy the company of younger people. I can imagine a different version of myself, the pre-surgery me, who would have written all of these things off, either from a sense of hopelessness or a lack of confidence. The surgery helped me love the way I look, which encouraged me do whatever I could to hold on to that feeling. It’s been an all-around win-win.

Will I have another surgery? Almost certainly. I’m not trying to turn back time, but I am trying to stay ahead of it by 10-15 years. My goal is to age gracefully with the expert help of an artful surgeon who understands the difference between looking good and looking done. Dr. Mustoe is that man, and I will go back to him for as long as he is practicing.

Still loving my results, though I am starting to see the slightest bit of laxity creep in under my chin. Dr. Mustoe explained that this would happen over the course of the first year, so I was expecting it. Still, I am slightly disappointed that it didn’t remain 100% tight. That said, I suspect Dr. Mustoe could have pulled my skin so taut that it wouldn’t have any laxity at all, but then I’d be stuck with a “done” look that I don’t want. So just know that this is the compromise you have to make for looking natural—you will still have some signs of aging, but they will be much less than the general public.

Overall, I continue to look about ten years younger than I did before my procedure. I have had several strangers come up to me and ask how old I am, then marvel when I say 44! I have begun getting Botox with Dr. Mustoe to compliment my results, and I’m so pleased with how it looks. Again, he is an artist who ensures that you leave looking natural and not frozen. I absolutely adore this man and cannot recommend him and his staff highly enough!

I had my four-week follow-up visit today, even though it’s technically three and a half weeks. The two columns of swelling in my neck are now down by 90%, so that I can still feel it, but it looks normal to everyone else. Dr. Mustoe looked at my scars above my ears and noticed a little puckering, so he gave me a steroid injection on both sides of my face to help that smooth out faster. I did NOT relish the idea of getting shots in my face! But I actually didn’t even feel it. Phew!
Four weeks on, I’m very happy with how natural I look. The only problem is that, when I look in the mirror now, I’m already used to this new face, so I forget what the old one looked like! Several times, I’ve thought, “Why did I have surgery? I look fine!” That’s how natural the result is! And I have so few pictures of myself showing my old, wrinkled neck that I don’t have anything to compare. So today, I asked the nurse to pull up my pictures so I could take a picture of them on my phone to remind myself. Wow! What a difference! I truly had forgotten how bad my neck looked before.
I will go back again in two more months, and I will post another update then, as well. That will be the three-month mark, so I should have a pretty good idea of what I will really look like going forward. All in all, though, I’m feeling free and so glad I had the surgery. I feel so much more confident about myself.