Face Life + CO2 Laser - Fort Lauderdale, FL

As I completed my first consultation with Dr. Mayl, I felt confident that my goal to change the effects of time, genetics, and lifestyle of my sixty-eight year old face would be accomplished. He listened intently to my expectations and concerns. Then, after an examination and photography¸ Dr. Mayl described the process and ultimate effect of doing a traditional facelift followed immediately with the Micro Fractional Laser Treatment or MiXto. More Q and A followed. Then, time to go home and make the decision. As I was leaving the office building, my decision had been made, but did not schedule the surgical appointment until I arrived home and researched the MiXto treatment. In February, at age 68, I retired. What could be better than to start the next plateau of life with my face without wrinkles, age spots and sun spots. So, on May 6th I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale for my rejuvenation. The next day, I had a pre op and met Dr. Mayl’s team who would support me throughout the process. Dr. Mayl and his team were patient, informative and prepared. I thrive on knowledge and they responded. No food after midnight, shower, fill prescriptions-start on antibiotics and valium at night. Take another before leaving for his office where he did the surgery (adjacent to the hospital). Also, I was told to wear comfortable clothes with a shirt that buttoned in the front, stock up on food to have for the next few days when I needed to refrain from ‘chewing’, arrange for a driver who they would call when I was ready to be picked up and how I would feel for the next few days. To insure that I would be prepared for the big day, I was given a PRE-OP INSTRUCTION SHEET with everything spelled out. I was listening during the visit, but my recall was like Swiss cheese. They anticipated my pre-surgery nervousness. This was repeated at each office visit. Following the explanation of home care, I received a color coded instruction sheet describing all the instructions and phone numbers to call with question or concerns. This was typical of each visit. The high level of patient care influenced my confidence that I had made the best choice and this ultimately would become a win-win experience for me and Dr. Mayl and his staff. Thursday-6:30 a.m. Rhona greeted me with a smile, introduced the anestheologist, and everything progressed as had been described at the Pre-op. Within moments of inserting the line for the anesthesia, I was out. I awakened to hear the nurse ask me how I was feeling. My answer was, “Is it over already?” Next, she said she was going to wheel me to the bathroom and as soon as I passed my water, I could go home with my “helmet” dressing with drainage tubes on each side and a list of instructions. At 1:00, we were heading home holding two plastic gloves filled with frozen peas for compresses to reduce the swelling. Fortunately, no nausea, no vomiting, so I took the antibiotics and bed rest on two pillows. Minimal discomfort, so I did not use any of the pain meds. Just slept, didn’t talk, drank Gatorade, used the iced gloves and slept. Friday¬-1:00 Returned to the office where Dr. Mayl removed the helmet and showed me in the mirror how everything was progressing on schedule. Rhona and Luz presented me with a bag filled with all the products needs for each step of home care. They gave me guidance on shampooing (with Baby Shampoo and No More Tangles), clearly reminded me NOT to pick at the brown flaking skin and to call if I experienced any pain. How soothing it was to stand under the soft shower and wash clean the sutures on my face and behind my ears. I slowly combed my towel dried hair, and then applied a thin coat of Gentamycin. Still, only minor discomfort: behind the ear lobes and near the temples, but not enough to take the pain pills. The glove filled ice packs for a 15 minute treatment followed with MiXto Cream was very soothing. Still drank Gatorade, ate a poached egg and slept. Reading, TV, texting (too greasy to hold the phone to my ear), napping and an occasional smoothie was the agenda for the holiday weekend. The swelling lessened daily. The soft showers, ice packs and lotions helped the flaking of the brown skin---first from the forehead, then the cheeks and slowly from the outer part of the face. Each day brought me closer to my goal. The progress was so observable. I started to go out for walks after sundown. Tuesday-Rented a car and drove myself to the office. Luz gently cleansed much of the brown loose skin from my face and neck. What an improvement! Now the swelling had gone down due to the compresses. Unblemished new skin was appearing on my 68 year old face. Magic. Luz schooled me on applying the next stage of Home Care: special cleanser, two different moisturizers and replenishing sun block at different intervals during the day. As Dr Mayl examined my progress, he showed signs of satisfaction and encouraged me to stay on track with lotions and rest. Only four days since surgery and the recovery has been as explained in the pre-op: rewarding. Monday-It’s been eleven days since surgery and it feels as if today is my Commencement, or new beginning. Tomorrow, I fly home to enjoy the benefits of a rather painless, quick recovery. Each member of the team offered their advice, congratulations and best wishes on my return home. Again they presented me with all the products necessary for Stages 4 and 5. Dr. Mayl’s impressive ability to alter the effects of time will have long lasting effects on my self esteem as I live in this ever changing world where youth and appearance is so valued.. My appearance was not basically changed; just my look is more youthful and refreshed by the skillful way Dr. Mayl lifted the skin to correct the lack of elasticity. By following the traditional lift with the MiXto, he eliminated signs of aging and encouraged the skin to produce new collagen. The look is very subtle, but very profound and personally, most satisfying.