Time for a Change - Lutherville Timonium, MD

Thanks Kathy! I need all the support I can get!

Love the new pic! Getting better all the time! Yeah!

Thank you YoungerthanILook. I am so nervous and need to keep hearing all the good news stories I can get!

I appreciate the supply list. I hope to post pictures as I go.

So many options, how do you choose? It was the second time in 2 years I had received the advice from different Aestheticians saying it was time for a facelift. This time it was my dentist wife who also gave me 2 recommendations for PSs. A few months later I had a consultation with one PS she recommended. Opinion One: Dr. William Lindsay (McLean, VA). Dr. Lindsey was great; a straight shooter who recommended a neck and face lift. He explained where he’d make the incisions what muscles are pulled and tied and what results to expect and not expect. He said I could forgo a brow lift for now and would not touch my eyes because I have Sjogrens. He did however recommend an associate PS to get her opinion on eye surgery if I really wanted it. I was comfortable with Dr. Lindsay and he certainly was the most minimalistic and affordable but I was not quite ready and needed to do more research and get more opinions. So I went home and looked at TONs of PS websites, most importantly their before and after pictures. One day I got tired of looking both at my sagging jowls and neckline and at these websites…. I think I know the before and after pictures by heart!! I had paralysis from analysis, so I decided to make a list of 4 or 5 PS I liked and that I could visit that week. I called 3 of them and got appointments. By now, I was not only interested in a face and neck lift, but getting opinions/costs for a nose job and mommy makeover while I was there. Second Opinion: Dr. George Weston (Reston VA). As Kathy can attest, this consultation was the most fun! Most of the consultation is done with someone other than the doctor who does the computer simulation of you before and after. I was definitely at ease here and since many ladies in the office had procedures done, you can get to see first-hand results. Dr. Weston is charming and I trusted him immediately. Dr. Weston, recommended a face and neck lift, a brow lift, upper bleph, lip lift and corners, fat transfers including lip augmentation and rhinoplasty. He suggested doing the breast lift with tummy tuck later. Third Opinion: Dr. Adam Basner (Lutherville, MD). I enjoyed consulting with Dr. Basner. He relied more on showing you his patients before and after pictures and points out ones with your features to demonstrate his expectation of your result. He suggested a face and neck lift, an endoscopic brow lift; he would remove a little skin that will bunch under lower eye with FL, rhinoplasty and a breast lift. The downfall of was his office is more clinical like a doctor’s office. Forth Opinion: Dr. Roger Freidman (Bethesda, MD). This consultation was also one on one with the doctor and he spent the most time with me. He explained everything in text book detail and uses the photo simulation of your before and after too; (2 older PS used this, 2 younger PS did not.) He even shows you the surgical center. His office was more about beauty then clinical. He recommended, a face and neck lift, a coronal brow lift, rhinoplasty, fat transfers and laser for eyes. Making a Decision. I ruled out Dr. Lindsey because he is limited to face and nose. His practice seemed more reliant on hair transplants and the facelifts done under local anesthesia. I ruled out Dr. Friedman because the procedures he preferred were more old school and his before and after pictures not as pleasing to me. He wanted to make my nose narrower and thought laser would solve bunching under eye. Also his costs were by far the most expensive. The real decision came down to Dr. Weston and Dr. Basner. I was ready to schedule with either the day of consultation. I went back and forth with who to choose. It came down to this: -I disagreed with Dr. Weston’s recommendation for lip lift, augmentation, lip corner surgery and doing my upper eye lids with Sjogrens. He has the most and happiest before and after pictures but I thought most we heavier in face than me, and I thought some were a slightly asymmetrical possibly from fat transfer absorbing. -Dr. Basner hit the mark on every instance. Three of the doctors had the same idea for the face and neck lift. They did not call it MACS or by type but all described the same procedure. I liked his idea to remove just a little bunching skin under eye (+ 1) and I liked our nose job discussion the best (+ 2). His opinion regarding at transfers and lip surgery matched mine (+ 3). But, he was the only one that wanted to do the breast lift at the same time, this is where I waivered a bit (?). This seemed like a lot to do in one day. Both he and Dr. Weston thought my breast lift would be easy. Although, Dr. Basner thought I may want augmentation later so if he lifted them now, IF I decided to have an implant, I could do that with TT later vice having a 3rd surgery. In addition, his cost to do all this was the best price (+4). I was leaning towards Dr. Basner but I made a second appointment first so I could see more before and after pictures and discussed length of surgery and risks. It really came down to scrutinizing both doctors before and after pictures. I preferred Dr. Basner for rhinoplasty and breast lift and it was still a toss-up with face and neck lift (2 different styles really). I had to make a decision so I chose Dr. Basner. I decided not to do a brow lift. And, even though I am having the breast lift too, I think it’s a wash time wise for the brow lift, fat transfer and lip procedures if I choose Dr. Weston.

My face NEEDED the fat and I declined the lip procedures! :-) We are all so individual, I am glad you did your homework! :-)

I think I may need fat transfers too. @ ps suggested fat, 2 did not. It was interesting that the 2 older ps pro fat, 2 younger ones-con. My thought process is that I can add that later. Read from one doctor on this site that he feels there may be a better success rate then. Having impair auto immune that will be in overdrive with my 3 procedures, that seems to make sense to me.

Dr. Weston said only 1/2 of it survives (fat). Maybe you could ask them to "harvest" it while you are out???? They can freeze it for a year! Kathy

You look good in your post pics.