First Consult with Dr. Ha

I still have bruising on the sides of my face and neck and the top of my head still feels dead. I saw Dr Ha today and he thinks this should resolve over the next 3 to 4 weeks,though the dead feeling may take 6 to 9 months. All the pictures are taken without make up. I have included a couple of things I think people should know, plan for, or do if thinking about a facelift. Firstly stock up on scareves etc as the neck area is usually the last to resolve. Stock up on soft foods for the first week. Expect to be off woork for at least two weeks - a month would be better. Find a really good foundation and concealer for covering bruises. Expect to feel tired for the first few weeks so dont overdo it. Remember each person heals at different rates but I was surprised at how long residual bruising lasts. Take lots of before and day by day recovery photos. This feally helps in respect to an objective record of progress. However the most important tip is find a really good, well trained, and highly recommended surgeon. It really is worth the time and money doing the research.

It is now ten days since my surgery. Most of the bruising has disappeared. I still have some on my neck and right side. I havent told anyone I know about having the surgery and yesterday I was seeing my mother for the first time since the operation to see if she would notice. She looked twice but didnt make any comment which was good as I didn't want to look hugely different - just fresher and less tired. I also wanted to know if I could get away with the bruising (with make up) for a return to work. So seems it will be OK.
Prior to surgery i considered lots of different options. Particularly less invasive ones. When tallying up the cost of botox and fillers over ten years the cost would have been greater and less effective. I also considered overseas surgery but wanted someone closer to home in case things went badly. Also after the operation it was nice to be at home . I would not have felt like holidaying anywhere as just wanted to mainly rest and was happy to potter around home.
There are few sugeons I would have trusted in Adelaide for this procedure. I had a deep plane face lift, neck lift and brow lift. Dr Ha is currently the only person in Adelaide qualified and experienced with deep plane lifts. I originally was considering a less invasive procedure but I dont think the results would have been so good. I have included before and after photos.

Dr. Ha does amazing work. He is kind, personable and an excellent surgeon. I am so glad I chose him. The only critisism I would make is the need for more information. First of all if you are expecting no pain, think again. This is major surgery and while it is tollerable it is still very uncomfortable. Day 1 after surgery I could feel all the stitches and it felt like a thousand needles or bee stings. This dissipated during the night but was still sore and uncomfortable. Also expect to get very little sleep as i found sleeping elevated difficult (and I am not the best sleeper anyway). The second aspect I was unprepared for was feeling depressed on day 2 and 3. The bruising looks terrible and i couldnt help thinking "what have i done". I am not the best patient either as i dont like being sick and having to remain relatively inactive. There is lots of information on the net that describes all of these feelings as being normal. Letting people know beforehand would be helpful though so they are prepared. . It would be good to develop a number of fact sheets to give people to take home. It is now day 4. The bruising and swelling are starting to decline and iI am having to take a lot less pain medication. As soon as i got home from my first consultation i jumped in the bath and soaked my body and hair which also helped (not sure if this was OK or not but it was the only way I could think of getting rid of the dried blood without disturbing the stitches). I can now see what the final result might look like and am feeling much more positive. The stitches come out in another 5 days which I am a bit worried about but will be glad when they are out. The staff at Calvery Central Districts were all great and looked after me really well on night one. I will update this again once the stitches are out.