AMAZING RESULT from Dr Kabaker! - Oakland, CA

This review is posted as a thank you to everyone at RealSelf who has shared their experiences. I hope to give back and pay forward through my post. I never write reviews but feel it is important, because without this website i would never have had the guts or the information to feel comfortable going through with it.
Also, without this site, I would not have known that Dr Kabaker is retiring in January! And he is the ONLY person I wanted to do my surgery because I am a perfectionist and wanted the very best doctor in the country. I had also heard he was so nice and didn't have a big ego (unlike a couple of Beverly Hills surgeons I consulted with).

BACK STORY: Tall, sloping forehead. I actually like tall foreheads, they are dramatic and can be beautiful! It definitely adds a certain "look" that I like and is unique, but 8 cm is just TOO long for my face. 39 years old and have always had to cover my forehead. Looking at photos this was a problem my entire adult life, but because no one ever (thank goodness)teased me or pointed it out, i guess its not so obvious for people that don't have this problem. But if you are reading this, YOU know how self conscious it makes you, and how you always focus on that! Always messing with my hair for a photo, etc.

My family didn't understand, which was difficult. I had to really search deep inside myself to make my decision, completely for myself, on my own. They ultimately supported my decision but were very skeptical.

PRE SURGERY
Consulted with Dr Kabaker via Skype as I don't live in California (he had reviewed the photos and scalp laxity video i had previously sent them). He then emailed some morphs and I appreciated how conservative he was with the lowering amount. I booked my surgery and paid the deposit.

DECIDING ON LOWERING AMOUNT
I wore dark eye makeup below my hairline, to try out different measurements (how low i wanted to go). Also used bobby pins to lower the hairline by sweeping hair to side then pinning in front to create a "fake" hairline. This really helped me confirm my decision to go forward, because I pretty much knew what it was going to look like, more or less. I highly suggest you do this if you are thinking about the surgery, because sometimes you really don't need as much lowering as you think!

WEEK OF SURGERY
Started taking Bromelain tablets (to prevent swelling) Vitamin C (To strengthen immune system before surgery) and Biotin (to promote hair growth)
Week before surgery i was starting to panic. I had been keeping it from my family, and finally told them. They were surprised and said they didn't think i should do it, that I was imagining how high it was, that i didt need it-- but would support my decision nonetheless. That was difficult....Even worse was that 2 close friends also told me the same thing.... so, I started to doubt my decision. I started to think "Am i really overly critical of this? Am i dysmorphic?" I was so nervous and started to not trust my own eyes!
I took a few days and really looked deep into myself and remembered how many years this has bothered me, and my instinct was to go for it.
I actually called the clinic 2 days before my surgery and told them I was thinking of cancelling because of how scared I was to make the change. The nurse was so supportive, she was not pushy at all, but she really did help calm me down and told me to just come to meet him for the pre-op anyway, and that that would help me with my decision. I ALMOST completely cancelled. I heard the voices of my family constantly in my head. But... then I tried to remember.... why did I BOOK the surgery in the first place? I have never had ANY cosmetic surgery before.... if i booked this and paid, I must have been pretty sure, inside myself.

And.. I am SO GLAD i listened to my gut. I met with Dr Kabaker on tuesday day before surgery. He is so laid back, with ZERO ego. Such a cool guy. I wanted to only lower 1 cm (from 8cm), because of how afraid i was of looking too different! He was understanding at how conservative I wanted to be but said that he didn't know if it would make that much of a change. He recommended 2 cm, but I thought that was too low. I went home with the 1 cm marking, and then played around with it again and decided on 1.5 cm. Didn't eat after midnight and had anxious sleep.

SURGERY DAY
Arrived at 815 am and was placed in a gown, took one dose of antibiotic there. The nurse Joowon is so incredibly nice. Dr Kabaker and his fellow doctor working with him came and we discussed the new measurement (Which i ultimately marked first, and they confirmed it would look nice). Took me to surgery room in same building and started IV, was given sedation and then woke up easily and comfortably, No nausea, no pain, just some tightness in my head.

I left with a very tight gauze wrap. I took Norco and Ketoprofen and really didn't have what i would call pain, it was more just constant discomfort from the tightness and squeezing of the head wrap (to reduce swelling). Appetite was normal, no bruising the day of surgery.

DAY AFTER SURGERY
Today I went back to the clinic in the morning and the nurse Joowon was so gentle at removing my head dressing and cleaning the dried blood from my stitches. I was so nervous to look at the result... and then i saw it... it looks amazing! I can't believe it. I am in shock! When you have had something bother you for so long and it is fixed.... I started crying in the chair!

Dr Kabaker came and took photos and then Joowon gave me detailed instructions about taking care of the stitches and staples. I left today with a head wrap but its not nearly as tight as yesterday... keeping it on to reduce swelling. Today I am bruising a lot! Using ice on my face and eyes.

I will update next week when the stitches are out! Until then... i am just so happy with my decision and so grateful that this procedure exists.

Thanks again to this community because without you I would never have had the courage to go through with it. Please ask any questions you want and i will try to get back as soon as possible!

It's day 22 after my surgery.
Found my lost photos so will post those!

Regarding hair Loss I'm losing hair overall but not at the hairline. When I run my fingers through my hair there's always about 4-8 hairs that come out . I have to admit it's not a good feeling to see that , but I'm trying to not freak out. I have very thick hair to begin with so luckily it hasn't made too noticeable to other people I'm sure. I definitely notice my hair is thinner overall. Ponytail is half the size than before . I don't comb or brush my hair (I generally don't anyway even before Surgery) . I imagine more would come out if I did.
I'm using Mederma PM at night and making sure the scar is out of the sun.
I am able to wear my hair down without anyone seeing th scar.

One thing I have started to notice is that hairline is not exactly even. One side looks higher. I don't know if it's because one side has more hair growing through the scar already. I'm going to ask the doctor about it. Worst case scenario I would have to get grafts to even it out. But I don't wanna get grafts until I see how the hair grows out first.