POSTED UNDER Forehead Reduction REVIEWS
Foreheadplasty/ Hairline Lowering/ Forehead Reduction - Owings Mills, MD
ORIGINAL POST
It's always really bothered me how out of...
FiveheadJuly 12, 2013
WORTH IT$8,000
It's always really bothered me how out of proportion my forehead was to the rest of my face. I hated pulling my hair back because it looked like I had a very masculine, receding hairline. I would try to cover my forehead up with bangs but I have a cowlick in the front of my hairline and they would never fall right and just ended up making things look worse.
I found out about hair line lowering in high school and I was really set on getting it done. Unfortunately, the only places I could find that did it were on the west coast and I live on the east coast, so I figured it would be a lot of planning and require a lot of money and time to do. One day I was googling the procedure though and I found a surgeon in Maryland who did the procedure. I ended up getting a consult done in May and having the procedure done in July. So far, this has been my experience.
The days leading up to the procedure:
I needed to get a history and physical done by my primary care doctor. It was kind of a weird thing to explain, no one has ever really heard of hairline lowering. I also had to get lab work done to make sure my blood clots correctly, I don’t have any unknown infections, etc etc. Everything was normal. I filled all my prescriptions before to have them available. I wasn’t supposed to drink any alcohol for 2 weeks prior. I fudged on that slightly but didn’t have anything 10 days before the procedure.
The day of:
The day of the procedure, I arrived at the office with my roommate. They gave me a valium (for anxiety) and 2 zofran (prevent nausea) as part of their standard protocol. They made some final markings on my forehead and brought me back to the operating room. I was hooked up to the IV. They used propofol for sedation and something else I forget. It was deeper than conscious sedation but I was not in an amount that required to be intubated (so not general anesthesia).
Once the procedure was done, I had a bandage around my forehead and it actually didn’t look too bad. I didn’t feel too bad either. Pretty much all of my head was completely numb, as that started wearing off, I took one Lortab tablet about 3 hours after the procedure before all the anesthesia had worn off but those ended up making me nauseas so I only took 3 total. That night Dr. Vogel called me at home and told me I could start taking 800 mg of Ibuprofen instead, which I preferred.
Day 1 Post Op:
The day started off really well, I took the bandages off and cleaned the incision with hydrogen peroxide diluted with water per the directions I received. Everything looked really great, there was no swelling or bruising, just the stitches. By the end of the day, that had changed, my head was starting to get more swollen and painful. I didn’t take any Lortab because I was nauseas the whole day anyway and I didn’t want anything to push me over the edge. I still couldn’t feel the very top of my head but sensation was slowly creeping back up the side and back of my head.
Day 2 Post Op:
I woke up at 6 am, the swelling was so bad, my face looked slightly deformed. I had slept on 3 pillows the night before to keep my head elevated to try to bring the swelling down but it clearly hadn’t done much to help my situation. I couldn’t completely close my mouth, the swelling was so bad at my temples and I could feel the swelling going through the back of my throat and my soft pallate (it wasn’t affecting my breathing, I could just feel it). I’d read online that the 3rd day was usually the worst for facial surgery swelling but I called Dr. Vogel just to make sure this was normal. I told him I was still feeling nauseas and he called in an order for some more nausea meds (Phenergan and more Zofran). He told me today and tomorrow would be the worst for swelling and this was fine. I also showered which was an event since the top of my head was still completely numb.
I found out about hair line lowering in high school and I was really set on getting it done. Unfortunately, the only places I could find that did it were on the west coast and I live on the east coast, so I figured it would be a lot of planning and require a lot of money and time to do. One day I was googling the procedure though and I found a surgeon in Maryland who did the procedure. I ended up getting a consult done in May and having the procedure done in July. So far, this has been my experience.
The days leading up to the procedure:
I needed to get a history and physical done by my primary care doctor. It was kind of a weird thing to explain, no one has ever really heard of hairline lowering. I also had to get lab work done to make sure my blood clots correctly, I don’t have any unknown infections, etc etc. Everything was normal. I filled all my prescriptions before to have them available. I wasn’t supposed to drink any alcohol for 2 weeks prior. I fudged on that slightly but didn’t have anything 10 days before the procedure.
The day of:
The day of the procedure, I arrived at the office with my roommate. They gave me a valium (for anxiety) and 2 zofran (prevent nausea) as part of their standard protocol. They made some final markings on my forehead and brought me back to the operating room. I was hooked up to the IV. They used propofol for sedation and something else I forget. It was deeper than conscious sedation but I was not in an amount that required to be intubated (so not general anesthesia).
Once the procedure was done, I had a bandage around my forehead and it actually didn’t look too bad. I didn’t feel too bad either. Pretty much all of my head was completely numb, as that started wearing off, I took one Lortab tablet about 3 hours after the procedure before all the anesthesia had worn off but those ended up making me nauseas so I only took 3 total. That night Dr. Vogel called me at home and told me I could start taking 800 mg of Ibuprofen instead, which I preferred.
Day 1 Post Op:
The day started off really well, I took the bandages off and cleaned the incision with hydrogen peroxide diluted with water per the directions I received. Everything looked really great, there was no swelling or bruising, just the stitches. By the end of the day, that had changed, my head was starting to get more swollen and painful. I didn’t take any Lortab because I was nauseas the whole day anyway and I didn’t want anything to push me over the edge. I still couldn’t feel the very top of my head but sensation was slowly creeping back up the side and back of my head.
Day 2 Post Op:
I woke up at 6 am, the swelling was so bad, my face looked slightly deformed. I had slept on 3 pillows the night before to keep my head elevated to try to bring the swelling down but it clearly hadn’t done much to help my situation. I couldn’t completely close my mouth, the swelling was so bad at my temples and I could feel the swelling going through the back of my throat and my soft pallate (it wasn’t affecting my breathing, I could just feel it). I’d read online that the 3rd day was usually the worst for facial surgery swelling but I called Dr. Vogel just to make sure this was normal. I told him I was still feeling nauseas and he called in an order for some more nausea meds (Phenergan and more Zofran). He told me today and tomorrow would be the worst for swelling and this was fine. I also showered which was an event since the top of my head was still completely numb.
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UPDATED FROM Fivehead
5 days post
Pics and Updates
FiveheadJuly 15, 2013
Day 3-5 Post Op
Things are completely fine, the swelling went down by the end of the 2nd day post op and I've been going out and doing things with various scarves and hats. I don't even think it would noticeable to most people that I'd had surgery unless they looked closely and saw the stitches. The nausea was done after the 2nd day post op too, it barely feels like I had surgery and everything looks great, awesome! :)
Things are completely fine, the swelling went down by the end of the 2nd day post op and I've been going out and doing things with various scarves and hats. I don't even think it would noticeable to most people that I'd had surgery unless they looked closely and saw the stitches. The nausea was done after the 2nd day post op too, it barely feels like I had surgery and everything looks great, awesome! :)
UPDATED FROM Fivehead
8 days post
Day 6-7 post op
FiveheadJuly 18, 2013
So I was able to get my stitches out on post op day 6. Dr. Vogel told me that everything looks really good and, at this point, I can use makeup to cove up the incision. He said I can go back to the gym in 2 weeks but not to overexert myself before then. The incision line looks pretty good, some areas are practically invisible, others have some crusting and red spots but all in all, not too bad. I think by next week it'll be practically invisible. Even now, if I pull my hair forward and put concealer on that small area that shows, nobody seems to notice when I'm out in public. And even with the red spots, I think my face looks more in balance with my hairline 2 cm lower, it just looks so much better, I'm really happy with the results. My next follow up appointment is actually not until 3 months, so October, pretty cool.
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