57 Yr Old Neck Needed Help. San Francisco, CA

I have been wanting to have neck lipo for over a year now. Ever since I saw a YouTube video on the proceedure and thought, "Heck yes!!!" My whole family of origin has "the neck". And all 3 of my grown adult children got it too. Although, thankfully, theirs isn't as bad. After realizing there was a proceedure out there that could help that wasn't so major as a face lift I started reading all that I could about it. I found Realself and have been reading it everyday pretty much. I went for a consultation last September and even set a date but then got scared and cancelled. I got scared because some people were saying that they had permanent lumps, etc. Yet, the more I read the more I heard that the majority were super happy. And, every time I looked at my neck I hated it. I keep my hair long so I can hide my neck. I finally decided to just do it. My hope is to be able to cut my long hair and have a style more suitable to my age. But my hanging neck has always stopped me from doing it. So, I booked the surgery and just did it yesterday!!!! I had two consults with two different doctors and went with the first one, Dr Sheena Kong in San Fransisco. Mainly because I felt comfortable with her, she was out of town [important because I didn't want anyone knowing I was doing this] and she was a woman. The other consult was with a male doctor in my hometown. I deciced I didn't want to do that. Also, he was a thousand dollars more than Dr Kong and said he wouldn't do the jowl area, just the neck. Hmmm. I had researched jowl liposuction thoroughly and even though some said that it was risky, most said it produced very good results. I think he didn't want to do it because he had one bad review of a patient who said their jowls looked worse after using him [that review was on Yelp not Realself] So I went with Dr Kong. She was very professional and nice. Her office staff was super nice too. The proceedure went off without a hitch. Medicine goes a long way with me so the anti-anxiety meds and the vicodin worked perfectly. I was given an anti-nausea pill too because I told the doctor that I usually throw up on pain medication. I pretty much slept through the entire proceedure. I went alone and set myself up in a hotel nearby so that afterwards all they had to do was put me in a cab. I slept like a baby from 6pm until 8am the next day! Then, after seeing Dr Kong for her next day follow-up appointment I drove myself home. I wasn't in any pain at all!!!! That surprised me!!! I am bruised and swollen with bumpiness but that was to be expected. I AM SOOOO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!! Even with the bumps and bruising it is already like night and day!!!! Yay!!!! Even if these bumps don't go fully away I can live with it. I can't wait for it to keep improving and then..., ta da-to get my hair cut with an age-appropriate hairstyle!!!!!! There were some hidden costs besides the amount stated above. The things weren't covered in the $2850 was the compression garment [$70] and the prescription medications [approximately $80] and the over the counter herbs and immune boosting items suggested such as arnica, coQ-10, alpha-lipoic acid, etc. All that added in with the cost of the hotel room, gas, cab rides, and such was about $3200. In my opinion this neck result is worth it!!! I will be posting again with more pictures as I 'tighten' up. I go in for another follow up in a couple of weeks.

So I cannot believe how much better my profile is from before!!! However, I'm not liking these 'folds' of skin under the chin. I know I'm still pretty swollen, especially in the jowl area. I knew that my age wouldn't be ideal [skin elasticity wise] but I also knew that it would be better than doing nothing and continuing to hate my profile. I'm glad I did this. One reviewer said to get Bio-oil and so I will. I started putting arnica gel on today. The doctor didn't want me to do anything but put Bacitracin ointment on it or a few days. I haven't bruised up much at all. I'm not a bruiser anyway and have been taking arnica 30C to help. The area is stiff but not painful. I haven't needed any pain medication at all. The second day I took one fourth of a [generic] vicodin but really, I don't think I even needed it-I had just been worried about waking up in the night in pain. It just made me feel a teensy bit nauseous which isn't worth it. So, nothing since then. My adult son and his wife came over yesterday so I quickly took off the compression garment [I haven't told anyone I did this] and they didn't notice anything!! Whew! I know it's because the swelling still isn't as big and hanging as my previous neck was! Sad but true! The only thing that will draw attention is the folds of skin which don't look 'normal'. I am wearing a turtle neck until that gets better. Everyone is used to me in turtlenecks anyway because previously I've always hidden my neck in them along with my long hair. Sigh. I still can't get over my profile-no hanging neck!!! So happy!!!

Profile happiness! But the "waves" underneath are not so great. I'm hoping they will be able to be massaged away over time. I'm still swollen of course. Numbness but no pain. Sometimes my jowls look worse-I suppose it's when they are swollen more. I look best in the morning after a good nights sleep. This is still soooo much easier than I imagined it would be. I have to speak before an audience next month so I'm hoping that the waviness improves so no one will notice it! Either that or the turtlenecks stay on a bit longer ;)