My Inside and Outside Match -- and I'm Happy About It!

After 3 years of surgeon-shopping I decided to go with Dr Karkhanis, and I’m happy I did. Having a skilled surgeon was important to me, but also I wanted a doctor who could truly see me as an individual and tailor the surgery to suit my desires and personality. Dr Karkhanis was exactly what I wanted, with the added bonus of being a compassionate and very cool person.
I’ve been the unfortunate experiencer of an autoimmune disorder for much of my life, so Botox is out of the question and surgery can be a dicey proposition, but Dr K was well-studied on my condition by the time of surgery and knew just what to do to lessen the possibility of ill-effects for me. He explained what he would do and why.
I liked that he was flexible and also had insight. After meeting me in person and seeing how much expressiveness was important to my character, he helped me to feel confident that he would freshen me up and peel off some years, but that I would still look like me and be able to make all the crazy faces I want. As a result, I kept the frown-line between my brows, I didn’t bother with blepharoplasty, and I went absolutely minimal with fat transfer on cheeks. He prefers a minimalist approach, and since I have big cheekbones anyway, I sure didn’t want a weird Hollywood look. What I ultimately decided on was SMAS facelift, with temporal brow lift, a super-subtle liplift, and some fat transfer.
I was petrified, of course. I’ve done a lot of wild things in my life, but I’d never had a facelift! But Dr K and the anesthesiologist and the nurses all made me feel comforted and ready for the big journey.
Getting down to the questions most people would ask: I didn’t feel any big pain. I expected recovery to be gory and painful, but it wasn’t. The numbness was strange at first (that wears away slowly). Bruising was also not bad at all, and it was mostly around the top of my neck, under the jawline.
When I saw myself in a mirror I couldn’t stop looking at my now-smooth throat. Wow.
I stayed in the facility for 10 days. I just didn’t want to have to deal with the outside world until I was good and ready. After 10 days it felt like home for me: I got to know the wonderful staff-- Sharada, Gracie, Reshma, Lizi, and Rohini-- and managed to have some fun during my stay (and make friends with another patient who I later went to visit in another city!) I think of the whole crew as friends, and I look forward to seeing them again.
If I sound effusive and positive and thrilled it’s because I am. It wasn’t all bubbles and sunshine, though. The autoimmune disease did rear its ugly head and cause food allergies and swelling around my eyes, but that’s one of the possibilities of this disease, and I’m back to normal again.
“Normal” with a new, refreshed face that totally reflects who I am—without some of the unhappy bits. I had come to feel that the sickness of 30 years was written on my face. I don’t know how young or old I look anymore—just like I don’t know how old or young I feel on the inside. That’s absolutely perfect for me, and I’m grateful to Dr. Karkhanis for making it happen. I feel sort of eternal now. And eternal is a great age to be.
If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them. Inbox me if you would like to see photos. Cheers!