Bid to Get Rid of my 'Pregnant' Looking Neck - Vancouver, BC

I had a lower facelift with Dr. Andrew Denton on July 2. Usually I am a very private person. I follow my British grandmother's idea that you should appear in print only when you are born, marry or die. However, I have so appreciated the wisdom, information, humour and support on RealSelf, that I wanted to give back a bit.

First a little history---as you can see from my wedding picture from 39 years ago [when dinosaurs crawled the earth] I never had Angelina Jolie's neck and jaw line. I always had a bit of laxity there. With the passage of time and acquisition of pounds the situation got much worse. By 63 my neck looked pregnant. Like there was a mini baby in there about to be birthed.

I have lots of other signs of aging---bags under the eyes and frown lines. These don't particularly bother me. But like the wonderful Nora Ephron, I hate my neck.

I retired last year and one of my daughters is getting married in October, so I decided it was time for a remedy. I did two consults. Both doctors were excellent and had superb reputations. I got lots of good information and my questions were answered clearly and completely. I went with Dr. Denton first, because of his great reputation, and second because his fee was reasonable.

He is low-key, personable, professional and answered all questions clearly. He made sure I had realistic expectations for the outcome. My larynx is fairly far forward, so no surgery was going to give me Angelina's neck and jaw!

I did the vitamin regime with A and C, along with bromelain, arnica and a multivitamin. I was a bit nervous about the anesthetic ---which was IV sedation and local anesthetic. I am fairly squeamish. I used to faint when blood was taken---tho' birthing two children cured me of that.

I am happy to report it was absolutely fine. I had no pain or discomfort. I was vaguely aware of people talking at times, but mostly I just drifted off to sleep. I had an incision under my chin and incisions in font of my ears and curving back behind, but not into the hairline. Keep in mind all work was done at or below my jaw line.

I slept for a few hours when I came home. Had a smoothie for dinner. Chatted with my daughter, watched a bit of TV. I was in a bit of discomfort [sore and stiff neck and jaw], but no great l pain. I had Emtec for pain, which I took but I am not sure I really needed. Though I think it did help with sleep [I am a notoriously poor sleeper ]. I was tempted to buy a wedge pillow but did not. I just piled up pillows to form a triangle shape against the headboard and this worked perfectly. I am a stomach sleeper and I had anticipated having problems sleeping on my back, but it was fine.

A little groggy day two . My neck and jaw continued to feel a bit stiff and sore. Into the doctor for a dressing change. I will wear this dressing for two more days and then change to the the notorious face bra, which I will wear more or less 24-7 for a week. After that I will wear it at night.

Did not see too much at the dressing change, but neck line appeared to look much better. I didn't seem to have much bruising either---but that may come later. Today [day 3 post surgery] I am still feeling a bit tired but better than I thought I would. Skin on my neck is feeling tender under the dressing and a bit itchy.

Should be able to shower tomorrow, which will be nice. Can rinse my hair but no shampoo. I was not blessed with wash and wear hair , so I may look even more frightening from that than I do from the bandages and dressing!

Dr. Denton and his staff have been calm, professional, kind and efficient. So far I could not ask for a better experience. Both he and, Trish, his assistant, emphasized I could call anytime if I had concerns. Hopefully I won't need to, but it is reassuring to know that they are available if needed.

Best to all of you who are in various stages of this journey.

Cheers!


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I have been really lax [just like my neck] about updating. I have a daughter with a degree in photography, but I have finally given up trying to get her to do pics for me. I am a true Ludite and I struggled mightily with both my iPhone and iPad trying to get photos. As you can see from the attached, I did not triumph in this battle.

My recovery has been really pretty easy---though keep in mind I had a limited amount of work done---all at or below the jaw level and on the neck. First few days my neck and ears were tender and stiff. I needed minimal pain meds. I had swelling on neck and a bit of bruising---some of which is still there [I will be at two weeks on the 16th]. I took arnica and iced pretty religiously.

Sleeping semi-upright was not the huge problem I had anticipated [I am a poor sleeper to begin with] . I just wedged pillows against the headboard and supported my neck with one of those foam travel pillows. It is a great help. My doctor gave a prescription for sleeping meds for the first five days, which also helped.

I had stitches out at day seven and I will have staples out at the two week mark. As you can see from my pics, I still have some bruising and lumpiness on the neck and chin. I am trusting this will resolve over time. I have numbness at the lower ear and ear lobe and on the neck, right under the ears. I don't find this bothers me much and again I am sure it will improve with time.

I have to be honest and say, when I look at the pictures, I am a bit disappointed. Though I in no way blame my doctor. He was very direct at the consultation, telling me that due to having a larynx that is very far forward I would not get a jaw and neck like Angelina Jolie. No chiselled look for me, alas. He could improve the angle somewhat, but that was it. I went into this fully informed.

I got out of the house at about day five, with a scarf and hat. I tried the scar cover makeup, but it was a bit of a nightmare to apply and I thought it looked a bit blotchy, so I just used my regular foundation after a few attempts.

Best to everyone!