Diary of a Facelift

Created on 05th March 2012

One patient's frank and honest account of what having a facelift entails

For the past seven years I have worked as Practice Manager for Mr Alex Karadis. I see the results that Mr Karidis achieves from his work on a weekly basis and a few months ago, after seeing some close-up pictures of myself, I took the decision to have a neck and lower facelift with a little liposuction to the chin.

I don't want to look years younger - just simply get rid of the loose skin around the neck and lower face so that I feel more confident about my looks.

29 September 2008
One day to go. Decided to work, although I now realise just how apprehensive and scared I really am. What if it goes wrong? What if I do not wake up from the anaesthetic? Will my family be angry with me when they find out?

30 September 2008
Graham dropped me off at The Hospital of St John and Elizabeth at 7 o'clock. I asked him not to take me to my room because it would make me too emotional - and I did not want him to see just how scared I really am.

I walked to theatre with two nurses - legs like jelly and knees wobbling.

I woke up to the familiar face of Graham - what a relief - I had made it and was still alive.

I feel as though I can't swallow, it's all so very tight but at this stage there is no pain. You feel as though your teeth are out of line and you cannot open your mouth. Mr Karidis came to my room later that evening and explained that everything had gone to plan.

During the night the pain became very intense. It was mainly my ears, throat and neck. I was given painkillers both intravenously and orally.

1 October 2008
Mr Karidis came to my room to cut off the head garment and bandages. It all feels very tight and uncomfortable - in fact Mr Karidis joked that it looked as though he had thrown in a breast uplift as well, but he said that he was happy with the results.

Now for reality as I take my first look in the mirror. I did look distorted and realised that all the muscles in the back of my neck were also very swollen.

However, I told myself to stay positive, so I say, ‘Thank you, Mr Karidis, it looks like a good job.' What a liar I am; I was really thinking will I ever look normal again.

Mr Karidis's nurses came to my room to prepare me for going home. My hair was washed and the incision areas in front of and behind the ears were dried and cleaned, there are no dressings on these. I was given a head compression garment to wear, which is made of very strong elastic.

Cold packs are essential. I am using them every hour for about 15 minutes and I need to sleep elevated. Food has to be soft and easy to swallow such as soups, mashed potato, fish, cottage pie, etc.

I spent the day sleeping on and off. During that first night at home it was really tough: I did not sleep much at all and was in quite a bit of discomfort and pain.

2 October 2008

Swelling up nicely now and very uncomfortable but keep taking the painkillers. My ears are hilarious - they are so swollen.

Last night I was on a low: I blamed Graham for not talking me out of it, I didn't like Mr Karidis for putting me through this, in fact I was convinced that he had pulled it all too tight, but more importantly I blamed myself for being so bloody vain.

5 October 2008
Feeling much brighter today. I feel as though I am getting through the worst of it and I did not take any painkillers today.

However, in the night I was very uncomfortable again. My ears were hurting inside and out, my neck was painful, perhaps where I had laid on it and it was quite obvious that more swelling had set in on the right side of my face.

6 October 2008

Although I have not called either the nurses or Mr Karidis up to this point, I decided that I really did need a little reassurance. We tell all our patients that they should never worry about anything, always call.

I called Mr Karidis and said that I was not feeling very good and could he please see me. He said that it all looked fairly normal and that the lumps at the back of my neck did not seem too red but that they were a little hot and that if they got any worse he would prescribe antibiotics.

8 October 2008
Went to the clinic for my check-up, me wearing a scarf. The incision areas which are in front and behind both ears were cleaned and the dissolvable sutures which were trying to work themselves out were trimmed.

I was then shown how to do some exercises by tapping the facial area to try and dissipate the hard areas.

19 October 2008

Slept really well. Feel much more chirpy today, it's surprising what a good night's sleep can do.

24 October 2008
First real day back at work. Colleagues think I've just been on holiday so it looks as though I may have got away with it.

28 October 2008
Four weeks today and I am really pleased with the results. The swelling will gradually disappear, and can take as long as six months.

25 November 2008
Two months today. The bruising has completely gone. The swelling has almost gone.

I can now sleep on my side because the ears are much more comfortable. I still massage the areas that are slightly lumpy on a daily basis with Bio Oil, a very good product that helps with scarring.

25 January 2009

Almost four months since the surgery. I am delighted with the results, I look very natural and from the front I do not look any different - the last thing I wanted was that stretched, wind tunnel look.

CS&AM