Surgery was Thursday, the next day, the helmet came off, and on Tuesday, it's back to the doctor for some stitch removal. And I got the flu' - just to make things interesting. The flu' wasn't fun, but it wasn't H1N1 either (thank goodness): fever, sore throat, and my muscles felt like I'd been hit by a truck. Just more pain to add to that from the face lift. I also got roaring conjunctivitis from the ice water gauze packs. The latter was likely due to the ice in my freezer. Not only were the stitches pulling my eyelids, my eyelashes were welded together. I felt like a mess, and I wasn't inaccurate in my assessment. I would recommend anyone get purified water and keep it in the refrigerator to avoid this issue. The good thing that happened is I was finally able to take a shower.
The doctor looked me over, and decided to remove the stitches from the brow lift, and some of them around my ears. He explained that he took them out earlier than usual because there was less scarring that way - I'm all for that. The removal process wasn't much fun (a couple of the stitches stuck together), but at least blinking my eyes was no longer painful. He also found that I'd contacted some kind of dermatitis (this resembled a whitish scum-like layer on my face around the jaws). I was told to lightly wash the area with plain water and use Neosporin (which worked). I told the doctor that I had been spraying my face with Dr. Wheatgrass, and he thought I was crazy, but it did make me feel better. I was to come back again on Thursday to have the rest of the stitches and the staples removed.
Back home, I carefully washed my face, and assessed the results to date. The brow area was still an angry red, and where the stitches were, the 'lips' of the wound weren't fully closed, but looked to be fairly well stuck together. Best of all, I didn't have to sleep on a slant on my back anymore. (They first told me to sleep propped up in a lounge chair for 3 days, but with 2 curious cats, and I overly friendly dog, I really wanted to sleep behind a closed door, so I declined.) Sleeping wasn't yet much fun (the staples still feel like nails in my skull), but at least I could move from side to side without waking myself up each time.
I also started putting Egyptian Magic Cream on my face - especially where the stitches were. When my spouse had knee surgery two years ago, and we'd used this stuff on the scar with great results, so I thought why not try it on faces, too.
Things that are still unfun: wearing glasses - the ear bits almost exactly follow the cut lines; laying down - the staples, the cut lines, and the bruises hurt, so sleeping is still an adventure; combing/brushing my hair - I have to use my fingers; plucking my eyebrows - this is almost impossible, and I was beginning to look like Andy Rooney on a bad day. I have two recommendations: have your eyebrows waxed and get a good haircut prior to the surgery.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The big day
I was scheduled for surgery at 0900, and had to be there an hour in advance. The night before, I had to take a pill (atavin?) and take two more when I arrived at the hospital - the purpose of these things was to make sure I slept well, and was mellow the next morning.
They told me to wear something comfortable which buttoned or zipped up the front - I wore my pajamas. Like most appointments, this one was also delayed. I got in at about 1000, and they finally rolled me in close to 1100. The process did not include full-fledged anesthetic - I sort of floated through much of it, unaware of most of what was going on. They also deadened my face everywhere except for my forehead and the area around my mouth. When I came to - 7 hours later - I was wrapped in a helmet-like bandage, with two drainage tubes coming from the back of my head (just below the ears) each with it's own container. It was a good thing my pj's had pockets.
I was still numb when we left for home (complete with two new prescriptions - one for pain and one for nausea), but the anesthetic was beginning to fade. We dropped off the prescriptions on the way.
One is not allowed to lay flat for three days after this surgery (hard for me, since I frequently sleep on my belly); one is absolutely NOT supposed to put ice packs or anything like them on one's face; and one is supposed to relax and "...pamper yourself." for the next 48 hours. For the brow lift, one is to soak gauze in icy water, wring it out, and cover the eyes (sort of like to cucumber slices at some fancy spas). The did provide me with a baggy full of the gauze.
By the time I got to bed, I was hurting like mad, and I looked like nothing so much as an angry Buddha. And my formerly oval-shaped face was now as round as a cue ball. I kept telling myself it was worth it.
Sleep that night was a joke. The pain pills helped (as did the anti-nausea pills), and the icy gauze felt great, but no one had mentioned how difficult it is to sleep when one's head is 'damaged'. Each time I dozed, if I moved my head from any position other than fully face up, I discovered another area that hurt. The drainage tubes also dug into the back of my head as I laid face up, so I couldn't find any position that was comfortable. I also discovered I had both staples and stitches, each of which provided a different take on pain. The stitches pulled - especially where the brow lift was perpetrated - and the staples were like laying on nails. The staples were holding up the skin they had stretched from my cheeks/neck to my ears and beyond, into my scalp. The doctor had cut from the top of my ear, going just inside the cartilage bit, out and down and around the lobe, thus hiding most of the cut. I will probably appreciate this much more later - right now it just hurts - and there's no way I can brush or comb my hair.
I found myself wondering if Torquemada had ever been a cosmetic surgeon - but that was probably delirium. Tomorrow, I see the doctor again, and he's supposed to remove my helmet.
They told me to wear something comfortable which buttoned or zipped up the front - I wore my pajamas. Like most appointments, this one was also delayed. I got in at about 1000, and they finally rolled me in close to 1100. The process did not include full-fledged anesthetic - I sort of floated through much of it, unaware of most of what was going on. They also deadened my face everywhere except for my forehead and the area around my mouth. When I came to - 7 hours later - I was wrapped in a helmet-like bandage, with two drainage tubes coming from the back of my head (just below the ears) each with it's own container. It was a good thing my pj's had pockets.
I was still numb when we left for home (complete with two new prescriptions - one for pain and one for nausea), but the anesthetic was beginning to fade. We dropped off the prescriptions on the way.
One is not allowed to lay flat for three days after this surgery (hard for me, since I frequently sleep on my belly); one is absolutely NOT supposed to put ice packs or anything like them on one's face; and one is supposed to relax and "...pamper yourself." for the next 48 hours. For the brow lift, one is to soak gauze in icy water, wring it out, and cover the eyes (sort of like to cucumber slices at some fancy spas). The did provide me with a baggy full of the gauze.
By the time I got to bed, I was hurting like mad, and I looked like nothing so much as an angry Buddha. And my formerly oval-shaped face was now as round as a cue ball. I kept telling myself it was worth it.
Sleep that night was a joke. The pain pills helped (as did the anti-nausea pills), and the icy gauze felt great, but no one had mentioned how difficult it is to sleep when one's head is 'damaged'. Each time I dozed, if I moved my head from any position other than fully face up, I discovered another area that hurt. The drainage tubes also dug into the back of my head as I laid face up, so I couldn't find any position that was comfortable. I also discovered I had both staples and stitches, each of which provided a different take on pain. The stitches pulled - especially where the brow lift was perpetrated - and the staples were like laying on nails. The staples were holding up the skin they had stretched from my cheeks/neck to my ears and beyond, into my scalp. The doctor had cut from the top of my ear, going just inside the cartilage bit, out and down and around the lobe, thus hiding most of the cut. I will probably appreciate this much more later - right now it just hurts - and there's no way I can brush or comb my hair.
I found myself wondering if Torquemada had ever been a cosmetic surgeon - but that was probably delirium. Tomorrow, I see the doctor again, and he's supposed to remove my helmet.
what they don't tell you, but you learn
We recently went on a cruise, and, in reviewing the ubiquitous pictures that are taken almost daily, I came to the conclusion that I needed help. One eye was droopier than the other, I was developing jowly bits, and (and Nora Ephron wrote), I was unhappy about my neck.
I googled (love the fact it's now a verb) 'face lifts' and learned all sorts of things, most importantly, that a face lift only covers the lower portion of the face, not including the area under the nose and around the mouth (this is the area for lasers, fillers, or other treatments, apparently). So I googled brow lifts, too, and learned I needed both. I also researched the costs for these pups, and found a wide range of pricing - basically between $6000 and $24000 depending on how much work is done, or the reputation of the doctor, and sometimes even the location of said doctor (weird!).
My next effort was finding a good doctor. After speaking with my dermatologist, and web-crawling, I made an appointment with a doctor affiliated with a local university (my alma mater - which did play a part in my decision). The doctor reaffirmed that he couldn't do anything about my mouth area - apparently the skin there is really, really attached to the muscles below, thus too difficult to deal with.
He told me that my neck would look better, my jowly bits would be gone, and that the brow lift would improve both my droopiest eye, and the other one, too. I was ready to go.
The cost for both of these treatments was less than $9000, which I felt was reasonable. At my next appointment (pre-op) the goal apparently was to scare the hell out of me. Basically they listed every single thing that could go wrong (including my skin turning black a falling off). This is the CYA part of the whole procedure. The red flags here are the same for almost any surgical procedure - no heart problems, no high blood pressure (this is esp. important for the eye lift, if the pressure is too high, it can pop your stitches - or something like that) and no blood thinning meds for 2-3 weeks prior to the surgery. One also can't eat or drink for 6 hours prior to surgery. I also did NOT want to spend the night in the hospital (a savings of somewhere between $250-300). After having been photographed from numerous angles, and making several faces for the camera, I was sent home. I decided not to think about all the possible awful things that could go wrong, and focus on the newer, less droopy, me (and transferring the funds to pay for the damn thing)
Then my doctor left for the VA, and I was assigned to a new doctor. They were very nice about it - even offering to return my money, but I was committed. My new doctor had a different approach - as I learned when I met him at another pre-op: he was not going to cut under my chin, since he found what he thought was a more effective method. Fine with me - one less scar. He also told me he would follow the crows feet around my eyes to hide the brow lift scar. Who knew those things could be useful?
I googled (love the fact it's now a verb) 'face lifts' and learned all sorts of things, most importantly, that a face lift only covers the lower portion of the face, not including the area under the nose and around the mouth (this is the area for lasers, fillers, or other treatments, apparently). So I googled brow lifts, too, and learned I needed both. I also researched the costs for these pups, and found a wide range of pricing - basically between $6000 and $24000 depending on how much work is done, or the reputation of the doctor, and sometimes even the location of said doctor (weird!).
My next effort was finding a good doctor. After speaking with my dermatologist, and web-crawling, I made an appointment with a doctor affiliated with a local university (my alma mater - which did play a part in my decision). The doctor reaffirmed that he couldn't do anything about my mouth area - apparently the skin there is really, really attached to the muscles below, thus too difficult to deal with.
He told me that my neck would look better, my jowly bits would be gone, and that the brow lift would improve both my droopiest eye, and the other one, too. I was ready to go.
The cost for both of these treatments was less than $9000, which I felt was reasonable. At my next appointment (pre-op) the goal apparently was to scare the hell out of me. Basically they listed every single thing that could go wrong (including my skin turning black a falling off). This is the CYA part of the whole procedure. The red flags here are the same for almost any surgical procedure - no heart problems, no high blood pressure (this is esp. important for the eye lift, if the pressure is too high, it can pop your stitches - or something like that) and no blood thinning meds for 2-3 weeks prior to the surgery. One also can't eat or drink for 6 hours prior to surgery. I also did NOT want to spend the night in the hospital (a savings of somewhere between $250-300). After having been photographed from numerous angles, and making several faces for the camera, I was sent home. I decided not to think about all the possible awful things that could go wrong, and focus on the newer, less droopy, me (and transferring the funds to pay for the damn thing)
Then my doctor left for the VA, and I was assigned to a new doctor. They were very nice about it - even offering to return my money, but I was committed. My new doctor had a different approach - as I learned when I met him at another pre-op: he was not going to cut under my chin, since he found what he thought was a more effective method. Fine with me - one less scar. He also told me he would follow the crows feet around my eyes to hide the brow lift scar. Who knew those things could be useful?
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