Skin Care Review: Neck Lift & Blepharoplasty

Rating
Excellent

Benefits
Completely removed ugly wrinkles on my neck; droopy eyelids lifted.

Drawbacks
Expensive; bruises for 2 weeks; swelling for 4 weeks.

Details
I inherited excess skin on my neck that drooped in rings. I also had upper eyelids that drooped and made me look much older. I was 59 at the time and hated looking in the mirror and seeing someone who looked 70. I decided that that any improvement would be well worth the money. The surgeon I chose catered to the wealthy and had an excellent reputation. I am far from wealthy, and the cost was $7000 for the neck lift and $5000 for the blepharoplasty, all of which was withdrawn from a retirement account.

My daughter dropped me off at the clinic at 7:00 a.m. and picked me up that afternoon at 3:30. When she picked me up, I was swathed in bandages under my chin and around the top of my head. I couldn't open my mouth to speak and had to write out what I wanted to say -- the tight bandages were very uncomfortable and I felt like my jaw was out of alignment. That was the only serious discomfort I experienced. I stayed with my daughter for the next five days, used baggies filled with frozen peas on my eyelids, took only a few pain pills for sleeping, drank soup through a straw, revisited the clinic to have the bandages removed on day 2, had the stitches out on day 5, and then drove 4 hours back to my home on day 6. My face was bruised and there was considerable swelling (I looked like a fat chipmunk when the bandages were removed), but three weeks later I was out in public and people I knew hardly recognized me, saying I looked so young. I thanked them but never told a soul I'd had a "facelift" -- although I wonder now if many of them suspected it. All in all, it was like a miracle. When I look at the "Before" pictures now, I shudder. The surgery removed all the wrinkles on my neck, and my eyelids looked like I was 25. The only negative is that my earlobes disappeared and I no longer wear earrings with posts -- I have found some lovely clip-ons instead.

The scars in front of my ears have all but disappeared. The other scars are an inch back into my hair and only my hairdresser knows they're there. The surgeon used a unique procedure on my eyelids that left a barely perceptible scar slightly below my eyebrows.

It's been five years now, and I haven't regretted any of it, not even the cost. I was told that the blepharoplasty would last approximately 10 years, and that the neck lift would last approximately 5 years. My eyelids are still fine, as promised, and in the last 6 months, I have begun to notice some sagging of skin under my chin, but it's nothing compared to the "Before." People are surprised to learn that I'm 64 and invariably say I look 50 or 55.

Conclusions
I would do this again without hesitation. The change in my appearance was amazing.

Price (paid by reviewer)
$12,000

Where to find it
Cosmetic Surgeon