ontheupandup on Realself 9 days ago
05/28/2023, 05:04 AM
Probably Not Worth the Cost, Complication, and Healing Time
I had a mini neck lift with a chin implant performed under local anesthesia. I'm not super squeamish, but if you're somebody that is I would caution against doing this procedure while awake. it wasn't terrible, but there were definitely some times when it was uncomfortable and I could definitely feel more than I would have liked. afterward, i was bandaged up and sent on my way home to my apartment, which was an hour cab ride away in brooklyn. it wasn't until i got home that i started to suspect something was wrong. i was swelling, which i expected, but it seemed to be happening before my eyes. i sent pictures into the office and they told me i needed to come back asap, that i had a hematoma that was filling up. back into a cab for another hour long ride, but this time in increasingly severe pain as my anesthesia was wearing off and blood was rapidly collecting internally under my jaw. this quickly became one of the most excruciating things i've experienced in my life. the hematoma was so large that it became difficult for me to swallow. my partner was with me (thank god) and kept frantically calling the office to see if there was anything we could do in the meantime while we battled nyc traffic to get back into the office. i had already taken a perc at the end of the procedure so the nurses kept telling my partner that i just had to tough it out until we got there. i don't think they fully understood just how bad it was until we finally arrived and they tried to make some jokes before actually taking a look at me and seeing just how large the hematoma was and how much pain i was in. I was crying and i'm not a cryer. thankfully they jumped into action and got me on the operating table. i was told afterward that when they opened the surgery site the pooled blood had built up so much tension that it burst out. i felt it pool under me when it happened. i had apparently already hit the maximum amount of anesthesia that i could get locally during my initial operation, so i wasn't able to get much more and could feel a lot of what was happening, including the cauterizing. needless to say it sucked pretty bad. thankfully they were able to get the bleeding stopped, but it felt like it took an eternity. i really wish they had let me stay in the office for like 30 minutes or so just after the operation to monitor me for this potential (serious) complication instead of just sending me out the door. the amount of time that was lost in transport definitely made things a lot more dire. if you're considering getting this done i would DEFINITELY suggest staying close by to your surgeon's office and requesting that they monitor you for a bit of time just after.
as far as the results go, at first i thought they were good. however, it's just about 20 months post op now, so not even 2 years, and i already feel like things are going south. i still really like the chin implant (though that had some challenges and freaky moments during healing and I still feel a little uneasy about resting my chin on things or putting any pressure on it), but i honestly don't think the neck lift was worth it, ESPECIALLY considering the complication that i had. my pictures show before, after 5.5 months, and now (20 months later). i think it's pretty obvious that a lot of the laxity is returning. i'm not even 40 yet so this is really disappointing, especially since the doctor told me that at my age i would likely see excellent results until i had aged significantly. call me crazy, but i don't think 20 months counts as significant aging. I was hoping for 10 years at least, especially since this wasn't even the procedure that i initially thought i needed but paid much more for since i was told it would address my concerns. if i could go back in time i would probably just get the chin implant and fillers for a few years before saving up for something with more lasting results.
for some reason rs wouldn't let me add the pic from now unless i created an update so here it is. i think it's pretty obvious that the results are rapidly diminishing. there's a 200 character minimum so i'm just filling up space now lol