Hi,
From my reading of that, it sounds like a very exceptional reaction to surgery but it is nevertheless good to know that such things can happen. However, you should definitely be aware of the fact that you can look pretty terrifying during the first few days after FFS, especially if you are operated on around the eyes.
If you had taken a close of photo of me after my first FFS surgery (upper face only but including upper and lower blepharoplasty) I looked pretty bad too and could hardly see through the slits that were my eyes for 3 days. Julia from Madrid has just reported a similar experience with Chett in Bangkok.
1 day post op July 2011When my wife saw me on Skype her reaction was close to that of the little boy mentioned in the article. The fact is, some of us swell up a lot more than others (and age is probably an aggravating factor) and that has little to do with who is doing the surgery. The good news is that the worst of it is generally over with two or three weeks later and from what I have read elsewhere, it appears Kellie is now fine.
One other comment on what happened to Kellie. I believe taking Aspirin before major surgery is generally forbidden (it definitely was for my GRS) and in this case, if the usual procedure was followed, it as quite likely she was also given an anticoagulant shot the evening before the surgery. This is done so that patients don't have to interrupt their HRT. However, the anticoagulant does increase bruising and swelling compared to not using one.
Knowing this, when I did my second FFS surgery, with the surgeons permission, I did not take the anticoagulant. Coincidence or not, about ten days post-op I had a superficial thrombosis at the IV site on my left arm. It was not at all life threatening but it was very spectacular and did require a late night visit to a hospital emergency center.
The alternative would be to stop HRT two weeks before surgery and maintain the interruption for a couple of weeks afterwards but, most of the time, this is not at all necessary.
