I'm finally here! I am so ready. I go under at 6:30 tomorrow.
Hugs
Jen
You go girl my thoughts and prayers are with you. Patty
I am so happy and excited for you Jen . Our thoughts are with you to get the results you wish for .
Wishing you all the best Jen and don't worry, the worst bit is what you are going through right now, the apprehension before the surgery. Afterwards, apart from swelling and bruising which can be very uncomfortable for a few days, recovery is generally pretty quick and painless.
Hugs
Donna
Best of luck Jen
Mandy x
Good luck!
I hope your recovery is going well. Can't wait to see the results.
-Janet
Well, 11 hours later, he finished. Now, just icing everything. Three weeks and I'll post before and after.
Hugs
Jen
Just about there! It must be very exciting for you - good luck with the healing Jen (sounds like the first couple of days are the hardest) and I'm looking forward to the before and after pics! Hugs.
Rest up Jen! :) Keep up on those meds, and I'm sure you'll be following those post op instructions to the tee- that will do a ton of good for ya!
I am so very excited to see your results at three weeks. You're gonna look amazing!
Drink as much water as you can and heal up soon :D
Quote from: JLT1 on May 04, 2014, 03:46:01 AM
Well, 11 hours later, he finished. Now, just icing everything. Three weeks and I'll post before and after.
Hugs
Jen
Have a speedy recovery Jen
Finally got out of the pressure bandage. I have got to figure out how to post pictures. Similar to avatar, lips bigger, neck way better, nose smaller.
Quote from: JLT1 on May 04, 2014, 08:37:34 PM
Finally got out of the pressure bandage. I have got to figure out how to post pictures. Similar to avatar, lips bigger, neck way better, nose smaller.
hey Jen , to post a picture open a reply box and at the top there is a little icon that says insert picture, I think that's how you do it
I just use imgur.com and copy paste the "bb code" in the reply. Unfortunately Susan's doesn't have an image attachment upload feature enabled.. I'm guessing that would just eat up a ton of bandwidth
So excited to see it! Considering that initially you wanted to wait 3 weeks and you are wanting to post sooner, I'm guessing you are overly happy with the results already? :D
Quote from: Jennygirl on May 05, 2014, 05:22:39 AM
I just use imgur.com and copy paste the "bb code" in the reply. Unfortunately Susan's doesn't have an image attachment upload feature enabled.. I'm guessing that would just eat up a ton of bandwidth
So excited to see it! Considering that initially you wanted to wait 3 weeks and you are wanting to post sooner, I'm guessing you are overly happy with the results already? :D
Thanks Jennygirl, I wasn't sure if the site had the capability to upload a picture directly. Thanks for letting us know how to do it
What Dr Zukowski did:
1. Feminizing endoscopic biplaner browlift with 3-dimensional frontal bone contouring including the orbital rim, frontal sinus and temporal lines of fusion with disruption of central depressor muscles and forehead height reduction with 1 inch scalp advancement and fat grafting to fill the temporal soft tissue hollowing (previous broken left orbital rim leading to asymmetry)
2. Upper and lower eyelid blepharoplasty
3. Feminizing rhinoplasty and septoplasty (previous broken nose X4)
4. Medpor cheek implants thru an intraoral approach with medical grade titanium screw fixation -- fat grafting to fill the soft tissue (Previous broken cheek bone)
5. Full mid and lower face, neck and jaw skin facelift using corset platysmal muscle plication and internal suspension to create a feminine neck concavity
6. Endoscopic assisted 3-dimensional chin bone contouring with chin soft tissue reshaping and a tracheal shave (Needed as jaw broken X3)
7. Endoscopic assisted 3-dimensional jaw body and jaw angle bone contouring with masseter muscle reduction thru an intraoral incision (Very masculine jawline)
8. Vertical upper lip lift and length reduction
9. Fat grafting to the red of the lips, soft tissue of the cheeks and nasolabial fold creases.
I met with Dr Zukowski at 5:15 AM the morning of surgery in his operating suite. We went over everything one last time and by 5:45, the anesthesiologist started hooking me up. I fell asleep somewhere in there and didn't wake up until past 9:30 PM. Somewhere in there, was eleven hours of surgery plus the recovery time. A private nurse available from Dr Zukowski got me back to my hotel room around 3:00 AM and then sat with me for the next 24-hours, teaching both my wife and myself how to get through the recovery. The nurse was great and so worth the investment. This series of surgeries were terribly complex and intertwined. I had broken my jaw three times in the past and adaptations were required. I had broken my nose four times. They finally gave up and snapped it for number five and making it look beautiful in the process.
It's now been a blur of pain, frustrations, and a lot of seeping blood from a lot of sutures. But, as of right now, every last one of them will be hidden, I've not had a major problem and I'm healing both quickly and well. But, there is still so much to do: ½ hour face messages three times per day, lots of cleaning with Q-tips, lots of bandage changes. I am having problems eating enough or even simply swallowing but will make that part OK. The pain hasn't been that bad.
I came to Dr Z for a reason. He actually would attempt a surgery of this complexity and I knew he could do it. There has been some frustration prior to getting here but once I got here, Dr Z has been the most attentive and helpful surgeon I have ever had (I've had 11 prior surgeries so I actually have a reference.) I cannot speak enough of the respect I have for the man now that I have gotten to know him. Put up with the salesman to get the quality surgeon.
I'll post pictures that Dr Z is taking Thursday afternoon.
I told some folks about how much everyone here liked my pink bandages or the bright yellow one, or the green ones etc. If anyone from Susan's goes to Dr Z and wants some custom color bandages, PM me and I'll send the bandages to Dr Z for your use. This is a gift from my employer for what Dr Z has done for me.
It's been a hard Transition. But thanks to many here, I actually may make it!
Hugs,
Jen
Glad to hear things are going well and cannot wait to see the results!
Heal up and take it easy Jen :D
Congrats on the surgery! Hope you are healing well. I'll be particularly interested in how you feel about the results of the jaw contouring. I just consulted with Dr Z the other day and am more than likely going to go to him for that in August. Wishing you a fast recovery!
Quote from: baum7934 on May 09, 2014, 05:27:55 PM
Congrats on the surgery! Hope you are healing well. I'll be particularly interested in how you feel about the results of the jaw contouring. I just consulted with Dr Z the other day and am more than likely going to go to him for that in August. Wishing you a fast recovery!
Hey!
I'm going to post some pictures because it really does look great. However, there is a LOT of swelling as I had just about everything done at once. I will keep everyone in the loop.
Hugs,
Jen
Well, here are two pictures: The first is me, dressed, with no modification. The second is me 4 days post FFS with Dr Z. I'm still really swollen but the changes are incredible. No makeup and hair is wet. It will be 6 weeks or so even for me before the swelling is essentially gone.
Let me know what you think..
Hugs,
Jen
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FROMReC8.jpg&hash=a9041ccd3f053eca10ec7c381f7fe14dbc54bbf8) (http://imgur.com/ROMReC8)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fey6tGdh.jpg&hash=f4aa68bf5cb58ded5bac53ec04ac804fe7af5d0b) (http://imgur.com/ey6tGdh)
Jen
You can see significant change I can see why you are so excited It takes a while for the swelling to go down but you will get a great result When Dr Z worked on me I felt like I was hit by a bus and felt extremely claustrophobic afterwards .. you just seemed to have sailed on through He should sign up both you and Enigmatic Fluff immediately - jut shows what a skilled FFS surgeon can achieve. Quite simply amazing
Aisla
Quote from: JLT1 on May 11, 2014, 12:03:49 AM
Let me know what you think..
Well, you
do look like you've been hit by a bus...but even so the changes look pretty damn awesome - great forehead and nose, looking forward to seeing you in full flight!
Quote from: JLT1 on May 11, 2014, 12:03:49 AM
Well, here are two pictures: The first is me, dressed, with no modification. The second is me 4 days post FFS with Dr Z. I'm still really swollen but the changes are incredible. No makeup and hair is wet. It will be 6 weeks or so even for me before the swelling is essentially gone.
Let me know what you think..
Hugs,
Jen
Welcome to the club Jen!
Based on my experience, I wouldn't dare voice an opinion at this stage as it's far too early after such heavy surgery. The worst will soon be behind you in terms of bruising and swelling but it will take a lot longer than 6 weeks for the results to settle. Four months is more realistic and you can expect to see your face continue to evolve for quite some time after that, especially nose and chin.
Anyway, wishing you a speedy recovery and much joy as your new face progressively emerges!
Donna
I as well am looking forward to your full flight! There are some really significant changes visible already.
Keep us updated on your progress- I bet the swelling will come down a LOT between now and the next week. But yes, as Donna said it's going to take some time for specific areas that tend to hold on to swelling a bit.
Really happy for you :D The hardest part is done and over!
This surgery was unlike all my others. It hit harder, just smashed my entire body. I'm still swelling. Dr Z really worked on me, on so many areas. He was thinking 6-12 weeks.
I have a full series of shots taken without makeup or wig the day before surgery. I'll match those in a couple weeks and post that. But I can match those in my mirror and am so excited because I can see where I am heading.
I'm also excited because I can finally post pictures! (Only took a year....yep, technical brilliance displayed).
Hugs!!
Jen
Congrats on a successful surgery. I am new here as I am due to have a surgery in July. I am trying to choose between Dr. S. and Dr. Z. for a chin reduction. I am totally unsure of which. I would love to here your opinion of your whole experience with Dr. Z. and how happy you are with the results.
Hope you are healing well.
Rhi