So after reviewing surgeons, seeing lots of before and after photos, and exchanging some PMs and emails with various people, I've settled on going to Dr. Lazaro Cardenas in Guadalajara, Mexico. I am currently scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, 4/21, surgery on Wednesday, 4/22, and return home on Friday, 5/1.
I pass at a distance and particularly with medium or longer hair piece (damned hair loss :P) but up close or a shorter wig and the reactions can be a bit different.
I'm currently not eager to show up close "before" photos but I do plan to show photos after surgery and as I heal.
I plan to use this thread to document the trip and perhaps to provide information to other prospective patients of Dr. Cardenas.
LizMarie, you mentioned TransOp, so I think you are probably staying at their recovery residence.
If so, please say "Hi" to Vicente and Tyler for me. They are wonderful. :)
BTW, if you have a choice and you're by yourself, the downstairs room on the right is nice...
ahh so exciting...im booked for july 2015 . cant wait to be a cardenas girl :)
hope your experience is everything u want
Congratulations! What procedures are you having? We'll miss seeing each other by a week; I'll be there from March 31st til April 10th for lipo & fat transfer with Dr. Cardenas.
Hi Eveline, thanks for the room suggestion :)
Thanks all!
Dr. Cardenas pretty much saw all the issues that I saw so the list is extensive.
He's planning:
Upper FFS Category:
Type III Forehead Bone Reconstruction - Includes Hairline Advancement and/or Eyebrow Lift if indicated for the patient.
Mid FFS Category:
Rhinoplasty - Applies to patients who have not had Rhinoplasty before.
Lower FFS Category:
Upper Lip Lift
Fat Infiltration to the Lips - Includes Fat Procurement.
Chin Contouring - Bone shaving method.
Jaw Contouring - Bone shaving method.
Discount - Chin Contouring, Reconstruction, or Ostectomy performed with Jaw Contouring or Reconstruction.
Tracheal Shave
It's extensive and it's what I expected and actually want, given what I know about FFS. I'll let him continue to advise me once I am on sight and he can do the in-person consultation.
LizMarie, I have a couple of suggestions for you, having had many of the same procedures:
* Your eyes may swell completely shut, so arrange things on your nightstand and in the room so that you can find the most important ones by touch.
* Dr. C will prescribe a number of post-op meds that must be taken at different intervals (4 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, etc.). If you can plan out the pill-taking schedule with Vicente in advance, it might help reduce your post-op stress, especially at 2 AM when you're groping around on the night table for the right box. ;)
* The hot water in the shower is "on demand" and can sometimes be quirky. I learned to turn on the hot water in the sink (at low volume) before showering, to ensure the on-demand heater saw enough water flow to keep heating.
* Vicente stocks the little fridge in the dining room with fruit smoothies. I lived on those until I could chew again. You can tell him what flavors you like. :)
Thank you, Eveline! That will be helpful, because I wear two hearing aids and without them even shouting at me doesn't work very well. :) So I do need to be able to find those and a few other things.
I'll keep that in mind. And fruit smoothies? Yum!
your going to be happy you went with him. many girls are happy with the results from him
Good luck with your upcoming FFS. Best wishes xx
I am very optimistic about Dr. Cardenas. In fourteen days I'll be in the operating room. In fact, by this time in the afternoon, I expect to be in recovery. :)
Well, tomorrow I fly! I'm excited and there's a little trepidation, not at the FFS work but at surgery generally. But I'll do what I've done before in my life, block it til they put me under, and when I wake up it will be over. I'll consult with Dr. Cardenas on Tuesday afternoon to finalize details and surgery is Wednesday.
Quote from: LizMarie on April 20, 2015, 10:27:05 AM
Well, tomorrow I fly! I'm excited and there's a little trepidation, not at the FFS work but at surgery generally. But I'll do what I've done before in my life, block it til they put me under, and when I wake up it will be over. I'll consult with Dr. Cardenas on Tuesday afternoon to finalize details and surgery is Wednesday.
Best wishes :)
Wish you the best - You are in good hands.
Say hi to Vicente and Tyler for me to from Theresa they are awesome hosts.
Best wishes.
Hi LizMarie,
Firstly I hope all goes well for you and the recovery is easy,
I sent photo's to Dr C last year and received a quote which was about what I expected from him. Last week I sent another e mail to Tyler with some questions but so far have not had a reply, Maybe you can answer a couple of my queries?
How far in advance does he need for scheduling surgery? What is the process for paying for it all? The other questions I'll wait on Tyler replying to me to get answers too. Does anyone know if he insists on you completing electro. Most of my work is juat skin tightening rather than reconstruction and that may make a difference.
I suppose my main stumbling block will be being 3 weeks post SRS and the time he wants me to wait between surgeries although they are at different ends.
I will be following your experience very closely seeing as Bernadette is reasonably insistent I get all my surgeries done and then I can get on with life ;D
Good luck again and hugs
Sorcha ;D
Dr. Cardenas has a US bank account to make wire transfer payments easier. There are other options but that's what I chose.
Tyler can take some time getting back. But once the ball gets rolling things seemed to generate responses quicker from me.
He did not require that I have electrolysis complete.
I first contacted Tyler on February 12th. His response on time frames:
QuoteRegarding dates, I have good news for you. If your dates are flexible, we could probably schedule you for surgery within the next 30 days. If you need a specific day of the week or date, planning 60-90 days ahead of time should accommodate most requests.
I'll post more once I know more, probably post-op. :)
Hope it goes well babe x
Quote from: LizMarie on April 20, 2015, 11:44:44 PM
Dr. Cardenas has a US bank account to make wire transfer payments easier. There are other options but that's what I chose.
Tyler can take some time getting back. But once the ball gets rolling things seemed to generate responses quicker from me.
He did not require that I have electrolysis complete.
I first contacted Tyler on February 12th. His response on time frames:
I'll post more once I know more, probably post-op. :)
Thank you and once again good luck ;D
Surgery yesterday. Back at the Recovery Residence today. No easy way to post a pic but I plan to take one each day til the swelling is gone.
Doing well. Haven't met Tyler yet at all. Vincente has been taking good care of me. Typing on phone so slow. Will post more later.
I wish you a speedy recovery!
wishing u a speedy recovery and success
Hey girly!
I hope all is well with you and that you're experiencing a speedy recovery! I was at the recovery house last week for a hair transplant procedure and had heard you were coming for FFS. :)
Day three after surgery. I feel decent but still look like a semi kissed me. Light therapy yesterday. Food and care here at the Recovery Residence is simply superb.
Glad recovery is going well :) I hope it continues that way and if I see a damaged semi anywhere I'll be sure to fix the driver too feel as swollen as you ;D
I got a new quote from Tyler after Dr Chett indicated he would do a couple of extra procedure on top of what Dr Cardenas suggested from my photo's The new procedures seem to mean I'd need 9 days there recovering instead of the 8 he originally suggested I'd need. How many days are you staying there? Then what are your travel plans for the return journey? Being in Australia and traveling economy as I will have to do I would be facing a 3 hour flight to Dallas and then a 16 hour flight to Sydney so I'm interested in how flying feels post FFS. I think an overnight stay in Dallas will be needed both ways as I'll still be dilating every day and would miss 3 each way if I don't break it up. It also means I can get some Cheez-its while in US which I've not had for 4 years and I love them ;D
Hugs
Sorcha ;D
I'm happy you are well and recovering. Looking forward to your updates. :)
I'm still at the Recovery Residence. My package was for a full ten days. I fly home on Friday and my last appointment at the hospital is on Thursday.
Today is the first day I don't feel constantly tired. Swelling and bruising continue to recede slowly. Today was the first day I didn't feel wiped just from my morning shower.
I'll post more when I get home Friday and am not fighting my phone's keyboard. :)
Good to see you're feeling better, I empathise with you over phone keyboards, Mine writes what it wants and I spend more time fighting the auto correct than anything.
Have a safe flight home and I await further updates
Hugs
Sorcha ;D
I'm home. The flight from Guadalajara wasn't bad, me living in Texas. Still bruised and swollen, just less so each day.
I promise to post more this weekend, but this girl is tired and hungry both. :)
Glad you're home safely :) You rest up and recover, We'll still be here in a few days when you're feeling better
Hugs
Sorcha ;D
Below is a link to a 6 picture photo album of some shots of the Recovery Residence. It's a large, very comfortable home. I had the room upstairs and at the end of the hallway. There are some areas I didn't photograph, including the other bedrooms, the enclosed garden area out back, or the large patio upstairs out back.
https://plus.google.com/photos/115212249974035447990/albums/6140290218877624193
Blanca is the housekeeper and always has meals prepared at the appointed times, and from what I could see, almost everything except desserts and beverages was home made. Even some beverages were made at the Residence as well. Desserts were bought at a nearby local bakery. It would vary from cookies to various local treats to donuts to cupcakes.
Breakfast was in the morning until I guess about noon though I never asked the specific cutoff time. I did have breakfast after 10pm a few days so take that as you will. If asked, Blanca would cook something for breakfast if you wished, like eggs. For myself, cereal with some milk (and letting the cereal get a bit soggy) was what I had each morning. There were 7 different breakfast cereals so you've got some choice there. There's always fresh fruit around if you want it as well as jellos and yogurts if so inclined.. You'll appreciate soft foods the first few days after FFS.
Afternoon meal was, as I recall, from 2-5pm. And then she'd make something for the evening meal. Each meal is taken from the buffet table. If you get there a little late, there's a very nice microwave in the kitchen. I never had to heat a plate more than a minute to get to an acceptable temperature. Blanca usually prepared a soup of some sort and an entree with 1-2 side dishes.
All post op drugs are included in the price of your stay. All transportation to or from the hospital and appointments is included in the price. Vicente (my driver) or Tyler will ensure you are where you need to be when you need to be there. I don't know what would happen if you needed a stronger pain killer but I simply was never in any bad pain that the pain killer I had couldn't address.
Here is what I looked like on Day 1 after surgery, after I'd been discharged from the hospital and was back at the Recovery Residence.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYbL7U1p.jpg&hash=c0ae6bbef8f8cf5ea55ad88cde827dce0e9ad528)
Below is a pre-op photo that I actually sent to Dr. Cardenas that shows brow, forehead, nose, and jawline issues. I'll post some after profile and frontal pics once the swelling is down and I look normal again. The procedures I had were outlined above in a prior post.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FsBAYzGs.jpg&hash=feb25e5cd6e1fecbdd873bcf6edc116ddd980f62)
Sorcha, flying wasn't a bother at all, aside from people staring a bit. Dr. Cardenas issues a letter to you that you will need to show to Mexican airport authorities. They take a dim view of visitors being assaulted in Guadalajara and you'll look like you've been in a bar fight but the letter clarifies all that. The actual flight I was comfortable the entire way.
As for flights, are there any from Sydney to Houston? Then the flight to Guadalajara is only two hours. And Houston ought to be an hour shorter than Dallas too. I'd check and see if you can find a Sydney to Houston to Guadalajara trip, then reverse for the trip home.
More photos to come once the bruising and swelling stop dominating my face (especially the lower face). :)
Hi,
You looked OK for day 1. I won't post mine - too much eek but the effect is the same. Nose, lip, eyes etc. I hope your recovery is going smoothly.
You have brought back very fond memories of my wee stay in Guadalajara last November. Vincente and Blanca are so sweet. Blanca's eggs are superb! Everything Transop say they will do was done.
Sorcha, GDL is a bit of a buggar to get to from Aussie. I travelled over Melbourne-LA and flew home via Dallas Fort Worth to Sydney. The choices are LA or Dallas. Either way, it is a long trip. I stayed a night in Dallas but I am not sure it was necessary. If I had a dilation routine to manage, it seems like a good idea.
I dropped all my frequent flyer points for the trip home (upgraded while I was over there) and flew home business class. The lie-flat bed was well worth it but you know that already. It was an overnight flight so it was a sleeper (if you can). I was a bit out of it for the trip home (understatement!) and was stared at a bit (including by immigration in Dallas and Sydney which was funny and no biggie) but nothing too obvious. I offered the US immigration man Dr Cardenas' letter but he didn't want it. Nobody else wanted to see it. The man in Sydney said it wasn't surprising the machine rejected me on entry. We then discussed the outrageous prices for cosmetic surgery in Australia! My nose was taped, my face was badly swollen and very bruised. But after all that, it is do'able.
Quote from: LizMarie on May 02, 2015, 02:12:55 PM
Sorcha, flying wasn't a bother at all, aside from people staring a bit. Dr. Cardenas issues a letter to you that you will need to show to Mexican airport authorities. They take a dim view of visitors being assaulted in Guadalajara and you'll look like you've been in a bar fight but the letter clarifies all that. The actual flight I was comfortable the entire way.
As for flights, are there any from Sydney to Houston? Then the flight to Guadalajara is only two hours. And Houston ought to be an hour shorter than Dallas too. I'd check and see if you can find a Sydney to Houston to Guadalajara trip, then reverse for the trip home.
Hi LizMarie ;D
Thanks for the info about your route :) Great news all is going well, I am sure the finished results will be marvelous ;D
As Emma pointed out getting ti Dr Cardenas isn't a simple matter from here. I could fly United to Houston via San Francisco but when you add lay overs to the deal it gets to be a mighty long trip. There is also a route via Santiago but again that's a mighty long time unless you break it up.
Quote from: EmmaD on May 02, 2015, 08:19:36 PM
Sorcha, GDL is a bit of a buggar to get to from Aussie. I travelled over Melbourne-LA and flew home via Dallas Fort Worth to Sydney. The choices are LA or Dallas. Either way, it is a long trip. I stayed a night in Dallas but I am not sure it was necessary. If I had a dilation routine to manage, it seems like a good idea.
I dropped all my frequent flyer points for the trip home (upgraded while I was over there) and flew home business class. The lie-flat bed was well worth it but you know that already. It was an overnight flight so it was a sleeper (if you can). I was a bit out of it for the trip home (understatement!) and was stared at a bit (including by immigration in Dallas and Sydney which was funny and no biggie) but nothing too obvious. I offered the US immigration man Dr Cardenas' letter but he didn't want it. Nobody else wanted to see it. The man in Sydney said it wasn't surprising the machine rejected me on entry. We then discussed the outrageous prices for cosmetic surgery in Australia! My nose was taped, my face was badly swollen and very bruised. But after all that, it is do'able.
Thanks Emma for this, I was going to ask about your routing, I was thinking to get the long leg out the way first by flying SYD to DFW and then overnight there before heading to GDL. The 15hrs 45 minute trip just to reach Dallas make it imperative that I dilate before flying on so a hotel would be my best option. The return I was thinking GDL to LAX and then again overnight for dilation and then fly home to Sydney. The shorter trans Pacific route will work better when I'm all bruised up and having flown on a Qantas A380 from London to Dubai last year I know where there is a seat with as much legroom as in Business Class :) Bernadette may feel sorry for me nearer the time and donate some points to upgrade me if I ask sweetly enough ;D ;D
I hadn't thought of the stares but had worried how uncomfortable I would be having had some forehead contouring and a nose job done as well as the other procedures he wants to do on my face. Hopefully he won't want or need to do anything to my sinus's or flying really would be a pain literally :)
Thank you both for the advice, I'll decide nearer the time what is happening.
Hugs
Sorcha ;D
Hey LizMarie. How is your recovery going? I hope you are happy with your results. :)
I promised these and forgot to provide them.
Here are two BEFORE photos:
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FJjrE5s7.jpg&hash=a3140bfe73ab8279146f5820353e50b14081a8cd)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FTzwRj2H.jpg&hash=3321320775d999e1009ab8c18534f79c32e6548c)
And here are two AFTER photos:
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUjl0hwv.jpg&hash=b27be566bdf4f00becbcce39e00ff757d1a93fb3)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FptVZjcN.jpg&hash=674794214144bfc55989ee883b6dfce1ffe35839)
I need to get some better "after" photos but the difference has been really dramatic to me. And people now comment how so very alike my daughter and I look, as well as how much I look like my mother (now deceased). To be compared favorably to two of the prettiest women in my family makes me feel good.
The last traces of "male" (which were never horribly bad for me anyway) are now completely gone.
Congratulations i am happy that recovery went so well!! You look very happy and very feminine C= ... Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
Here is a pic from today, sitting in rush hour traffic staring at the bumper in front of me not moving at all. :P
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FwSL9IhN.jpg&hash=77bfbd7f8983a9e219515587e890d2969f6f3767)
You're looking really good :)
Hope everything continues to go well :)
Hugs
Sorcha ;D
You look so incredibly pretty LizMarie! wow!