Well, finally back home again and yesterday was very long and physically draining but once back in my car all was well with the world, or at least my little slice of it... I really was impressed with the overall LA/BH experience from a people and vibe perspective. I hadn't been there in about 14 years and really enjoyed it immensely. Now LAX is a whole 'nother thing...

I am posting this as a new thread rather than simply glomming it onto another's.

Chin swelling is greatly reduced and I am already super pleased with the result which the even at just 1 week post op, Dr. Mayer did a fine job of reducing, recontouring and bringing the overall projection not just a tad but a significant amount...

As I am older, I also had a deep face lift/neck lift/ that also addressed nasal and mouth fold lines and have been told to turn my shoulders and head as a unit for a while. The area under my ear lobes remains tender to the touch but 0 pain. I am very pleased with the result.

My Rhinoplasty corrected my #2 biggest complaint (after my chin) is pleasing to my eye and I look forward to seeing it resolve into its final form, along with all the other work as well as a whole complete look.     

The bony orbital reduction is nothing short of remarkably excellent in its natural appearance, I guess I was very lucky in that respect. I didn't think he would be able to totally remove it but it is gone. The hairline lowering/eyebrow & forehead lift obviated the need for blephroplasty. Do keep that in mind if you need forehead work and hairline lowering. Every other consult said it was needed when it is going to to some degree at least a benefit of the eye and forhead lift and hairline lowering. Do think about that.

Swelling on my lips from lip lift and lip fat augment is coming down but still noticeable. Pain levels were pretty much of a non issue save for a couple of the staples on removal. 1 hydrocodone and a shot of demerol due to a sand in the eyes feel at Serenity and another at the hotel the first night back from Serenity and that was it.

I spent 1 night at Serenity and I have to say everyone there was most caring and I learned a couple amazingly consciousness raising life lessons on humility. Thank you to the staff there.

Washing out my hair after finally getting rid of the bandaging actually wasn't all that bad. Try soaking/rinsing it in the shower for a little bit (warm water only!) and come back and rinse and repeat a couple times. Then using conditioner first then followed but 2 very gentle baby shampoo washings and a final conditioning did the trick.

I had a lower eye chem peel and sport a 2 toned look as the old skin sloughs off. Did not need a cap for the flights home as the Hairline lowering/forehead lift scar was pretty well hidden in and by my hair. I did get some polysporin on a few strands of hair on either side of my face as I was doing the final push to get to the airport and had a not so good hair day.

Again, everyone in the office was extremely pleasant and professional. I was told to call Dr Mayer in a month or anytime I have any questions. His parting wisdom was that he had done his part and now I needed to step up and take care of his work. I am following the written (many pages, 1 for each procedure) to the letter and am going to be much more sun conscious of my skin going forward.

While retired for about 8 years now due to a 1 in a million action of a careless high school kid on a bus (hit me in the head with a D cell battery while My partner and I were walking, closed depressed skull fracture, career over in a second) and have back, neck and knee issues I am able to cycle to help keep the rest of the machine in order. I will have to forgo riding with the exception of my indoor training unit for a spell.

Oh, yes total weight lost as this morning 5#. DO bring some laxative (I used psyllium powder but forgot the colace or the like) to keep things moving as anesthesia and for me, the hydrocodone really can get one constipated.

While I am still one of the "new kid's on the block" here, I would like to sincerely thank those that took the time to post about their experiences. It was of GREAT help in selecting a FFS surgeon and for those considering procedures my advise is to do your own proactive searches here and on other places and don't believe all you hear.

Look for the photo chronologies of the before after and healing progress pix, not just before and after of some Doctors "trophy" examples. Look for lots of facial shapes and profiles and not just something perhaps similar to your own, to help assess the appropriateness of any given Dr.

I had 1 other face to face and several email interviews with prospective surgeons and the range of procedures recommended were WILDLY diverse. I transitioned and had SRS quite some time ago and my features were n't that big of an issue. I am tall being a smidge under 6' but as you age your features can tend to gain some gradual morphing and displaying some previously un wanted characteristics.

I understand the additional profit margins by getting the whole enchilada but take note when a Doctor says you don't need something, especially the "frills" high profit easy to perform items. They are looking more at the result than the bottom line. I find that kind of honesty most admirable.

I am not advocating making it all about the numbers though everyone loves to save, but you are paying for something in FFS that you will live with for the rest of your life and better to research now than regret or need a revision later.

Some will say they are the best and you simply MUST go to them or you will have a substandard result and not be happy in the end. Take in the data and turn up the BS filter and compare by research and results. You will be taking a bigger role in your FFS transitions rather than just asking 1 question like "who is the best" and  then plunking down the Benjamins. I had 2 responses that were plainly off the mark bordering on pimping for their services, while the price point was a good deal less being out of the US was not my preference. 

Be safe and thank you again to those that have taken the time to post their chronologies of experience.

Elaine S

hlad everything went well Elaine and that you are satisfied with the results.

cant wait to see some pics before and after

Congrats Elaine!  I hope you share with us your photos.

x

Liara, shedevilcanada and others.

Thank you for the well wishes. I will post some B&A pix when I am permitted. I think that there is a certain amount of posts needed. But I do want to pass them on and return the favor others have done here, perhaps helping others in their decision process.

As there were several procedures, thus several time constraints until return to "normal" activities. I am defaulting to the most strict to heal properly.

Swelling has really is much less and the duck lip look is on its way out. Still a little while off for full effect but this morning was very noticeably less. 

It is wonderful to be getting really good sleep since getting home. I actually fell full on, snoring asleep on the sofa as my partner was picking a few stray hairs last night. Kind of funny...

My sinuses are clearing up and less stuffy by half. The left side a little better than the right. Post op directions caution against blowing one's nose so I have just been letting things take their course.

Do remember to have some post-op (perhaps pre-op too) plan to deal with constipation. I didn't take but 3 pain pills and a few Valium (a normal thing the V for me with a bad back) and finally am getting things back to some semblance of order.

The numbness on top of my head is much diminished today. There is a good deal of numbness from nearly the top of my ears to the jaw line from the face lift procedure.

I am going for a little stroll in a few minutes but will keep it low key and rather short. My return cycling is probably 1 1/2 weeks off and that will be with my bike in a training fixture starting out just rolling at a slower pace and lower gearing/load a bit as caution was urged in avoiding increasing BP for a while.

Do have a fine day ladies and will post more soon.
Elaine S

WTG on your surgery Elaine. I am strongly considering Dr. Mayer to revise a past rhinoplasty from my FFS surgery. My nose really got messed up. I think Dr, Mayer is supposed to be very good at performing rhinoplasties.

Quote from: AngieFerg on November 23, 2014, 05:50:26 PM
WTG on your surgery Elaine. I am strongly considering Dr. Mayer to revise a past rhinoplasty from my FFS surgery. My nose really got messed up. I think Dr, Mayer is supposed to be very good at performing rhinoplasties.

He claims 63% of his Rhinoplastys are revisions of other doctor's work.

AngieFerg:

Thank you for the sentiment. I do appreciate it.

As a new poster here, I didn't expect much in the line of conversation, I just wanted to report on my experience from the first week of November.Thanks to the ladies that took a moment to comment and wish me well. I do mean those thanks sincerely.

Don't sell him short on bony orbital contour and chin reductions. I am way more satisfied than I expected on both of those. Way more. When Dr. Mayer was making magic marker sketches just before surgery, he said "this will be flat" indicating my brow bone line and then he said "we will pull in your chin, shorten both projection and height". It was great to hear, but seeing his work is so far exceeded my expectations and went into the realm of fulfilling hopes.

Today is 3 weeks exactly post op and save for 1 very small bruised area (small and not dark) on my left cheek I am bruise free. Swelling is minimal and I know things will reduce further, but where I am at today is better than I hoped for after months have passed. Following orders to stay out of the sun for a couple more weeks (due to lower eye area peel).

i have been taking pix about every 12 hours for a timeline essay sort of thing. Flipping through the pix starting approximately 24 after surgery is a study, to me anyway, of the bodies magical healing powers. I mentioned to the Dr as an aside that I am a "superhealer" as I do not bruise easily and cuts heal with amazing rapidity even though I am likely much older than most here. I am amazed for me anyway to be in such good shape. As of today I am down 10# from leaving for LA from Fl on the 2nd of this month. Nice bonus...

To me, Dr. Mayer was such a stand up guy, he looked at my cheekbones and said "you do not  need implants" (I arrived at his office $ in pocket, expecting to have that done so it was nice to beat the estimate considerably). Funny how several others INSISTED I needed that and I was in need of the type 3 fore head remodeling job and this and that.

I am impressed by his geniality. His candor and how he was looking at the result more than the bottom line impressed. Yes it is a business but the characteristics I have mentioned are keys to successful business, be it med/surg related, aviation, dining, etc. The same compliments to EVERYONE that I had the pleasure to interact with at BHI. Thank you to all there if you are reading this. You would likely remember me by the timeline.

I suppose that I sound like a cheerleader for him but I recognize fair, compassionate treatment in concert with an excellent skill set and want to give credit when it is due. Word of mouth advertising is the most expensive advertising one can get as one MUST consistently satisfy patients over a decent interval of time, not just hitting the occasional home run.

BTW, I learned of Dr. Mayer here on this forum and then did my research on several Dr's. So thanks to several other patients of Dr. Mayer here on recommendations and outcomes.

Be safe
Elaine S





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Thanks for sharing elaine. Dr mayer is also on my radar. Would love to see some before and after pics!

Well, that's all great to hear since I'm due with him on March 3rd and fear the whole ordeal with so much anxiety that I've already had many restless nights over it. Thank you for sharing.

TerriT:

Relax. You will be in very good hands literally. Your pix looks quite nice and regarding seeing it as an ordeal, perhaps try to revise that thought to it being an adventure. For me the worst part was not pain (I had 1 shot in aftercare and a total of 3 hydrocodone since 4.Nov.14), but with having the head swaddling on for so long.You will likely not have it on as long as I did.

Pain (outside of my eyes feeling grittywhich hurt like the dickin's till rinsed a couple times by the TLC of the kind souls at Serenity) was NEVER over a 3. I have a bad back in 2 places and neck and on a daily basis they vary between 4-6 and occasionally more. You will likely not have it on as long as I did.

I was anxious but perhaps in a different way than you are expressing. I was anxious to get it over with not with worries over the surgeries it self. I may well have some body sculpting Lipo done for some really hard to lose lard. I am not considering anywhere else as I found a group of people that were so helpful and kind to me. I really found the whole experience from start to walking to the cab for the flight home to be an enlightening, consciousness raising and personal growth adventure.

I am a better person for the experience and not just in the esthetic manner most focus on, I LEARNED a lot about myself and my personal issues in very unexpected ways from several people I wish I could see again someday to give a hug and heartfelt thank you to. I had not even thought about this before going but it does feel marvelous to discover my ability to still be able to learn and grow at my age.

I wish you the best and from a patient that has been there, try your best to RELAX. I am certain you will be very pleased with your results.

michelle82:

I am still debating posting pix and may do some before, during recovery in LA and back home here in Fl. I am very private by nature but also wish to help as those before me have. After all as I mentioned before, I learned of Dr. Mayer from here on Susans.org. From there I researched him and several others. One practice was consulted was just to see what they would recommend about a week before my scheduled surgery. They recommended a MASSIVE amount of work and of course claimed i would never be able to have a satisfactory without a type 3 fore head surgery. They couldn't have been more wrong! Yes, some may need and or desire that procedure, I suspect more than a few would be very well served by considering a more "conservative" approach.

To me my bony orbital contouring was well beyond my best hopes as was my chin contouring and reduction. I would definitely not call it conservative at all. After reading about his work elsewhere I gauged my expectations to what I had read. Those areas are simply a non issue anymore. Amazing to me anyway.

Be safe
Elaine S

P.S. - Today is 5 weeks post op...