20 hours after all the operations and I feel swell! But seriously, part of last night was pretty rough... I expected that and got through it. I feel great now although the meds are probably helping, just a few minor things here and there.
8am, changed into a hospital gown. And I was handed a... whoa those are hott lookin set of stockings. They really are anti-embolism stockings but look more like something I'd expect on stage in Paris or Milan. I want the matching skirt.
Pretty stylin' for hospital clothesIn the pre-op meeting I had met with Dr. Simon and Dr. Bellinga. Right before surgery started I met with Dr. Alcaide - hair transplant surgeon. He took measurements, snipped a teeny amount of hair to confirm the intended donor area has enough density (yes I can be dense at times), more measurements, then drew on my forehead where 1,500 transplanted follicles would fill those pesky triangles to form a feminine arc of hair.
Hair transplant line marked with a pen. And my last photo with brow bossing.Show time! 8:30am, wheeled into the operating room. Wheee! Said buenos días to Dr. Simon and to the anesthesiologist, a nurse jabbed something into my hand, anesthesiologist turned a dial and the remodel began. I apparently woke up at 10pm. No pain but lots o' drugs probably still in me. At that point the hair transplant started - I almost fell asleep during the transplant procedure which ended well after midnight. No pain, all done. A refrigerated mask was applied to my face. That felt really good.
Cool! Literally.
Refrigeration unit for face maskWithin a few minutes a sharp pain developed in my eyes. And increasing pain. At 1:00am I tried looking at my phone and the simple motion of sitting up was a bit much... my eyes really hurt like needles in the back of them so I hit the call button. Nurse came in, and a doctor, they rinsed my eyes and applied an ointment - much better but still hurt to move my eyes. A pain med was added (morphine but I'm not sure) and the pain was gradually declining... so everyone left. And then I barfed. Not exactly what I had hoped to do. And then I remembered I almost puked from morphine after GCS surgery. The staff at Facialteam asked earlier if I had any known reactions to anesthesia or other drugs and I had forgotten to tell them. A very nice nurse cleaned me up and added an anti-nausea medicine to the drippy gizmo. The pain declined fast, tummy calmed down and I slept quite well until morning.
Others have complained about dealing with a blocked nose - packing inside nostrils to preserve shape for the first 24 hours - but I didn't think it was any worse than having a cold. I woke up a couple times, realized oh yeah gotta breathe through my mouth and fell back asleep.
In the morning my eyes were 80% better and are now almost completely pain-free. I haven't been handed any pills yet and no needle-stabs other than the pre-op meeting (blood clot thinner) and intravenous pain meds after I complained about my eyes. Other than my eyes (especially the left eye), the only other real pain was my right ankle which I sprained in 1979. I don't understand that, but the ankle pain went away by mid-day. Or maybe that was from goin' out in London right before heading to Marbella - danced until club closed at 3am.
I was offered a milkshake or fruit shake in the morning - I had the fruit shake. Lunch was solid food, I was surprised that soon after having my jaw rearranged but it was fine. I can feel everything in my mouth and jaw, no loss of sensation. I am also surprised how brushing teeth is painless so soon after having my jaw cut apart.
Nurse removed the catheter, doctor removed packing from nose, and I was shown how to clean it with a saline solution. You must not blow your nose for a half month after having your forehead removed and reinstalled. I also have a spray bottle of water for the hair transplant area - once per hour to keep it from getting itchy. The doctor also removed a looong thin drain tube from my skull which collected fluid from sinus area, up and over and exited near the left ear. He said it might feel weird but I could barely feel anything, maybe I'm a numbskull. I told him my ear makes a handy gutter for the drain.
Megan dropped by today - we had a great talk. Right after surgery, Megan relayed information from the FacialTeam coordinator to
Beth and
Saha, and to my parents.
Look what showed up in my room! I am speechless (and my voice does work)After lunch a specialist came in and gave me a facial massage - it felt great! I was afraid this might be deep-tissue and hurt, but the goal is to get the fluids flowing right under the skin. His touch was very light and relaxing. A couple hours later a staff psychologist introduced herself - she is available to all patients post-op to answer questions, and holds weekly group meetings at the Aldea surgery recovery center. Tomorrow I am having acupuncture (never tried that before) and an additional facial massage, check out of
HC Hospital (down the hall from FacialTeam) and go to
Aldea Health Resort which has a nurse in the building 24 hours.
So here's how I look 20 hours after getting my forehead removed and reinstalled, jaw reduced, nose, lip lift and reverse electrolysis (hair injection). The actual results won't be known for several months and up to a year but I am already very happy with the results - especially side profile. This is with swelling and bruising which will increase in the next few days.
Bruise on jaw is not from surgery - that's from playing violin, band gig last weekendOne nice side effect from this surgery is I've always had a bruise on my left jaw when I play the violin. The sharp corner in my jaw that developed when I was a teenager is now smooth.
