One Patient’s Facelift Experience

One Woman's Face Lift Story

One Woman’s Face Lift Story

One of my patients graciously shared her face lift surgery experience with us. It is important to know that there are many kinds of facial procedures available, and even many kinds of face lifts. There are full, mid face, and lower face lifts. There is even a neck lift, which can be done separate or in concert with a face lift. Any of those can be combined with eye lid surgery or a brow lift—or not. The right combination of procedures for you will depend on your needs and your specific goals. It is important to find a board certified plastic surgeon who will listen to you and create a plan that fits your needs. Facial surgery is not a one size fits all proposition. Thank you Christine for sharing you journey with us:

Her Story

I had thought about having my double chin sucked out with liposuction for a long time. My Dad had a double chin and I think I must have inherited it from him. But it’s not all about genetics. I gained far too much weight with the birth of each of my ten children. Even though I always seemed to lose my baby weight, my neck continued to grow. With age it got worse and worse. This was not a diet and exercise issue.

I had heard you should wait as long as possible to get facial surgery done. It turns back the clock, but it doesn’t stop the clock. At age 60 I couldn’t stand it any longer. So I started researching out a good plastic surgeon. After going to a few initial consultation visits with other surgeons, I zeroed in on Dr. Petersen’s office.

I really felt good about Dr. Petersen. I felt he was concerned with understanding my issues and not with trying to sell me more procedures to get my money. I felt like he thought of me as a medical patient and was concerned for my welfare. He wasn’t trying to sell me on how great he was going to make me look. He wasn’t about the vanity of it all and so he didn’t make me feel vain. Dr. Petersen just knew what I wanted and knew how to get me there.

So I had the surgery, which included a lower face lift as well as liposuction of my neck. I was so excited to finally be able to lay back and tuck my face down and not have it sink into my neck. My neck wasn’t swallowing my chin anymore. You could see my jaw line again!

The surgery went really well. The hardest part of the whole procedure was hiding out for two weeks. They call it social down time—when you are feeling okay, but you don’t really want anyone to see you yet. I decided there was no such thing as hiding out for two full weeks as hard as you try. Not being able to exercise for a while was difficult too. But I could walk so that helped.

I was so very pleased with the outcome. Dr. Petersen was so careful and concerned. With each of my office visits he covered all his bases and made things go as smoothly as possible. He wanted to make sure I understood every step of the process. I loved how caring he was and I felt like he really valued me as a person and wanted the best for me.

It has been 9 months and all is well. I had some numbness after surgery, but all has gone away. Of course I love my new look. People tell me all the time how young I look.

I feel good about myself, and I am really glad I had it done. My double chin is gone. My saggy face is gone. Before the surgery I felt self-conscious. Now I feel younger and more confident. I am perfectly pleased and so glad I took the plunge.