Body Beautiful: Summer
2000 :: Story
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Cosmetic
surgery can be a painless process if you do your homework and choose the
right surgeon, says Linda Briggs
Why does the
skin start to
collect around
the neck at
the age of 40?
Why does the
skin above the
eyes look as
if it's trying
to grow over
them? It was
while casting
around for
answers to
questions like
these that I
began to think
about the
possibility of
a
face-lift.
At 45 it
seemed the
ideal time to
explore the
possibilities.
When I asked
friends and
acquaintances
for advice, I
was met with
comments like
"You vain
thing ", "grow
old
gracefully"
and "Let
nature take
its course".
But they could
say what they
liked. I just
didn't want to
"grow old
gracefully" -
in fact I want
to grow old as
disgracefully
as I can!
Do your
homework
The
advertisements
in the women's
glossies
seemed a good
place to start
and I began
collecting
information
packs and
price lists. I
learned a lot
from these -
most
importantly
that it's not
easy to tell
the difference
between a good
clinic and a
bad one. So
what next? Out
came good old
Yellow Pages.
I rang several
clinics that
were local to
me just to see
how
professionally
they answered
the telephone
and if I got
good vibes
from them.
This method
narrowed it
down to one. I
was invited
for a
consultation
with the
surgery
adviser
who
spent an hour
explaining
everything I
needed to
know. I asked
what she
thought I
would benefit
from and she
suggested
upper and
lower eyelid
reduction. I
hadn't
thought about
my
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eyes at all I was just concerned with the sagging around the neck and
lower face and getting rid of the jowls. I took a step back and looked at the overall picture and decided, yes the eyes
definitely needed doing as well
The adviser explained that for a
lower
face and neck lift, I would end up with stitches at the front of my ears
and surgical staples above and behind my ears. She also went into great
detail about the procedure and the aftercare
During the facelift my
cheeks would be moved back to their original position. Then if I opted
to go ahead and have the eyes done, this would remove surplus skin from
the eyes and get rid of the big hoods that had appeared over the past few
years. I would be left with stitches in the upper and lower eyelids.
Armed
with this information, I decided to see three more cosmetic surgeons, to
see
if I trusted their judgment, liked them as a person and had faith in
their
ability to leave me with a lovely face.
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I
checked out the surgeons qualifications, the professional bodies they
belonged to, how long had they been carrying out cosmetic surgery and what
sort of techniques they used. And although
it's difficult to discover their success rates, before and after pictures
of previous patients give a good indication of their skill.
Make
a choice
It's often a good idea to consult your GP before you have
cosmetic surgery, although not all of them will agree with the principle. I
opted not to ask my GP for any advice because I knew there was nothing in
my medical history that would prevent a facelift, or make it a risky
business.
Feeling
more confident. I went ahead and booked three appointments to see
surgeons.
I discovered
there are two types of cosmetic surgeons; conservative and radical. The
conservative surgeon will only take away what he thinks will make you look
improved but natural, and, if
he thinks he has not removed enough, will do revised surgery afterwards. The
radical surgeon on the other hand, will make you resemble someone who has been
standing in a wind tunnel for a week.
The
first one said he could do the upper and lower eyes, but thought that
laser treatment would be the best thing for gelling rid of the wrinkles. He tried to persuade me that a face-lift would
take four hours, be major surgery and that my face would drop again very
soon afterwards. When I questioned him about putting the cheeks back, he
said that would be difficult. I crossed him off the list.
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The
second one was a smoothie, he had an assistant in the room who agreed with
everything he said and assured me he could do what I wanted When I questioned him about aftercare and what would
happen if I got an infection or the stitches came undone in the night, or
he just got it wrong, he was very dismissive. I crossed him off the
list.
The
final surgeon greeted me in what looked like a pair of blue pyjamas. He
looked at me over the top of his glasses. 'Tell me what you don't like
about your face' he said.
I pointed out the hoods over my eyes,
the bags under them, the jowls, the sagging neck and the wrinkles, oh,.
and then there's the two moles. Going on what the others had said,
this was a major renovation job. He wrote meticulous notes on his form
and said, 'yes. that's not a problem'.
I had been told that he had
been a cosmetic surgeon for over 20 years. With that combination of
experience and clear attention to detail. I was convinced this was my
man.
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Surgery
can be a positive experience, but make sure you do lots of research before
taking the plunge.
Local or general?
The next hurdle
was the money. I had saved up for ages for my treatment, and
then spent it on something else that seemed more important at the time. Should I wait and save up again, or get a
loan? One look in the mirror
made that decision for me - visit the bank . £4,800 was sent to
my bank account straight away and I booked up. I was getting a three
for two offer, have the face and neck, and upper and lower eyes done -
and get the moles thrown in for free.
I opted for general
anaesthetic as I can't stand any pain at all, though all my procedures
could have been carried out under local anaesthetic.
If local
anaesthetic is your preferred choice, there's still the pain of the injections that
are administered in front of the ears and around the eyes.
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At
the start of my two-night stay in the clinic, everything was explained to
me in great detail. When I was admitted to the ward, the
nail varnish had to come off and I was asked to shower twice before
the surgery; once at night and then again in the morning.
The chef came next with his a la carte menu to see what I would
like to eat. I was allowed to eat that night but not the next day
until after the surgery.
The new me
I was very
happy with my result but it did take a while to get used to the
reflection in the mirror. My mouth was no longer drooping at the
corners. My eyes now had sockets I could put eyeshadow on again and I
no longer had that bloodhound look around the cheeks. Not to mention
the turkey neck that had disappeared.
My surgery was definitely an investment
and helped me reinvent myself at the age of 45.
There are risks
involved in any surgery. Infections are carried in the air and anyone
can get them through no fault of the surgical team.
Being a
smoker can make a big difference to how surgery will look afterwards and
how you heal. My advice to any smoker is, cosmetic surgery and smoking
don't mix.
But for everyone else, having cosmetic surgery can be a positive, life changing experience . Just remember to do plenty of research
before you take the plunge.
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