FACELIFT POST-OP: 10-11 Weeks Later
Nearly eleven weeks have passed since my lower face/neck lift with fat transfer and meso-mix.
Improvements continue, but are still very slow. Most of my left ear feels constantly numb, and the skin from my temples to my neck still has very little sensation. The area in front of my right ear from temple to earlobe has a “pins and needles” sensation when touched. The skin behind both ears is extremely sensitive and delicate. The area behind the left ear is still raw. There are still small “bumps and lumps” in my hairline, and I suspect these will eventually fade away, and probably result from the staples placed in my skin during the surgery.
On the positive side, I do love my “new” neck and jawline. It seems the “forgotten stitches” I worried about were tiny new hairs growing out of the scars in my hairline (whew!) The fat transfer to my cheeks still causes an extreme tingling sensation and the skin on my cheekbones feels tight/tingly when I smile, but this is slowly improving. The tiny white “nodules” in last week’s pictures were dead skin. I am trying my best to wash the area around my ears, but the numbness still scares me. How can I scrub something I can’t feel? It’s a sensory challenge. I still intend to buy a super soft washcloth, and will get to that this week!
I’m happy to note that a good foundation, applied with a makeup brush (I like Lancome’s #1 brush) truly conceals the scars in front of my ears, and the red, tender skin behind my ears. I still don’t wear my hair pulled back very far, but am feeling more confident about my appearance. A couple helpful tips: 1. Buy a second mirror so you can check your work; the scars can tricky to cover. 2. Apply a gel makeup base like Lancome’s Pro-Base Makeup Primer to provide a foundation that will help glide makeup on.
Other good news: I’ve been able to return to almost all of my normal physical activities, but notice that by the end of the day I can no longer ignore the numbness around my ears, cheeks, temples and stiff, swollen neck muscles (from the area just below the back of the ear to about 1/3 down my neck). I’m not sure if it gets worse during the day, or if I am just better at tolerating the numbness until I’m tired out from a long day of activities.
I have to keep reminding myself that I haven’t yet hit the “magic” three-month mark, when most residual swelling should be gone. Some accredited surgeons’ websites note that some patients experience swelling for up to a year, and I’m beginning to worry that I am one of those people. Ugh.
Most sites I’ve visited report that final results of the surgery will be apparent at the six month mark.
So, I’m adjusting my expectations.
Based on my current week-to-week progress, I’m estimating that the tingling sensations will most likely completely fade by the six-month mark. I’m not sure about the tenderness behind my ears and tiny lumps in my hairline, but expect the swelling to finally be gone as well.
I still haven’t had my hair cut or colored, and am wondering if I should just let it go and let the “sparkle” of silver hairs become my new highlights. After all, I turned 58 last week. Maybe silver is the new gold standard for hair. I don’t know. I love my light brown/highlights look, but I do NOT want to go to a salon. I’m embarrassed about my still bald scar lines running 2” into my hairline both below and above my ears. I’m embarrassed about the scars running over and in front of my ears. I also am a big chicken and worry the chemicals used in processing will hurt or be dangerous to the tender skin. I guess I’ll do a bit of research on that, and let you know what I find.
Looking forward to that three-month date. I’ll keep you posted.
RELATED LINKS: WEEKS 1 AND 2, WEEK 3, WEEK 4, ONE MONTH FOLLOW UP, WEEK 7, WEEK 8 , 2 MONTHS, WEEKS 10-11, WEEK 12, 3 MONTHS, WEEK 14