Like most of us, as the years went by Annette could see her face betraying her age instead of reflecting how she felt. At 66 years of age Annette had been seeing Dr Mark Edinburg for a few years for injectables, fillers and other non-surgical beauty treatments. However, it got to the point where Annette felt like she needed more. Annette shares her facelift story, about how she got there, what it feels like and what she thinks of the results. She looks amazing and I’m so happy to have had a chance to chat to Annette and share her story.
Starting with Injectables and Fillers
It was when Annette retired and had some spare time that she had her first consult with Dr Edinburg. “I had some spare time, so I thought it wouldn’t be so awkward and I wanted to just see what they’d suggest. I didn’t want a full face lift, just like a half one, around my chin and little things like that. I didn’t like the ‘windswept look’ – I just wanted to tighten things up. I also didn’t really like the thought of fillers because I didn’t want my face to look ‘round’ but Botox and fillers have improved so much in the last few years and after my consultation I decided to go down that path.” So Annette started with injectables and fillers and was happy with the results for a few years.
Annette had also been seeing Dr Edinburg for skin cancer removal so her trust in him and his team built up over time. One day she decided to bite the bullet and have another consultation. “I’ve always been a great believer in doing other stuff before the scalpel, but I knew unless I was going to put a whole lot of filler into my face nothing was going to change. My skin has a fine texture, so it just gets older looking and seemed to dehydrate a whole lot easier. I had been to Dr Edinburg for other things so he knew me and I knew him. He would see me coming and going, I knew his nurses.
“I had skin underneath my chin. It wasn’t that I had a double chin – I’m on the lean side – it was more the fact that I had two lines of skin. I just wanted lifting up around the cheek area and the like to stop the folding around the mouth. So, after my third consultation with Dr Edinburg I booked in for a lower face lift.”
Annette’s Lower Facelift surgery
Annette’s facelift surgery with Dr Edinburg was in the hospital where she stayed over night. “I didn’t let anyone know except my husband.”
Annette says she knew what to expect as everything had been explained to her by Dr Edinburg and his staff. “When Dr Edinburg took the bandages off the next day, I went home and it wasn’t too bad. I had a little bit of pain but it was more numb. It was nothing awful really. I wasn’t surprised as Dr Edinburg had explained the process and I knew there would be pain – it wasn’t going to be pain free, so you’ve just got to kind of wait. He told me I would have a numb feeling behind the ears and around the face and he said that would last about 12 months and he was right. There wasn’t everything out of the ordinary with my experience.”
Annette says she had to stay home for about a week after the procedure. “Dr Edinburg did say – and I did experience this on my left hand side – that there was a bit more of the skin ‘dying’ on that side. It bruised more than the other. And there was more scar tissue on the left side, but that has resolved itself because of where the stitches are. The left side definitely took longer to heal.”
Annette had the surgery on the Thursday and was out on the Friday but she was concerned about the colour of her face, so they checked her out on the Monday but everything was fine so she went home again. Annette says the only other thing that was a bit tricky was sleeping. “Sleeping was a bit of trouble, but it was about managing pain. Also, I’m a side sleeper so I had to sleep on my back.”
What Annette remembers the most was the numbness on the face and how long it took for it to go away. “It would feel funny when putting makeup on because you couldn’t feel your face – it was funny feeling on the side of the face. But, as time goes on you get used to it and then near the 12 months I thought “oh yeah that feels that more normal now”, because you do get accustomed to how things are”
Annette says her aftercare was great and she’s sure it made a huge difference. “I’d go and see the nurse, the office and staff were helpful, nothing was a worry. I healed exactly as they said I would. I was provided with a scar cream and I followed the instructions really well. I also had to wash my hair carefully – at first I was too scared to wash my hair. But I followed the protocol and everything was fine.”
Annette says having her lower facelift hasn’t made herself want any other procedures. “No, because I don’t want to fall into the trap of people forever chasing things. I do look after my skin though. I cleanse morning and night, and use actives C & B, plenty of serum and moisturiser – I use a lot of Dr Aspect products.”
We think you’ll agree that Annette’s results are stunning and her before and after photos speak for themselves.
If you’d like more information on Dr Mark Edinburg from the Eden Institute in Sydney phone (02) 8814 5800.