Finally, after a couple of false starts, I got the job done and I'm home recovering from 'liposuction and facial contour reconstruction'.

Due to the damage from the reconstruction of my jaw in 2008, the length of my face had been shortened by nearly an inch, it was lopsided and crooked. I didn;t have a chin any more and my lower lip and lower face had been pulled down. With so many surgeries due to the damage from radiotherapy, I have hardly any muscle around my neck, throat and under the chin area. My skin had been pulled so tight around that area there was no room for it to stretch, so unfortunately a chin implant was not possible.

This week I had liposuction from my jowls and stomach, and also surgery to pull skin from my jaw line and lengthen my face. The fat has been injected back to contour my lower face and loosen the flap under my 'chin' (which is an extension of my tongue flap/floor of my mouth)

The surgeon was pleased with the results, and thankfully there was no damage to nerves on either side of my mouth.

Looking beyond the swelling and bandages, I can definitely see and feel a small improvement. Those of us who have had our facial appearance damaged by this dreaded disease are grateful for any improvement, no matter how small.

The swelling will take several weeks to go down. Hopefully at my appointment with the surgeon next week the stitches will be removed.

I'll update next week.

Karen

I am so happy for you Karen and pleased to read how �up� you are with this post.
It always amazes me what can be done and I know you have been waiting a long time to get this sorted. Hope the healing goes quickly and that you are happy with the results and the new you.
If you lived closer I would have been there to help you celebrate.
Love
Gabriele

Karen, I am so happy for you! Your procedure sounds interesting in that they used your own fat. Very clever. And those Plastic surgeons really are amazing in what they can do to improve appearance. Are you in any pain? Clark is having his next surgery to re-contour his jawline on the 13th of December. His flap will be debulked in day surgery. No staying overnight. He is really looking forward to having a normal face again.

Rest up and I'll be looking for your next post. Take care!

Anita

Thanks Gabriele and Anita.

No, I'm not in any pain. The areas where they did the liposuction is tender, but besides that, everything is ok. They sent me home with more pain killers, just in case. The antibiotic medicine I'm taking tastes horrible. Due to the damage from the radiotherapy and surgery I'm unable to swallow capsules anymore, I nearly choke on them, so they mixed me up some medicine. Thankfully, I only have to take it for 4 more days. For over 3 years I used the PEG for medication.

I stayed in hospital overnight. The surgeon visited me the night of the surgery, and the following morning. She was happy with the result, so that was a huge relief. Moving the fat from one area to another is called 'fat transfer'.

I think of everyone often, and I hope Clark is managing ok.

Bye for now

Karen

From one aussie and OCF member to another - a big get well bear hug. Hope your recover well and quickly!

Minh

Kare,

You Go Girl!!!

YEA Karen Rose!!!!!!!!!!

I completely understand what you are going thru. Im so excited for you that your face and jawline is better than it was. Im so happy you posted this, this made my day!!!! I will be having a small lipo done on my neck/jawline area in a couple months. My plastic surgeon said it is very minor, nothing at all as intensive as what Ive already been thru. Im happy to hear it is relatively easy to do and that you are doing well already. Best of luck to you with the final results.

This is a surgery I've thought of many times...always been told that I need to wait a little longer. I'm glad you posted this Karen!

Karen, do you know what your doc was going to use for the chin implant? My doc is going to just lipo my neck/jaw area. He isnt going to be moving the removed fat to another spot. If you are able to already see a small improvement, in a week you will notice it even more. I still have a few stitches from my Oct 4th surgery cuz my face felt very tight and like it was pulling. Please dont rush on getting the stitches out too quickly. How many stitches do you have?



Eric, I had to wait for a year after my initial operation for reconstruction. Now my doc told me to tweek what he did, I should wait for 6 months. By that time, all the swelling will be gone and tiny blood vessels will have grown and be intact. My doc is extra careful with me cuz of the very first free flap surgery failing. How long ago was your reconstruction surgery?

Anita, best of luck to Clark with his upcoming surgery. Im surprised that he doesnt have to stay overnight even just for observation. Hope it turns out exactly like he wants.

Thanks Minh, David, Christine and Eric

Four days on, and everything seems to be going smooth. As expected, my lower face and neck is a little tight and stiff, which is due to swelling, the bandages pulling around my face, not doing my neck stretching exercises for the last couple of days, or a combination of these. It's not a big deal, I know it will get better.

There's a lot of bruising around the incision in my stomach. The incision itself is covered with waterproof bandages, and isn't visible or painful.

Christine, I don't have a lot of information on the chin implants. Four plastic surgeons advised me there was insufficient skin to stretch and hold a chin implant. Also, I have way too many screws and metal plates around my reconstructed jaw, therefore the possiblity of infection was to risky, so I wasn't a candidate for one.

Before my reconstruction, the surgeon indicated I might be able to get a chin implant at a later date if necessary. It didn't turn out that way.

I understand what you mean about the stitches. I won't rush to get them taken out. I'll follow whatever the surgeon recommends. After 3 years and 7 months of $#!T, what's another couple of weeks!! Not like I'm counting or anything....hmmm


Karen