I had the stitches removed on Tuesday from my chin and neck area. Considering what my lower face and skin has been through, the Doctor's assistant who removed the stitches, was very happy with the healing. I'll continue to lightly dress the area with Micropore tape for a couple more weeks.

My jowls are still a little swollen and puffy. From previous experiences, swelling can take months to go down. My lower face is no longer lopsided and crooked. The fat injected back into the outlining area of the flap has definitely loosened my skin, the skin doesn't pull as much as it did before surgery. I'm not waking throughout the night as often as I did. It was incredinly tight and caused a lot of discomfort.

The bruising on my stomach has gone, there's only a faint incision mark under my belly button.

Depending on how everything looks once the swelling goes down, the Doctor mentioned I might require a little more liposuction on my jowls. Due to plates and screws around my mandible and obvious high risk of infection, she didn't want to over do it. My next consultation is the week before Christmas.

Knowing what I know now, liposuction and fat transfer alone wouldn't of produced a satisfactory outcome. The skin graft was necessary to help create a natural shape and move the uneven skin into position.

According to some Plastic Surgeons I met with earlier, the procedures I've had were not options available to me, and in some cases were never even mentioned. I clearly remember the words from one overrated, over priced Plastic surgeon who specialized in facial cosmetic and resconstructive surgery. After flicking through my file for 3 minutes and looking at my face for 10 seconds, he said, "There's nothing more we can do for you Karen." I was told he was one of 'the best'. I was devastated by his prognosis.

No matter how much we like and trust our doctors, it's imperative we seek several opinions before we proceed with treatments, or believe we don't have other options to improve our situation.

Karen