Mary’s Facelift

No two people age at the same rate. The aging process doesn’t care how many candles are on your birthday cake. At 50 years old, Mary is an example of the growing trend of younger women seeking full face and necklifts. “I’ve always been vigilant about sunscreen and overall skin care, so my skin quality is good. But my neck and jowls bothered me. My face is small and I inherited some deep set eyes along with bags under my eyes.”

At first Mary resisted the idea of investing in a facelift, instead opting for more fillers. Her sister, Liz, is Dr. Fritz Barton’s nurse injector at Surface Med Spa. “Every time I saw Liz, I would complain. One day, Liz and Dr. Barton put out the STOP sign warning her against using any more filler. “They said it would start looking weird. A facelift and necklift would be the best option to suspend versus volumize the areas that had succumbed to gravity.” Dr. Barton explained the advantage of doing a face and necklift at a younger age actually made the results last longer because of better skin elasticity. In addition, the change in appearance would be neither as drastic nor as noticeable as those who have surgery in their mid-60’s or 70’s.

To Mary, it seemed a big commitment both in expense and surgery and she still felt so young. However, there was the fact that Mary was 10 years younger than her sister–but did her appearance reflect a decade’s difference? Not really. By the time Mary decided to have surgery, Dr. Barton–her surgeon of choice–had retired. But Dr. Barton confidently offered his protégé–Dr. Michael Lee. “Dr. Barton explained he had selected Dr. Lee as his protégé based upon the talent and passion he had observed,” said Mary. “He spent several years teaching Dr. Lee how to perfect the nuances of his technique.”

The consultation was between Mary and both Drs. Barton and Lee. “They told me they wanted to hear each other’s approach and recommendations.” Both completely concurred on the treatment plan. Mary would have a facelift, necklift, lower eyelid lift and brow lift.

Mary saw Dr. Lee several times before her surgery date in January of 2017. “I sensed how professional and thorough he is. He told me he wants every patient to be a “masterpiece.” His signature was going to be all over my face, so that made me feel good. The staff also made me extremely comfortable.”

After surgery Drs. Barton and Lee declared it “a home run.” Mary spent her first two nights in the Medallion Suites at UTSW. “I’m glad I opted for two nights. They take good care of you. Dr. Lee was by several times to check on me. The first week I took my paid meds as prescribed and don’t remember much pain. I do remember how great it felt to get my hair washed.”

Mary says she was sore and numb for a couple weeks with a little bruising under her eyes and it took about 4 weeks to feel normal. However, 6 weeks later she felt good enough to host a wedding shower. Her biggest delight was her husband’s reaction. “My husband was worried. He didn’t want me to look different and he is really pleased. That made me happy. He says I’m just a younger version of me.”

As with most facelifts, the swelling resolves completely in 9-12 months, but Mary says her expectations were really exceeded. “When I see pictures of myself a year ago, I look so saggy and wrinkled around my lower face, and tired in my upper face. Now I look in the mirror and I love what I see.” Mary will still have Botox treatments, but no more expensive fillers.

Today Mary is an advocate for people like her to consider facial rejuvenation at a younger age because of the subtle results. “And Dr. Lee is awesome. The operating room is indeed his Masterpiece Theater.”