URGENT - NHS Facelift problem need revision HELP long

bubble54321

my story:

I was hit in the face with a stick due to a mugging resulting in a smashed cheekbone this required me to have 3 operations.

1 to replace smashed cheekbone into correct position
this unfortunately did not work (slipped back out of place-commonplace ) and was ..
2 .. redone with metal plates .both of these operations were achieved endoscopicaly/ keyhole surgery)

* I felt during straight after the second operation (indeed so worried was I that I asked for a ct scan and was rebuffed) and over the next weeks that there was something wrong with my face. I could not open my mouth and there was a rounded bulge on my face which was definitely not swelling.

3 After a few weeks (could not open my mouth) I was then recalled to hospital and was told a mistake was made and my cheekbone was not the right way round. This required me to have another surgery or else his cheekbone 'spur' would fuse/heal with his jaw and cause the left hand side of his face to be dragged downwards resulting in disfigurement. The third surgery was called a zygomatic osteomony – (some may be familiar with) and requires the cutting on the mid-section of the scalp through my hair from ear to ear and a 'de-gloving of the entire face of the underlying structure' - a massive operation then the resulting facial tissue is lifted the metal plates were removed, the cheekbone re-smashed/and correctly replaced. and the plates put back into place.

the third op was performed by the head maxiofacial surgeon. the other two were performed by his team.

Finally and most important a 'macs facelift' was then performed. (again by the top surgeon) I was told this was done due to the trauma of being hit as there. I did not ask for one but in hindsight there was prominent sagging on the left hand side of my face and I was told this would be remedied by the face-lift. I am uncertain if also the operation to re-break my cheekbone was/would be also a factor in the trauma.

Shortly after my surgery I went on holiday. Just before I flew out i saw my surgeon and mentioned some 'creases i was unhappy with- on the left hand side under the eye - naso labial) I was told by my surgeon (reasonably) that i need to wait at least six months before assessing the cosmetic results.

After and throughout the holiday my face seemed to heal and the results did seem to be getting better., although the crease did not really improve my face was firm and relatively fine
approx. a few weeks two months later ) I noticed quite suddenly in fact, my face skin seemed to loosen and sag/ hang slightly which got worse. I don't want to say 'collapse but it seemed as if my face had sagged. After ‘to-ing and fro-ing’ with my GP, over the following weeks I listened to him and he advised me to wait and give my face time to heal.


to cut a long a story short I have dilllied and dallied and made and cancelled appointments with my own surgeon, mainly because my own GP argued that

a i was an emotional wreck at the time
b my face may need more than six months to heal.

so after administration problems on their part (mislaid my new address and some missed appointments on my part, to it has been well over a year now and I am finally going to see my surgeon next week.


just as importantly I have recently made an appointment with a well known plastic surgeon and have managed to get in an appointment tomorrow, just before I see my own surgeon which is next week (the first time that i will have actually seen him with my face 'healed' .

any I feel the need for a second professional opinion because after so much delay I feel that I am not going to be listened to and be told to 'get on with my life' in a nice way. he said as much after the third operation. He may even argue the fact that i have waited too long and i should have seen him sooner. (my own GP told me to wait)

These are my own fears but the guy who operated on me is a brilliant maxiofacial specialist, and may have the viewpoint that they have fixed my jaw and that the facelift is merely icing on the cake, therefore superficial ie live your life comments.

Anyone have an opinion on this? How do I go in there and stake my claim. I cannot move on form this.

In his defence the facelift was performed straight after the zygomatic osteomony (bone surgery) obviously due to the fact that access to my face was convenient at the time. In an ideal world it would have been best to let that operation heal , wait 6-12 months see how my face looked then perform the facelift, but that is obviously impractical.

My own GP (nhs) is adamant that because the job was to fix my cheekbone then the facelift is secondary and that my concerns may be perceived as superficial. But I did not ask for facelift so I feel that if this is true it seems quite unfair. Also my GP is unsure if it is a plastics problem. He thinks it may be a changed bone structure causing this sagging, which I think is extremely implausible.

I think this because the sagging and loose skin seems to fluctuate depending if I have dropped or gained a few pounds (indicating it has nothing do with bone structure) The nasio lines become even looser and more prominent when I am run down, tired or have flu. I had great skin before, so am not used to this. I saw my GP today in preparation for my interview tomorrow and he said the problem seems worse today, (I am rundown)





My own poor research has enabled me to have the opinion that the surgery although seemingly successful over and during the holiday period somehow did not last and the fat malar pads seem to have dropped causing sagging. It is with this I need an expert opinion, before I see my own surgeon in two weeks so I need to get a expert opinion before I see him, which i am doing tomorrow. I know that I must remedy this problem regardless even if I have to pay for it myself.

Obviously I am conflicted because they 'eventually' (3 operations, cheekbone placed round the wrong way ) done a wonderful job of eventually fixing my face in regards to the bone. I am grateful that my face bones have been repaired.
Yet I am unhappy, extremely unhappy, that my facelift does not seem to have been successful (in my opinion. )

I need to know from a third party expert in cosmetic surgery that I have a reasonable and rational viewpoint when I tell my surgeon that I am unhappy with the results and do not believe the facelift was successful.

1 i did not ask for the MACS face-lift, can i be guaranteed another surgery on the nhs to correct the problem?
or is the fact that they repaired my bone structure can enable them to say no!

1a if my surgeon says no, does that mean the NHS say no?

2 is the fact that i have waited over a year go against me? my GP told me to wait and wait- he said its not a problem. he advised me not to see my surgeon after the allotted 6 months because i was so upset at the time i may have got angry at the surgeon and shot myself in the foot.


3 should i mention that i have had an another expert opinion (interview is tomorrow) to my own surgeon? (the one who operated on me) or would that rile him. my own gp reckons it would cause problems. but i reckon need to go armed with someone who agrees with me. (im assuming the 2nd opinion will agree. i wont find out till tomorrow)


4 is it possible that a maxiofacial surgeon (one who gave me my lift) is perhaps not the best person to have performed a facelift?


5 can anyone recommend any questions to ask the cosmetic surgeon i am seeing tomorrow for a second opinion.

6 finally, would a top cosmetic surgeon, KNOW if a facelift had slipped, sagged etc . after all this second opinion surgeon has not seen me before.

I would be extremely grateful If ANYONE ANYONE could offer some insight and give me their opinions . Any and all advice appreciated urgently. As I am seeing a facelift surgeon tomorrow or his opinion.

thank you

brook2jack

There are several factors to consider here. You have had a terrible assault and the fall out from that both emotional and physical. Things may very well never be quite the same again due to the trauma and people can get locked into a never ending cycle of surgery without ever getting back to how things were before.

Without seeing you or your xrays no one can comment but complicated facial fractures can be hard to treat and due to the immensely dense areas of nerves etc on the face it can be very difficult to get entirely back to how things were before.

Many more problems are caused by rushing into neverending "corrective" surgeries and as swelling can take up to a year to resolve slow and steady is a much better approach.

Have you put in a criminal injuries compensation claim? It may not give you much if anything and takes an age to come through.

There is nothing to stop you having a second opinion but beware ... there is a world of difference between what a surgeon may deem necessary cosmetically , and what is deemed necessary in terms of health.

The final thought is after a traumatic time it is easy to become fixated on certain "problems" that are maybe not as bad as you think they are. What do the people around you think of your face? If you are under alot of stress this may have more effect on your appearence than any surgical proceedure.

bubble54321

There is no problem with my bone structure, it was repaired brilliantly. the MACS facelift I had done has NOT lasted

anyway thank god i got a 2nd opinion yesterday. The TOP surgeon i saw said my skin is loose and sagging and wasnt even convinced i'd had a macs facelift until he say the scars. He could understand my issues He also said considering they botched the 2nd operation, he could see no reason why they wouldnt want to redo this.
He said A macs lift replaces the malar fat pads back into position and should last around 5 years. My face sagged after a couple months. and he has judged that the fat pads are NOT where they should be after a MACS lift- i.e not worked. I dont see why i should accept that after what i went through. I didnt ask for the lift. I want to draw a line under it by NOT having to be reminded of it every time i look in the mirror.


DO i have the right to ask them to redo this considering they put my chekbone round the wrong way after the 2nd op?

thnx for advice,

Toothsmith

I think you need the opinion of people who can actually see you face to face, who have access to the notes and records, and can accurately assess what's in your best interests.