This is what I remember about my actual Lifestyle Lift surgery; the operating room and what went on inside.

I was called in and was taken to a room that looked very much like a dentist office. It had a reclining chair, but it wasn’t spotless like an Operating Room, but wasn’t dirty either. A female assistant came in and asked me to fill out the consent forms. She gave me plenty of time to read everything thoroughly before signing with no rushing. Since I was having an upper eyelid lift, the very first question was about when I had last been to the eye doctor. My eyesight has actually improved over the years, and I haven’t been to an optometrist in quite some time. No one from this office had informed me that I should see an optometrist before the surgery. When I told the woman that I couldn’t remember the last time I had an appointment or the doctor’s name, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Just fill it in with something.” So I did. I believe I have healthy eyes, so it wasn’t really a problem to me, I just thought it was all a bit unusual. The woman asked me if I had someone in the waiting room to take me home. You must have a driver to take you home, or they will not perform the operation. I told them that my husband was in the waiting room ready to be my chauffeur.

When I finished the papers, I asked to go to the bathroom. I should have gone while I was in the waiting room, but got interested in talking with the ladies and didn’t. Since I was going to be awake for this thing, I didn’t want to feel like I needed to pee during the surgery.

When I returned, the Surgery Tech came in. He was a very personable young man who immediately started up a conversation. I asked him how long he had been doing this, and he told me he had been a Surgery Tech for 5 years, but had only been in this office for two. He used to work in a hospital, but liked this setting much better, mainly because he usually got to see the patient again after the surgery. He will most likely be the one to take my stitches out.

He had me lie back in the chair and fold my hands in my lap. He said not to move my hands at all, and if I should get an itchy nose or anything, to just ask him, and he would scratch it for me with sterile gauze. He placed a plastic cap over my hair and washed my face with a sterile solution. Then he started placing sterile cloths all over my body. He was talking to me all the time about the holidays and his children, so I was at ease. He then gave me the one Valium that had been prescribed before the surgery and left me for a few minutes while that took effect. I felt very calm and sleepy when the doctor came in.

My doctor, Richard Castellano, M.D., came in. I had met him a week earlier in my post-op visit. He looked very young, and the first time I saw him in my pre-op meeting, I thought, “Oh my gosh, I’ve got Doogie Howser for my doctor.” However, I had read his bio and all about his experience and awards and felt that he would be the right surgeon for me.

Dr. Castellano performed the surgery.  He drew some lines on my face and around my ears and then stuck needles around my ears and under my chin. The doctor was very comforting and reassuring and kept asking me how I was doing through the entire procedure. He began with the liposuction under my chin. I knew everything that was happening and could feel him working on me, but I felt no pain and felt detached from what was going on. I know that sounds odd, but that’s the best way I can describe the effect the Valium had on me. I knew what was happening, but I didn’t care. The surgeon then did lipo and the lift on my right side,
then the lipo and lift on my left side. My eye surgery (top lids only) was last. I remember that I could smell and see the smoke from the cauterization process to help stop the bleeding. Every time the doctor finished a procedure, he said, “Everything looks very good.”

When everything was over, Vaseline and gauze was applied over my ear sutures front and back and they wrapped an ace bandage rather tightly around my head. I was told that it is best to keep the wrap pretty tight for the first 3 days, but if I felt really uncomfortable or felt I couldn’t swallow I could loosen it some. I did wear it tight and didn’t loosen it until the 3rd day when I started dressing the wounds. I really wanted to follow the doctor’s orders, get the best result possible and get well as quickly as possible.

In communicating with others on the Internet, I had been advised that I might feel nauseated on the way home and to take along a closed plastic container with a lid just in case I might need to throw up. I was okay, however, and just started putting the ice packs on the sides of my face. Holding them with my hands made my hands very cold, and I thought it would have been nice to be wearing some warm gloves. Something to think about if you’re going to have a Lifestyle Lift procedure.