I have been researching for almost 2 years and had received several rather astronomical estimates here in the north Atlanta area. I began to look outside the US, and I really liked the photos and reviews for Dr. Carmona and his team. Cancun is an easy flight from Atlanta, and the estimate for the surgery was less than half what I would've paid here. I also noticed that his results looked better longer than some of the photos I had seen from surgeons locally, so there was a quality to his work that I really liked. You will notice that in some of the after photos, immediately after surgery, people look a bit like the Joker. But that tightness, I think, really pays off in longevity afterward. So at age 56, I decided that it was finally time to get rid of my hereditary jowls and neck. And my jowls and neck were fierce. They run strong in my dad's side of the family. I scheduled the surgery for May 5, 2021 - lower facelift, neck lift, neck liposuction and chin implant. Arturo the driver and translator was amazing. Danny and Dr. Carmona were superb. The appointments to ensure that I was ready for surgery were just fine. The facilities are obviously different than what you might see in the US, but they are very clean and very nice. I took my husband with me, and we chose to stay at the Renaissance at the marina. That was a marvelous choice. Our view of the ocean was amazing, and there was an wonderful breakfast every day downstairs, included. Plus the hotel was connected to restaurants and shops so that we were able to walk around and have really lovely and affordable dinners. The green juice that the doctor recommends that they served at breakfast was also great. I would always ask for one for each of us to go so that I had them to drink during the day. My husband would go get lunch for us from one of the little shops, and at $.75 for a sandwich, you can't go wrong. Back to the surgery. The day of surgery was a little scary as it is a small hospital and you may be the only person going in for surgery that day at that time. They are extremely caring and personal and the prep was great, then I met the anesthesiologist. She is a force of nature. Very funny and I felt so comfortable with her. I remember being wheeled into the operating room, and that part was not my favorite, as you were wheeled down rather nondescript hallway, and then you get into this gorgeous state of the art white operating room. I had to climb onto the operating table which was a little tricky, and then the anesthesiologist asked me if I liked tequila. She said that the medicine she was about to give me was going to be like the best tequila ever, and I remember her saying that she was giving me the first shot of it, and I was out. When I woke in the hospital room, I was so glad I had made the choice to come to Cancun and to Dr. Carmona. In US, you have to go home the same day, but I had care and pain medication and nurses in the hospital for 24 hours. Plus really good liquefied food, which is what you need in order to actually eat after this kind of surgery. My husband helped me with showering the next morning, though the sides could have done that had he not been there. After I was released (Arturo picked us up) we went back to the Renaissance and spent another week, with a nurse coming to check on me daily for the first few days. I had ordered several hooded short sleeve shirts from Amazon so that I was able to wear them when I went downstairs to breakfast and not look too awful to people. And we enjoyed going to dinners. There was a lot of time just resting and drinking juice and eating fruit. My husband really enjoyed jogging in the area. I was able to get back to work at least for half days without video conferences, within a day of being. Ack at the hotel, as I had had my eyes done in Atlanta, so I didn't have any swelling around the eyes. We even went out to a local market (bought a big hat)but did not stay out long as heat and recent surgery are a bit uncomfortable together. Air conditioning was my friend. We met with Dr. Carmona at the end of the week, and he took out some of the stitches, and the remainder were self dissolving. Once back home, my body managed to reject some of the stitches after they are done their work and pushed them through the surface of the skin. It wasn't bad, and it was just something unique to the way my body responded. I am generally super pleased with the results, and it really took about 15 years or so off. The scars are slowly fading to a light pink and are barely noticeable 9 months later. My left jowl decided not to fully cooperate, so I have reached out to Dr. Carmona’s Patient Coordinator and I'll be scheduling a very minor liposuction there hopefully sometime later this spring. Will post photos of the process as updates. Updated on 26 Jan 2022: The scars are bright the first week after surgery and look really large, but as you’ll see from future photos they fade nicely. Updated on 26 Jan 2022: Went back to Dr Carmona - what a pleasant doctor - for stitch removal before flying home. The US border patrol asked me to remove my hood and then said “so aside from a couple scars, did you bring anything back from Mexico?” Apparently they are used to seeing this. Updated on 26 Jan 2022: Forgot to add photos from prior update - here they are. Updated on 26 Jan 2022: The scars slowly look better. Some of the stitches push their way out and I clipped them - not a big deal. Updated on 26 Jan 2022: Very pleased. No one thinks I am 56, and my dad’s turkey neck is gone. However, the force was strong with the neck fat and a small deposit on one jowl evaded the surgery. I’ll go back later this year for a simple $600 in-office liposuction. I’m looking forward to visiting Cancun again, this time with our kids. Updated on 18 Aug 2022: Totally worth it. Look at my profile before and now. I look like me and not my dad.
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