Anonymous on RateMDs a year ago
09/26/2021, 21:46 PM
I had disliked my neck since my twenties & always said I was going to have surgery on it. Over the years it got worse, & I became more conscious of it so began to investigate my options. I visited a number of surgeons but always felt disheartened as they either didn’t have a solution or I didn’t get the right feeling from them. And then I met Dr Julian De Silva. Immediately I knew that when I did go ahead it would be with him. From the start I felt confident in his ability. He was genuinely interested in why I wanted it done, was realistic with what he could achieve and always made sure he explained every step, never tired of answering any questions & concerns that I had, & I had a few!! I’d never had an operation before & was worried about recovering from a general anaesthetic. Dr De Silva explained he performed his operations under sedation as the recovery was so much quicker, of course I was worried about that as I certainly didn’t want to be aware of the surgery. He assured me I wouldn’t. I was worried about the drains, he showed me a drain in advance & explained why he used them, & that made me feel better. It was 4 years from when I first met Dr De Silva & my operation as, although I really wanted it done, I was worried about actually going through with it. Over that time, I asked many questions & he always seemed genuinely pleased to see me, I never felt a bother.
Early morning 26th July I arrived at Harley Street for my procedure, excited but also nervous. Raquel met me & showed me to my room. Dr Andre, the anaesthetist, came & spoke to me & assured me I wouldn’t feel a thing, then Dr De Silva came to answer any final questions & make sure I was ok. I was having a few things done, I had a Face & Neck Lift, Fat Transfer & Chin Implant, Upper Blepharoplasty & a Brow Lift. My last words to Dr De Silva were, please give me a nice neck, everything else is a bonus!
The last thing I remember is Dr Andre saying, you’ll begin to feel a little woozy, like you’ve had a gin, the next thing I knew I was waking up after having a lovely sleep & the procedure was complete.
I was able to walk back to my room & felt absolutely fine. My head was bandaged so I couldn’t see the results but I didn’t feel any pain. Dr De Silva came to see me to check I was ok. Raquel kept checking on me throughout the afternoon & then Hannah arrived who stayed with me throughout the night, constantly checking on me.
Early the next morning Dr De Silva arrived, does he ever go home, & removed my bandages. I felt like crying, already I could see a massive improvement & yes, I had a neck!!! After making sure I was ok, & a stint in the oxygen tank, which is so relaxing, my daughter arrived to escort me home. The surgery stayed in contact with me throughout the next week until my follow up appointment a week later. At this appointment my drains & the stitches that weren’t dissolvable were removed.
It is now 9 weeks since I had the procedure and I feel, & look amazing!! I have a neck & my Upper Blepharoplasty, that I call my bonus, is fantastic. My eyes are wide again & my eye make up stays on all day instead of being smeared above my eyelid within 5 minutes!
People tell me how brave I was to have it done but I don’t feel brave. The truth is I felt no pain at any point, a little uncomfortable at times, but never any pain. I never worried about the actual procedure, I had total confidence in Dr De Silva’s ability, I was only worried about the sedation & the recovery, but I needn’t have. Sedation was amazing, the best sleep I’ve had in years, & the recovery was a lot better than I could have imagined.
I’ve just now had my final appointment & I felt quite sad that I won’t be going down again as everyone was always so kind, although Dr De Silva said he will always see me, he may regret that!
Thank you Dr De Silva for being the most amazing surgeon, & Raquel, Ellie & Hannah for looking after me.
If you’re considering going ahead you can’t do better than Dr De Silva, this is your face, you want the best, and Dr De Silva is definitely the best.