For most of my adult life, I felt very lucky about my looks. It seemed like I would never age. All the way into my early forties, people thought I looked like I was in my early twenties. Once I was even mistaken for a teenager!

Then, about the time of my forty-sixth birthday, an amazing thing happened. Suddenly, I started looking older than my age. It was like someone turned my face upside down. My eyes began to droop. My chin seemed to grow a second chin, right under the first. My cheeks sagged and made lines so deep; my mouth looked like it belonged on a puppet. Almost overnight, I went from looking like a young woman to looking like an old grandmother.

Instead of being mistaken for being twenty years younger, now people thought I was twenty years older. At the office, my co-workers said I looked tired. The younger women at the office stopped asking me to join them after work. When I entered a room where young people were talking and laughing, they would stop and become serious, as if I were their teacher or senior supervisor. This had never happened to me before. How depressing!

I noticed commercials on television, read articles about plastic surgery, and looked online for information about face-lifts, but it was confusing. Sure, I was tempted to go with the ones who promised a fast and easy solution. Fortunately, the more research I did, the more I began to wonder. So I went to different doctors and got different opinions. Finally, I began to understand. Like everything else in life, there really were no quick fixes to my problem. Worse, I could have spent a lot of money to get so-so results that wouldn’t last long.

After much exploration, I discussed my research with my gynecologist, who is well-known and on the staff of one of the major hospitals. He helped me get a referral appointment with Dr. Davis Nguyen in Beverly Hills. I was impressed my doctor would have the confidence to place his own reputation and patient relationship with another specialist. I soon saw why. Dr. Nguyen holds degrees from major universities and has written articles for medical journals. He often travels nationally and internationally to teach and perform both cosmetic and reconstructive facial surgeries.

In my first consultation with Dr. Nguyen, he was able to thoroughly explain the different procedures and what he felt would have the best outcome for me. I didn’t have to take what he said on faith. He showed me photos and computer models, as well as gave me detailed explanations. Some of what he recommended for me was new, while other approaches have been around for decades. His aim was clearly to use a combination of the best medical science to restore my looks for years to come.

My search was over. A few weeks later, I arrived in the early morning for my surgery. Yes, it seemed like a big operation to me. However, I now knew there would be a big result. What was also nice was how everyone on Dr. Nguyen’s team was so supportive. Of course, he and the team did a lot of work that morning but I got to sleep through it.

A few hours later, I was on my way back home. Dr. Nguyen had even provided a nurse to stay with me the rest of the day and that entire night, just to make sure I got the right post-operative care. When I returned the next day, Dr. Nguyen was able to see for himself that everything was doing well. He sent me home to rest and let things heal up more.

Finally, a few days later, he removed the bandages and I got to see for myself. There was still some swelling but already there was a huge difference. I could see I was going to look like myself again. His office staff and assistants, whom I had gotten to know, all came in to congratulate me. It was like a party.

It’s been a little over a year since the surgery now. The other night, my young co-workers invited me to join them at a birthday dinner for one of the girls. She was turning twenty-five. The next day I got an email with a photo attached that we had the waiter take. There I was, along with five other women who were ages twenty-three to twenty-seven. And you know what? I looked like I fit right in.
Thank you, Dr. Nguyen!