Woman, 70, Says She Was ‘Always’ Confident. Then She Spent 8 Hours Getting Dramatic Plastic Surgery

In 2022, Susanne began what she describes as a “spiritual journey” — one that soon blossomed into a remarkable physical transformation.

At 68, the real estate broker and mother decided it was time to reclaim her health. She switched to a plant-based diet, started working with a personal trainer, and ultimately shed more than 100 pounds. “It had been almost 30 years since I’d taken care of my body,” she recalls, admitting she’d spent decades living a sedentary lifestyle and likely suffered from “a really deep depression.” For Susanne, her weight loss wasn’t just physical — it was a way to “say thank you and celebrate my body for not giving up on me.”

Even after achieving such dramatic change, Susanne felt there was more she could do. While browsing online, she discovered the work of Beverly Hills–based plastic surgeon and Artisa Skincare founder Dr. Carl Truesdale — whose transformations had gone viral — and thought, There’s something to this.

Although plastic surgery had never been part of her plan, something clicked. “Looking good was never my motivation for losing weight,” she explains. “But suddenly, I just went for it.”

On July 3, she reached out to Dr. Truesdale’s team, hoping to schedule surgery within a month. “I didn’t know how it would all come together,” she says. “But I put it out into the universe — once you speak your word, it’s not your business how it unfolds. You just keep moving forward.”

Fate intervened when Dr. Truesdale’s vacation plans unexpectedly shifted, allowing him to perform the surgery himself.

By the time Susanne turned 70, she was ready for a full transformation. In one session lasting nearly eight hours, she underwent eight procedures: a deep plane facelift, neck lift, upper and lower blepharoplasty, fat transfer from her inner thighs to her hands and face, an eyebrow lift, lip lift, and laser resurfacing. To speed up recovery, she also completed 90-minute oxygen therapy sessions for three consecutive days.

Dr. Truesdale used a photo of Susanne taken when she was 28 as a reference. The results, he says, turned back the clock — making her look decades younger. Susanne, however, emphasizes that her goal wasn’t to erase time. “I wasn’t trying to be that age again,” she explains. “I love who I am now.”

Today, she feels her inner and outer glow are finally in sync. “I’ve always been confident, but I love what I see now,” she says. “I’m back in my size 4 and 6 clothes, and I’ve got my little swag. This just enhanced what I was already doing.”

While Susanne didn’t reveal her total cost, Dr. Truesdale’s office notes that similar procedures typically range from $115,000 to $125,000.

For now, she’s content with her results. “I asked Dr. Truesdale if we were done, and he said, ‘I think we’re done.’ That was encouraging,” she says. “I still have some loose skin from the 130 pounds I lost, but I’ll see how things go before deciding if I want anything else.”

What she truly hopes, though, is that her story inspires others. “If I can be the reason someone says, ‘I want to do this for me, I want to love myself more,’ then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.”