Three Friends, Three Facelifts

Sandra Jones, Nancy Johnstone, and Penny Nickel grew up in the small town of Southpoint, Ohio.

They've known each other since they were 4 years old. Their parents all worked at the same chemical plant. They went through the same school all the way through; they were in Brownies and Girl Scouts together.

They graduated from high school in 1966. As the years passed, the chemical plant closed. The town changed, and so did the three women.

Now, at age 53, these lifelong friends are about to go through something else together. They're all getting cosmetic surgery. Bill Lagattuta reports.

Says Sandra Jones: "I just want to look as young as I feel." She runs a medical consulting business and lives with her husband Dick in Florida. She's just lost 50 pounds.

Nancy, who was the cheerleader, is now divorced and working for an investment firm. "My face is my calling card, and I want to feel good about it," she says. Lately she's been feeling insecure.

Penny, who was on the homecoming court in high school, is divorced and works at a special education consultant. Her looks are so important to her, she keeps a mirror in her office.

Penny, Sandra and Nancy will be getting their facelifts, and perhaps a few other cosmetic enhancements, from the same doctor, at the same clinic, on the same day. Three operations, for three friends who all say they wouldn't have done it without the other two to support them.

Why are they doing this? "We know we're not Quasimodos," says Nancy. But when you've been at one point most of your life where you've felt pretty secure about the way you looked, to start feeling insecure, it sort of overtakes you."

Doing the work, at a resort-style clinic in Florida will be plastic surgeon Robert Cooper. He says that it is not uncommon for three friends to come in together to get work done.

To get started, there are lots of pictures, to give the doctor a closer look. After the photos, a consultation.

Penny wants a face lift and a thinner nose. Nancy will get laser treatment for her lines, and a brow lift. Sandra will get a tighter neck and a little liposuction. The price tag is more than $10,000 each, not covered by insurance.

Everyone would say, 'Ooh those are just laugh lines,'" says Nancy. "Well I've been laughing a lot, but not that much."

Penny thinks they will end up looking like they are in their late 30s.

On the day of the surgery, they are marked, shaved, and told what to expect. They're asleep during the procedure. Their vital signs closely monitored because this is major surgery and there are risks.

Sandra goes in first, then Penny, then Nancy. Each operation takes about two hours for what the doctor calls skin to skin: first incision to new face.

All three operations went well.

The morning after, they're up for breakfast, and frankly, it's not a pretty sight. Mummy bandages help the healing, but don't hide the discomfort. Nancy says she has a headache. She's also battling nausea, pain, and high blood pressure.

Sandra and Penny don't look too good either, but they're trying to keep a sense of humor.

Two days after surgery, the bandages are unwrapped.

Before the world sees them, they apply make-up to hide the bruises.

Later in the week, Sandra's husband Dick gets his first peek at the new look. Dick, who expected it to look "really bad," says it is "not so bad at all."

Back home in West Virginia two weeks after surgery, Penny is at work. Her co-workers are taking notice. They give thumbs-up to her new look.

Nancy's daughter Tracy says her mom looks great.

Says Nancy: "I think I look fresher, brighter-eyed. I think I look much better. Very happy."

"I think I look pretty good," says Sandra, who thinks she looks 5 to 8 years younger. Penny is happy too, especially with her nose job.

They threw a party to show off. "We were able to do it together and we're all happy with everybody's results," says Sandra.

"I don't think any kind of surgery or enhancement is going to improve your life, you make your life what it is," says Penny. "I felt like I had lost my edge. Now I have that back a little bit.