I see patients weekly with very similar issues; Sagging skin with loss of elasticity and volume, fine lines and wrinkles. After a certain point in age, fillers and injectables can only do so much. Sometimes surgery is the only option to achieve exactly what the patient is seeking; a younger appearance. The word “facelift” can be a scary word. People can be adverse to undergoing surgery in order to look ten years younger. Often times, it is associated with looking overly pulled, windblown, and unnatural. Many people have been exposed to high profile celebrities in the media who have had countless cosmetic surgeries and ended up looking, well… scary.
Facelifts have evolved over the last several decades. Various approaches have been used to refine our techniques to produce a natural look. As we age, our skin loses elasticity and the tissues in our faces relax. Factors such as sun damage, smoking, and stress can also accelerate the aging process. These issues combined result in deepening of the facial folds, heavy cheeks or jowls, and a sagging turkey neck.
Previous facelift techniques included simply lifting or moving the skin around, which could result in an unnatural or distorted look. The layer of tissue beneath the skin and subcutaneous fat in the face is known as the SMAS (superficial musculo-aponeurotic system). When you release and move this layer vertically upward, the skin and fat in the face moves up as well, lifting the cheeks/jowls and neck tissues restoring a younger appearance. Most of the advances in facelifts have been the refinement of SMAS lifting techniques. When you move the SMAS upward in a vertical direction, you are undoing what aging and gravity have done, by putting things back in a natural and more youthful place. This innovative advancement in the procedure provided dramatic results, and when coupled with the most contemporary smaller s-lift incisions, also less scarring and downtime. Patients are often surprised to learn the facelift has a virtually painless recovery. Patients often tell me that they either took only a couple of pain pills or Tylenol only. Additionally, when performed correctly, a patient can have more than one facelift during their lifetime while still maintain a natural look. I often tell patients that you don’t recognize patients who have had natural looking facelift surgery, well, because it looks natural……or “they live among us” so to speak.
Facelifts are becoming a much more common procedure that when performed by experienced and knowledgeable surgeons can lead to extremely gratifying results. Finding a Double Board Certified Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon is important when selecting the doctor to perform such an intimate and personal operation. Visit our website to see before and after photos of our happy patients!
