What you should know before considering Facial Rejuvenation
You’ve all seen the woman who looks as if she’s passing through a wind tunnel. You have also seen the person whose face doesn’t match the color of the skin on their neck from laser resurfacing. Most people do not find these results pleasing and they are virtually impossible to correct.
As a person ages the face undergoes changes due to loss of volume, loss of elasticity, sun damage and gravity. The eyebrows descend giving fullness to the upper eyes and the appearance of looking “angry”. There is redundancy of upper eyelid skin and the lower lids develop fatty protrusion making you look “tired”. The midface shows flattening of the cheekbones with descent of the soft tissue giving deep nasolabial folds and jowls. The nasal tip droops, the lips thin and the neck forms bands. Other age related changes include dryness of the skin with increased pigmentation changes.
In the right patient, the optimal way to surgically address all of these components is with a brow lift, facelift and neck lift. The eyes, nose and lips can be addressed at the same time. This type of procedure starts with a brow lift. Three little incisions are made behind the hair line and a camera and scope are inserted to visualize the procedure. The furrows between the brows are also cut with this procedure. This portion of the procedure generally takes about 1 hour. The upper and lower eyelids take an additional 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Here is a video of one of our most recent Facelift and Necklift Patients:
The facelift and necklift are started next through an incision that goes from the front of the ear then disappears behind the ear into the hairline. Through this incision the skin is elevated, the jowls are corrected and the nasolabial folds are softened. A small incision under the chin allows for the correction of the neck bands.
Click Here To See Our Facelift and Necklift Photo Gallery
Finally, the finishing touches like lip augmentation or laser resurfacing for the vertical lip lines is done.
The entire procedure can take 5-6 hours and the recovery is generally about 2 weeks. Risks include nerve injuries, bleeding and scars – while uncommon , they should be discussed in detail with your surgeon.
Finally, do your research! Make sure your surgeon has the proper training to perform these procedures. Ask to see before and after pictures and to speak to another patient that recently had the procedure. Check to see that your surgeon is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.