Facelifts and neck lifts come in many shapes and forms. Everyone has their own spin and trendy name that they give them, but let us tell you a secret…they’re all variations on a theme.
This type of procedure might be right for you if you've ever said:
“I hate these jowls.”
“I wish my neck were tighter.”
“My face feels so sunken and deflated.”
As we age, the fat in our face shrinks, the skin gets more stretchy, and gravity brings everything down. A facelift does the opposite: it lifts the face, removes excess skin, and fills with fat to help volumize. Facelifts are becoming more and more common in the younger decades of life with patients in their late 30s and early 40’s seeking them as “preventative therapy.”
The method
Dr. Elston performs different types of facelift techniques depending on what his patients need. As stated above, surgeons will tout their technique as revolutionary and curated over decades of experience. For the most part, these will all involve an incision around the ear that allows removal of skin, the elevation of the muscular layer, and the addition of some fat. This procedure has many names, including “deep plane”, “bilamellar”, “short scar”, “mini facelift”, and the list goes on.
These procedures can address the jowls, the neck, the cheek, and lower eyelid, as well as the folds where the cheek and upper lip meet. The pattern of aging guides the technique. Feeling comfortable with many different techniques means you get a tailored treatment plan based on your anatomy and goals, rather than a one-size-fits-all “this is how I always do it” treatment plan.
The procedure
Some facelifts can be performed in the clinic, while others will need to be performed in the operating room. All facelifts require some type of incision. Most commonly this is hidden in the hairline and around the ear. Neck incisions are usually placed below the chin in the crease that everyone has. Extra skin is removed and the muscle and fat are elevated to a more youthful position. This gives a crisp jawline, improved cheek fullness, and a tighter neck.
The motivation
As we have learned, “those who need it the least, do the best.” A facelift has the power to turn back the clock many years, but a truly good facelift doesn’t give an 80-year-old the appearance of a 40-year-old. Restraint and judgment shown by the plastic surgeon give the best facelift results. The challenge is that while you don’t really need a facelift in your 40s, that is the time when you would likely benefit the most from it, and age gracefully over the next 15 years. When you really need a facelift in your 70s, it’s harder to achieve a result that everyone in your social circle doesn’t instantly notice. The idea is to age gracefully and appear refreshed, not like you disappeared for a few weeks and came back looking like a completely different person. We strive to provide our patients with a harmonious result that is dramatic in its subtlety.
