Wondering what you should know before a facelift? My Chicago-based team supports patients knowing as much as they can about this treatment in order to help them have the best experience possible and achieve optimal results.
As a board-certified plastic surgeon, these are the most important facts about facelift surgery I believe patients should know. Read on:
1. It Can Address All Four Elements of Facial Aging
A facelift is the only way I know of that allows us to address the four key elements of facial aging in a single procedure. These include structural descent, volume loss, changes in facial expression, and changes in the facial surface.
2. You Can Have a Facelift with Just Local Anesthesia
Facelifts can be performed with the patient choosing only local anesthesia. In my practice, 98 percent of facelifts combined with fat transfer and other procedures are done with local anesthesia. This leads to increased patient comfort, and it is also a safer operation. Many surgeons still perform this operation with the patient under general anesthesia or IV sedation, but this is unnecessary with the proper approach.
3. A Facelift Provides the Best Long-Term Value
A facelift offers great value for the patient. I see many patients who have undergone a variety of treatments with fillers, tightening devices, strings, and the like with modest results but significant expense. Very often, just a few years of these treatments can add up to more than the cost of a facelift. Facelift surgery offers true long-term value.
4. For Optimized Results, Facelift Is Combined with Fat Transfer
Facelifts and fat go hand in hand. By this, I mean that I rarely do a facelift without fat transfer because typically with the facial aging process, there are issues of structural descent and volume loss. When the two techniques are combined, a truly harmonious and natural result can be obtained. The combination of the two allows for the avoidance of over correction from either pulling too much on the left or adding too much volume if one technique is applied by itself.
5. It Makes Facial Movement Look More Natural
When done properly, a facelift will also enhance the natural appearance of the face and natural facial motion. As the face ages and deflates, it doesn’t move normally, and the surgeon has to compensate for this. When the surgery is done well, the action of bringing the structures back to proper position and adding the right amount of volume helps the muscles to move in a normal way. Patients recapture their natural expression.
6. It Improves Your Sense of Vitality
A facelift can lead to an increased sense of vitality in the patient, which is tremendously powerful and has been shown to actually improve health and well-being.
7. Preparation Helps You Maximize Results
Preparation for a facelift is important. There are ways to improve the quality of the skin if it has had sun damage, and if this is done before the surgery, I think it makes the result better. Furthermore, maintaining the best possible set of habits in terms of nutrition, exercise, and sun protection will also optimize the results. Patients should also carefully consider the best time for them to do the facelift. You don’t want to do this operation when your schedule is crowded and you’re worried about other things. It’s better to take the time and find a proper interval.
8. Maintaining Good Habits Will Help Preserve Results
The longevity of the results is, of course, dependent upon technique, but also has to do with what the patient does. Good habits of exercise, nutrition, sun protection, sleep, and general avoidance of stress will prolong the benefits of the lift.
9. You Can Further Improve Results
It is possible in the years after a facelift to boost the results. One common approach is to do another fat transfer, which is very easy to do with the patient under local anesthesia and usually doesn’t have a lot of bruising or recovery period. Sometimes we use fillers, and sometimes various devices can be used to enhance the tone of the skin.
10. Facelifts Can Make You Feel More Motivated
A facelift can open up vistas of health and well-being. When you feel better about yourself, your interactions with other people change and you’re motivated to take better care of yourself. We see this all the time with our patients.
Curious about what else you should know before a facelift?
Our team at Whole Beauty® Institute can provide more information. Call us at 312-751-2112 (Chicago Gold Coast Office) or 847-446-7562 (North Shore (Winnetka) Office), or submit a contact form.