Our society places a premium on having a youthful appearance. Fortunately, we have many options to look younger. Of all the methods available to look younger, facelift surgery is the most effective treatment. The best facelift can restore a youthful appearance and correct many of the factors — including excess skin — that cause someone to look older than they want to.
There are many components to facial aging. The exposure of the face to environmental stresses such as UV radiation from the sun, wind, and air pollution ages the skin. Gravity causes the skin to sag and facial fat to descend, resulting in prominent jowls, looseness in the neck, and excess skin. As we age, our facial and neck muscles weaken and loosen. Of course, genetics play a role as well. The best way to address all of these changes is through facelift surgery.
A Surgical Procedure by Another Name
The original name for a facelift was rhytidectomy. In Latin, this means wrinkle removal. This name was adopted because early facelift surgery was a skin-tightening surgical procedure designed to remove facial wrinkles. The facial skin was lifted and pulled, excess skin was excised, and the incisions were hidden around the ear. This did result in tighter, less-wrinkled skin, but it usually was evident that the patient had facelift surgery.
Deep Plane Facelifts
Today, the best plastic surgeon will use multiple layers of the face to create a youthful, long-lasting natural appearance. Facial muscles can be tightened using a deep plane facelift approach. Facial fat can be replaced or elevated. The skin can be redraped in multiple vectors. By combining these approaches, patients who opt for facelift surgery will often look 10 to 20 years younger than their chronological age, and the results can last for 10 to 15 years or more.
Typical Facelift Concerns
When I see patients in consultation who are considering facelift surgery, they want to have the benefits of a facelift, but they usually express similar concerns. These include:
- Will I look natural?
- Will it be painful?
- Will it be a long recovery?
- Will I need general anesthesia?
- Will I need drains?
Techniques in facelift surgery vary greatly from surgeon to surgeon. A patient considering a facelift must understand that they are not just deciding to have a surgical procedure, but are also choosing the right surgeon to do their surgery. Technique, recovery post-op care, and results differ among surgeons. In my practice, because of the cosmetic surgery technique that I use, natural long-lasting results are consistent and reproducible.
Addressing Excess Skin and Sagging Skin
What’s more, facelift procedures should not be painful. Most of my patients’ discomfort is not from the removal of excess skin or sagging skin, but from the post-op dressing, which feels snug but is removed the day after surgery. I tell my patients that, in most cases, they will look better than they did pre-operatively in makeup after one week and see most of their results within two weeks of surgery. Also, in my practice, neither general anesthesia nor drains are required.
Finding the Best Cosmetic Surgeon for a Facelift in South Florida
A caring plastic surgeon will address all patient’s concerns before the surgery. The plastic surgeon should be as motivated to obtain an optimal result as their patient. In considering who will do your facelift surgery, there are many things to consider, but most of all, make sure you have a good rapport with an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon who will do your cosmetic surgery procedure safely and effectively and treat you the way they would want to be treated. Dr. Russel Palmer is a leading facelift surgeon in South Florida sought by those looking for facelift surgery that meets their aesthetic goals.
Questions? Please schedule a facelift consultation with me to discuss your facelift queries and custom treatment options.