1. What types of face lift surgery are available?

There are so many designer face lifts now that it does get a bit confusing when looking at the internet. I think the key difference is really in who performs the face lift and not the name. Things to consider are the incisions, the direction of lift, and the ancillary procedures. Incision can be short or long depending upon if they go behind the ear or not. They can be on the forehead or just behind the ear or just in front of the ear. The lift can be straight back or slightly upwards or towards the ears. The ancillary procedures to consider are fillers and fat as well as lasers and blepharoplasty or brow lifts. Try to compare the components to get an idea of what you want and what will look the best on you.


2. Are there other alternative procedures?

Laser resurfacing blepharoplasty and fillers can look amazing, however a facelift is a more complete rejuvenation and while the big business and industry may say you only need Botox, Juvederm or Restylane and some laser resurfacing, I would suggest that they are all complimentary and there is really no alternative to removal of the excess skin and tightening of the muscles of facial expression.


3. Is face lift surgery painful?

While any surgical procedure can be painful, most patients following face lift surgery do not complain of pain. However they do complain of temporary numbness and, swelling secondary to the edema following surgery.Some also complain of tightness especially around the eyes and neck.Face lift surgery can be done while awake as local medication makes the skin numb and limits the pain. If someone is feeling pain after surgery analgesic pills can be prescribed.


4. Can I be awake during face lift surgery?

If you would like to be awake it can be done. If I was going to have to sit still for 4 or more hours I think I would want to be asleep for it though and in our practice the majority of people choose to rest while we work.


5. What does SMAS stand for?

Superficial Musculo Aporneurotic System. It is the tissue just below the skin that creates the facial expressions. Smiling, laughing, winking are all done through the SMAS movement of the skin. As we age this system loosens and can become fatter and heavy sagging around the jowls and neck or cheeks and eyes. During a face lift many techniques will address this by tightening the smas through sutures or by removing some excess.


6. What is an endoscopic face lift?

Endoscopes are small cameras that can be utilized to view an area through a small incision. An endoscopic face lift utilizes small incisions with the aid of a camera and the operation is performed. It is viewed by the surgeon on a monitor. Often the incisions are in the hair line and the soft tissue underneath the skin is moved to position and secured. There are many options for endoscopic plastic surgery. One of the limittions of endoscopic plastic surgery is it has limited ability to address the extra skin.


7. What is the average cost of face lift surgery?

The average cost of a face lift surgery is $.7000 to $.12000. It really depends upon the surgeon and the patient as well as the goals for surgery. Often surgery adresses the eyes and brows as well as the neck. However, on occasion only one area may need surgery and it will decrease the overall cost. For most the cost of the surgery is the downtime required to heal. It can take a week or upto a month to recover. And this downtime can be the real cost of the procedure as it can be difficult to limit the activities during this time.