What is the basic procedure of Facelift?

Your skin is freed from the underlying structures of fat and fascia (the tough stuff protecting deeper compartments under your skin). Your surgeon then can pull the freed skin easily upward, remove the excess, and suture it into its new home - generally around the ears and scalp line above your ears. The old way was to pull more toward your ears, generating the well known and undesirable "wind tunnel " look. Newer "mini-lifts " and S-Lifts direct your skin in a more upward direction producing a more natural look. Before skin suturing, the underlying structures of your fat and fascia of your face and neck are also lifted by buried sutures - further tightening the effect.

What are the objectives of facelift?

The primary objective is to elevate sagging facial skin resulting in a younger look. This necessarily results in excess skin - usually around the ears from pulling your facial skin up and this skin is excised before suturing. It's once again important to know a facelift does not improve the look or quality of your skin itself - just lifts it.

Are there significant risks associated with facelift surgery?

There are several potential risks associated with facelift surgery - made less so by other methods of lifting the skin such as chemical lifts and lasers. If general anesthesia is used there is a statistical mortality risk just with being put to sleep. Bleeding and poor healing of suture lines can be an issue, especially in smokers. Incision failure and necrosis (tissue death) occur with smokers and I won't perform this procedure on an active smoker.

What is a facelift?

A facelift is as it sounds ... lifting the skin of the face surgically, chemically, or through the use of specifically targeted lasers. The goal is to restore what looks like sagging skin of the face.

What are the benefits of a facelift procedure?

The benefits are several years of elevated skin - tightened to look younger though facelifts have absolutely no affect on the quality of your skin.