Facelift
Or call us at (480) 223-9500
What is facelift surgery?
Technically known as rhytidectomy, a facelift will provide the most significant rejuvenation to the face and neck. A facelift will improve skin laxity, jowling, the hollow appearance to the cheeks and below the eyes, a jawline that lacks definition, and a droopy neck. Dr. Forsberg and Dr. Kelly emphasize a natural approach to facelift surgery. Our goal is for you to look naturally younger, but certainly not artificial or overdone.
Actual facelift patient of Dr. Forsberg
Click here for more Before and After’s
If you find yourself standing in front of a mirror and giving a gentle oblique push on the skin near the corner of the jaw, you may want to come in and learn more about face lift surgery with Dr. Kelly or Dr. Forsberg. Click here to request your consultation.
The patient pictured below had a facelift performed by Dr. Forsberg. In her after photos, she looks rejuvenated and refreshed, but still very much like herself and not like an obvious plastic surgery patient. Yes, she still has some wrinkles and imperfections but the patient is thrilled because she looks like a younger version of herself, which was the goal defined by her and Dr. Forsberg.
How does our approach to facelift surgery address all of the major changes in the aging face but still look natural?
During the aging process, 3 major predictable changes to the face occur:
- The fatty tissue in the face is intimately associated with a muscular layer called the SMAS. With time and the effects of gravity, this muscular layer stretches out, and the soft tissues of the face fall downward. This change transforms a youthful face with most of the volume high around the cheek bones into a more square shape with the volume shifting from the cheeks to lower in the face, along the jaw (or jowls) and neck. This descent of soft tissue enhances the appearance of the fold going from the nose to the corner of the mouth (nasolabial fold) and the “marionette line,” which extends from the corner of the mouth down the side of the chin, revealing the edge of the jowl.
- Over time, skin loses its elasticity and appears looser, with more lines and wrinkles. Loose skin on the neck also contributes to the loss of definition in the angle between the chin and neck and can even lead to the appearance of a double chin in people who are not overweight.
- More recently, we have recognized that there is also significant volume loss in the face with aging. A younger face is fuller and has more soft tissue.
Skin laxity, tissue decent, and volume loss are the 3 major changes to the face that occur with aging
Dr. Forsberg and Dr. Kelly take a natural approach to correcting all 3 of these major changes:
- Muscle laxity and descent of soft facial tissues. Dr. Forsberg believes that correcting muscle laxity and drooping soft tissues in the face is critical for providing both a natural and long-lasting result to the facelift. After the facial skin is lifted, sutures are placed to tighten the deep muscular layer (SMAS) and restore a natural contour to tissues in the cheek. Sutures are also used to pull the tissues drooping over the jaw bone (the jowl) back up, and tighten the muscles in the neck to help redefine the angle between the chin and neck.
The “SMAS” is the strong, muscular layer of the face that is tightened and lifted during a facelift
- Skin laxity. It is true that over time, skin will lose some of its elasticity and begin to sag. Dr. Kelly and Dr. Forsberg usually remove a relatively small amount of skin during the facelift to tighten it moderately. Some surgeons, however, rely solely or predominantly on skin tightening to provide their facial rejuvenation. When this approach is taken, the face can look pulled, over tightened, and unnatural. Additionally, skin stretches back very quickly and the results don’t often stand the test of time. Dr. Forsberg and Dr. Kelly are also meticulous about placing the incisions in locations that will minimize their visibility. Below is a patient of Dr. Forsberg’s who is 6 months out from facelift surgery. Her incisions are around the ear but barely perceptible.
Scars from a facelift patient of Dr. Forsberg 6 months after surgery
- Volume loss. A facelift alone manipulates the existing tissues and helps to restore a youthful proportion to facial dimensions, but it does nothing to address the volume that has been lost in the face over the years. Dr. Forsberg and Dr. Kelly have found that a conservative amount of fat transfer to the face during his facelift procedures helps to complete this natural rejuvenation. Fat cells are harvested from elsewhere in the body and injected into areas where volume is deficient in the face.
Pictured below is a 74-year-old patient of Dr. Forsberg’s who had a facelift with laser resurfacing around the mouth, along with microfat grafting to various areas in her face. The fat grafting helped to further improve her cheek bones, the hollowness under the eyes, and add some volume back to her lips without looking overdone. While this patient’s improvement is dramatic, her post-operative look does not appear obviously “done.”
What other procedures are commonly performed in conjunction with facelift surgery? Is it safe to have multiple procedures at once?
Multiple facial rejuvenation procedures are frequently performed by Dr. Kelly & Dr. Forsberg in a single operation. While there are some combinations that would be unsafe or require too much time in the operating room, facelifts are frequently performed in conjunction with many of the following procedures: (provide links to these procedure pages)
Brow Lift
Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery)
Fat Grafting
Laser Resurfacing
Neck Liposuction
Chin augmentation
While a facelift can go a long way to rejuvenating the face, it does not address all the issues of facial aging. The advantages of undergoing multiple procedures at once include a single recovery period, reduced costs, and a more complete and balanced rejuvenation. The patient of Dr. Forsberg’s below underwent a combination of facial rejuvenation procedures, including facelift, brow lift, and upper and lower blepharoplasty.
How long can I expect my results to last?
Patients should be aware that no plastic surgery procedure can stop the progression of aging. While in many ways, it can set the clock back, skin will stretch and soft tissues will fall with enough time. The most important surgical step in providing natural, long lasting results is to perform a complete repair of the drooping muscular layer below the skin. Skin stretches much more quickly than the underlying muscle. Our surgeons have seen many patients a year or two out from a facelift where only the skin is addressed who tell them they feel like they don’t look any better than they did before the surgery. Because the muscular suspension will hold up much longer than tightened skin, many patients who have had this approach to their facial rejuvenation are happy for a decade (or more!) after surgery.
What is the expected recovery following facelift surgery?
Typically, patients who have a facelift procedure will go home the night of surgery with bandages wrapped around their face and head. Drainage tubes may be used and are usually removed during a post-operative visit the following morning. Keeping the head elevated and icing are important to minimize bruising and swelling after surgery. Sutures around the ear are removed about 5 days after surgery. At this point, makeup can be applied and some patients are comfortable enough to venture back out into the public, although bruising and swelling can persist for several weeks after surgery. The face will feel quite tight and there can be numbness around the ear lobes for weeks to months after the procedure. Most patients take at least 2 weeks off work after surgery.
I don’t want to have a traditional facelift. Am I a candidate for a “mini” facelift?
In appropriate patients, Dr. Forsberg and Dr. Kelly perform a type of mini facelift called the MACS (minimal access cranial suspension). In this procedure, a shorter skin incision is made around the ear, and less extensive facial undermining is performed. This can result in reduced down time and significantly less bruising and swelling. It is important to note, however, that even in this type of “mini” facelift, our plastic surgeons still place sutures in the deeper muscular layer to re-suspend and tighten these drooping tissues and provide a more natural and longer lasting result. While the results of this type of MACS facelift cannot be expected to last as long as the more extensive traditional facelift, many surgeons who perform some version of a mini facelift only perform a slight pull on the skin and do not address the deeper muscular layer. This leads to results that last less than a year and appear unnatural. If you are considering facial rejuvenation surgery, be sure that you are working with a qualified plastic surgeon who can perform the appropriate operation for you, whether that may be a mini-lift with muscular repair or the more traditional full facelift.
Patient testimonials
Center for Dermatology and Plastic Surgury
Connect With Us
© 2024 CDPS. All Rights Reserved. | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Notice of Privacy Practices | Terms of Service
