Facial Plastic Surgery: Choose the Surgeon, Not the Procedure
When it comes to facial plastic surgery, there are many more options nowadays than in the past. Generally speaking, that’s great news. The traditional facelift has been performed for decades, and plastic surgeons have become increasingly skilled at fine tuning it to meet the individual patient’s needs. In today’s world, this has led inevitably to catchy names and aggressive marketing tactics that can be confusing. During a consultation to discuss a facelift, NY area men and women are often initially perplexed about which rejuvenation procedure is best.
We applaud our patients’ desires to learn all they can. If you’re thinking of scheduling a consultation with us, however, we want you to know that there’s no need to come to come in having made the decision about what’s best for you. It’s our job to educate and help you, and then together we can decide on a game plan unique for your needs.
Let us illustrate what we mean about the potential for confusion by discussing the mini facelift. There are some aspects of procedures called “mini facelifts” which plastic surgeons can agree on: they are less invasive than traditional facelifts and therefore involve less down time and cost a bit less. Beyond those points, the procedure can vary a great deal from surgeon to surgeon. Some doctors make just small nicks in front of the ear and lift the skin only. Other doctors make more extensive incisions and elevate skin and muscle, meaning the procedure is almost a full facelift.
Some people equate the term “mini facelift” with one of the heavily marketed, branded lifts. These are the procedures you see advertised in magazines and on the Internet. Results tend to vary a great deal with these procedures and leave many patients disappointed.
In trying to help patients understand their options, there’s another thing most plastic surgeons agree on: patients should choose the surgeon, not the procedure. Because there’s more than one surgical technique that can yield good results in many cases, and since terms vary from doctor to doctor, the decision that’s most important is your choice of plastic surgeon. Once you are certain you have selected a skilled plastic surgeon who is highly experienced in facial plastic surgery, you can relax and listen to their recommendations with confidence.
We’re in hearty agreement with one final thing most plastic surgeons say: no two facelifts are identical. That’s the way it should be. In our practice, we’ve perfected a mid facelift that’s less invasive than a full facelift and can be very rewarding for the right patient. We offer full, traditional facelift surgery as well, and we can add in a forehead lift, eyelid lift and neck lift for the man or woman who wants a complete makeover. Fat grafts to deal with areas of fat loss and other fillers to fine tune the results also contribute to the overall results. And skin treatments to “polish” the finished product can add the final touch. Between all of these available treatments, the possibilities for fine-tuning are almost endless!
