The Expanding Facelift Toolkit
Today’s board certified plastic surgeon has so many technologies and techniques available for facial rejuvenation—it’s really an astonishing menu of options. If you decided to use them all, you’d have eyebrow and eyelid surgery, a combination facelift and neck lift and some light liposuction, injections containing fillers or fat and Botox or Dysport, plus surface rejuvenation via microdermabrasion and a chemical peel.
Whew! In reality, no patient who comes to consult us in New York for facial cosmetic surgery chooses all these procedures at once, nor would we advise such a move. We do understand, however, that with the traditional facial plastic surgeries plus some new approaches that are yielding worthwhile results, it can be confusing to determine where to invest your budget for an optimal result.
That’s where we come in. When you book an appointment with us, we’ll examine you carefully, taking into account your facial structure and skin quality. We’ll discuss your lifestyle, goals, budget and time available. Then together we’ll come up with a proposed rejuvenation plan—or perhaps a couple of options—you can consider.
Here are techniques we use regularly to help our patients turn back the clock, no matter what their needs may be.
Newer Approaches to Rejuvenation
One of the most promising new approaches we use for many patients is fat transfer. We can harvest your own tissue from elsewhere and fill facial wrinkles. Fat cells can raise tear troughs and banish shadows under the eyes as well as plump cheeks that have started to hollow with time. Restoring volume is one of the surest ways to bring back a more youthful look.
We often find that combining fat transfer with other less-invasive techniques works wonders, especially for younger to middle-aged patients. For instance, as we enhance the skin’s foundation underneath, it may also make sense to perform resurfacing to get rid of dead cells and brighten up the complexion. This can be accomplished through microdermabrasion or a chemical peel. Occasionally we use a bit of both treatments to target specific areas precisely.
For some patients, dynamic wrinkles are a source of frustration. Horizontal and vertical forehead wrinkles and crow’s feet are still areas where Botox or Dysport can help.
The Tried and True
Some people need a little more help to achieve their rejuvenation goals. For people in their 50’s and 60’s (and some younger and some older), plus those who look much older than they want to due to genetics or environmental factors, traditional facelift surgery is still the gold standard. For many, we’ll combine the procedure with neck lift surgery to smooth bands of tissue and sharpen the jowls. Eyelid surgery is a popular addition as well.
Some middle-aged people are good candidates for one of our special procedures called a mid facelift. For New York patients who can benefit, we lift the triangular area below the eye and banish lower eyelid bags through tiny incisions under the lashes and in the smile crease. You can read more about the mid facelift here.
What’s Right for You?
These scenarios are generalizations, to be sure. Your case will be as unique as you are! You could be one of the fortunate people who age slowly and gracefully, in which case less invasive procedures may be all you need even if you’re approaching your “golden years.” On the other hand, you may be a younger person whose genetics have you looking older before your time, meaning one or more facial rejuvenation surgeries may make sense.
The point is, when it comes to facial cosmetic surgery for our New York patients, our approach is far from “cookie cutter.” We can choose from all these tools and more to customize a plan that will serve your needs very well. Furthermore, we’ll be honest with you with our input. If you are interested in an injectable and we believe you might not get the results you are hoping for, we’ll tell you. If you believe you may need a facelift and we don’t feel it’s time yet, we’ll let you know that as well.
Give us a call at 212-570-6080. We’ll be pleased to meet you and start working on a plan!
