Have you ever stared at your face in the mirror, put two fingers on the side of your cheek and pushed backward saying, “Wow, that looks better! “? How about experiencing the self-consciousness of a “turkey gobbler” neck appearance? Do you simply feel you look older or more tired than you feel? Are the competitors in your workplace looking younger and more energetic than you are? If any of these scenarios sounds like you over the last several years, you ought to at least consider a modern facelift.
The four areas of one’s face which can benefit from modern facelift techniques are the forehead and eyebrow, the upper cheek and nasolabial fold, the jowls along the jawline, and the neck. The eyebrow and forehead can gently be lifted by way of concealed incisions along the front of the hairline. It usually takes only a quarter to half inch of eyebrow or forehead elevation to remove a tired expression, or wrinkles from the upper face and forehead. This simple procedure takes only one hour in the operating room and recovery is only one week. One half of our patients choose to have a forehead lift by itself, the other half elect to have the forehead elevated at the same time as the facelift.
During a consultation for a facelift, Dr. Woods will analyze your facial anatomy and dimensions. He will show you how an operation will affect your appearance and guide you to the best decision for you. Facelift incisions include a one inch incision directly under your chin, as well as hidden incisions within the curves of your earlobes. The facial tissue layers are then meticulously separated into separate sheets of tissues, then gently elevated up and outward, correcting the descent that has led to the sagging and tired appearance. Another concept of facial aging includes “deflation” of facial fat which accelerates sagging. This is corrected with modern fat transfer techniques. The fat grafting ( from one’s abdomen) essentially “re-inflates” your face at key locations with tiny injections of your own fat to restore your facial volume to that of your twenties. Instead of a thinned or hollowed “pulled” appearance, we strive for “restored” and “natural” through these modern procedures.
In many of our patients, the neck is the primary area of frustration. Sagging, bulging, and wrinkled skin are an unwelcome sequelae of the aging process. There is great news! The neck portion of a facelift is the most effective and dramatic in wiping away the damage of the aging process. Dr. Woods’ overriding goal is to perform these various rejuvenative procedures in a way to harmoniously restore youthfulness to one’s face in a balanced and natural way. You will look better, not different!
In many cases, we can offer the necklift by itself, if that is the primary area of facial aging that is concerning to the patient, without having to lift the cheeks and jowls simultanteously.
Since there are varying degrees of aging present in everyone’s face, these facelift procedures may take anywhere from three to seven hours to perform under general anesthesia. The patients requiring less surgery may go home (with help) the same day, whereas those requiring longer procedures may want to spend one night in the hospital’s observation area, going home the next morning. No vigorous exercise is allowed for one week. We recommend simply keeping your head above the level of your heart and light walking, no driving, for one week. Dr. Woods will see you back at the one week mark for suture removal and to make sure healing is progressing as expected. Some bruising or swelling will be visible for 10-14 days (by which time you could expect to meet a friend for lunch), with complete and full healing in 6-8 weeks (at which time there should be absolutely no traces you have recently had surgery). As is the case for all Dr. Woods procedures, he will demonstrate typical results for eyebrow, face and neck surgery during your consultation with pre- and post-operative photographs of his previously treated patients.
