Face Lift News

Facelifts and rhinoplasty surgeries are both cosmetic procedures designed to permanently improve facial beauty. However, facelifts and rhinoplasty surgery vary widely when it comes to the conditions they treat, the results they achieve, recovery times and other considerations.

Facelift Surgery

What it treats: As we age, the skin on our faces begin to wrinkle and sag, which can make us look tired and rundown. Furthermore, loss of fat in the cheeks and other facial areas contributes to a sunken, hollowed appearance that lacks contour and volume. Facelift surgery is designed to correct these issues and other signs of aging.

How it works: Small incisions are made inside the hairline at the temple and around the ears to keep scarring inconspicuous.  The doctor then removes the excess skin and tightens the muscles and connective tissues before closing the incisions with small sutures.

Considerations: Although a facelift is almost always an outpatient procedure, recovery time for facelifts is significant. Expect about two weeks of swelling, discoloration and numbness. Facelift patients can typically return to work in 10 to 14 days. Overall improvements and healing is gradual, with final results visible within six months.

Rhinoplasty

What it treats: Rhinoplasty (commonly referred to as a “nose job”) alters the size and shape of the nose by removing bumps or changing the angle of the nose to create greater harmony with the rest of the face. Rhinoplasty can also treat breathing difficulties or damage caused by injury.

How it works: The skin is carefully separated from the underlying bone and cartilage of the nose. The doctor then reshapes the skeletal structure of the nose before re-draping the original skin over the surface. Sutures can be hidden within the nose to avoid visible scarring. Dr. Wald will decide which technique is most appropriate for your surgery – the “open” or “closed” method.

Considerations: Recovery from rhinoplasty takes about one to two weeks, although some minor swelling may remain for several months. Results continue to improve for a full year.

Facelifts and rhinoplasties may be combined with other cosmetic procedures, such as a brow lift, chin augmentation, liposuction or eyelid surgery to achieve a full rejuvenation of the face. For more information on which procedures are best for you, contact Dr. Robert Wald, an experienced Orange County facelift specialist, for a free consultation.

Many years ago, two things that are now quite common were rarely discussed – divorce and cosmetic plastic surgery. It used to be quite taboo to hear of a couple going through a divorce publicly, as it was also taboo to talk about having plastic surgery. Now, the divorce rate has increased and so has the number of plastic surgery patients. In addition, women who are recently divorced are often undergoing some type of cosmetic enhancement as a way of “vengeance” after the break-up. Those whose marriage ended due to an affair are more likely to visit a surgeon.

Divorced women are increasingly interested in undergoing facial rejuvenation as a means to either start a new chapter in their lives or possibly as revenge for their ex-husband’s infidelity. Typically, patients undergo a facelift, eyelid lift, and/or forehead lift. Some may also combine non-surgical treatments such as chemical peels and facial injectables (Botox ®) to achieve a more dramatic improvement. However, some surgeons are also seeing an increase in recently divorced men; they also wish to look younger in order to appeal to the younger females.

Based in New York City, Steven J. Pearlman, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a facial plastic surgeon who can help you achieve a more refreshed and youthful appearance. He has the training and experience to provide patients with their desired outcome.

Plastic surgery has long been considered a way for women to enhance features or fix flaws to their bodies. However, recently, men have been adding their own body issues to the mix. As men age, keeping an appearance of youth is becoming more important. Compared to last year, there has been an eight percent increase of cosmetic procedures on men. With the clientele of these procedures being mostly the “Baby Boomer” generation, older men are looking to keep a younger, healthier, more attractive image around the workforce as they fight to maintain their positions against the next generation of recruits.

The most popular non-surgical procedure for older men is Botox ® injections, which smooth out facial wrinkles after being injected into the problem area. The most popular cosmetic procedure, attracting the 35 to 50 year old group is liposuction, which can remove fat deposits such as “love handles” or double chins. Rhinoplasty comes in a close second place; eyelid surgery is third in cosmetic surgery for men overall, but more so for men in the 51 to 64 year old group, as it corrects droopy eyelids and under-eye bags. Rounding out the list are male breast reductions, pectoral procedures, and buttock augmentation.

Kristen J. Tarbet, M.D., F.A.C.S., is a cosmetic surgeon in the Seattle area, who offers Botox injections and eyelid surgery. Her website offers more information on these procedures as well as facelift surgery and liposuction. Dr. Tarbet has the experience and training to provide optimal results for her patients.

First impressions are everything, which is why most people try to maintain a youthful facial appearance. However, as time passes, the facial skin often begins to sag and signs of aging surface due to various factors. In order to regain a more refreshed appearance, many individuals opt to undergo a cosmetic plastic surgery procedure. Facelift surgery, a common facial rejuvenation procedure, has greatly advanced in its techniques, most recently with the “stem-cell facelift.”

The facelift procedure is usually performed through incisions made along the hairline and behind the ears, which allows the surgeon to lift the skin and underlying muscles/tissue to a more youthful position. This also reduces the appearance of sagging in the jowl and neck areas; patients would have a downtime of up to a few weeks. Now, with the emergence of the “stem-cell facelift,” no incisions are made as this technique is intended to add volume with injected stem cells. Taken from fat cells that are suctioned from other areas of the body, the adult stem cells are used to help regenerate the facial skin. Similar to fat transfer, this method is said to provide patients with a fuller facial contour but with longer-lasting results. In addition, patients can benefit from a shorter recovery time as compared to traditional facelift surgery.

In Miami, Ary Krau, M.D., F.A.C.S. performs facial rejuvenation surgery and can help you regain a more youthful appearance. Further information regarding facelift surgery is available on his website.

As time passes, signs of aging begin to show on the facial skin, including fine lines, wrinkles, and deep creases. Many individuals often opt to undergo some type of facial rejuvenating procedure. One of the most common non-surgical treatments, Botox ® injections can help reduce the appearance of these tell-tale signs. By temporarily paralyzing the underlying muscles in the brows, forehead, and around the mouth and eyes, lines and wrinkles can be smoothed out for approximately four to six months.

However, due to the lack of muscle movement, it is now being reported that certain emotional triggers that are linked with physical traits are being affected. Typically, when the face shows signs of happiness, sadness, or anger, the brain makes the connection and allows the person to properly express that emotion. Examples from studies have shown that when there is no physical trigger, patients may slightly pause when expressing happiness as compared to expressing sadness or anger. Although there is no major impairment with emotions as a result of Botox injections, others may misinterpret a person’s feelings based on a lack of expression.

If you would like further information regarding Botox treatments, Chicago cosmetic plastic surgeon Jennifer M. Hein, M.D., F.A.C.S. can help you meet your goals. She is also an experienced facelift surgery specialist who provides natural-looking results.

Although the economy seems to not be improving, there are still many individuals who are undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery enhancements. Whether they are invasive procedures or non-surgical treatments, face and body enhancing procedures are still on the rise. According to a new article, certain procedures are more popular in specific areas throughout the country. Those in Miami often inquire about breast lift surgery, while Los Angeles residents prefer Dysport ® injections to achieve a more youthful facial appearance.

New York City Rhinoplasty patients who are interested in learning more can contact Douglas A. Taranow, D.O., a specialist who performs nose surgery, the most sought-after procedure in the state. This facial enhancing surgery is designed to reshape the nasal contour to a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. In some circumstances, breathing difficulties can be corrected. Depending on the patient’s facial anatomy and desired outcome, either open or closed rhinoplasty can be performed. Open nose surgery requires incision on the outside of the nose, while closed rhinoplasty is performed entirely inside the nose. The most common features to be altered with nasal surgery include bumps/humps on the bridge, nostril size, and angle of tip.

Manhattan and New York City-based candidates can learn more regarding nose surgery by visiting Dr. Taranow’s website. Before and after rhinoplasty photos can be viewed during this time.

The demand to maintain a youthful appearance grows more each day, especially amongst Hollywood stars. Nowadays, women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s are going under the knife more frequently in order to upkeep a wrinkle-free facial appearance. Face lift surgery is one of the most common procedures, and some celebrities make regular visits to their surgeon for touch-ups.

Possibly the most talked about cosmetic surgery recipient is Joan Rivers – countless facelifts and nasal surgeries to help her look younger. However, all these surgeries have only made her a topic of discussion on what not to do. On the other hand, Jamie Lee Curtis has been very vocal on not wanting to undergo any further enhancements. While she has had some minimal work done, she now believes in aging gracefully. Yet, how might this affect her career? Some could say that it could open up roles better suited for her age, while other may argue that she could lose out. Each has her own opinion on facial rejuvenation.

In today’s photo-frantic culture, celebrities and their appearances often are under intense scrutiny from the masses. Spotting cosmetic work has become a favorite pastime of gossip blogs and celebrity tabloids. Ironically, many of the supposed telltale signs of plastic surgery highlighted by the peanut gallery are the exact opposite. That is, many onlookers mistake the natural signs of aging as evidence of bad cosmetic work. Take the case of Catherine Zeta-Jones, 40, who was recently fingered by the blogosphere for her presumably disingenuous appearance at the Tony Awards. But according to the professional opinion of a number of local plastic surgeons, Zeta-Jones has had very little work done, if any at all.

It’s hard to say definitively what this means to us as a society. Shed in a light favorable to plastic surgeons, this perhaps suggests that we now come to expect celebrities to undergo massive cosmetic work by the time they reach their late thirties—but at the same time, we’ve become less adept at detecting it. In fact, the faces of those who have had aesthetic surgery look more natural to us than those who haven’t, as illustrated by the example above. With her eyelids beginning to sag, her lips and face losing some of its fullness, Zeta-Jones’s aging face may have seemed less conspicuous if she had eyelid surgery and a lip enhancement performed. Facial fillers and chemical peels might also help the actress meet the expectations of readers in areas where plastic surgery is popular, such as in Newport Beach. Facelift surgeries would probably be unnecessary for Zeta-Jones, according to the same plastic surgeons who opined that she hadn’t had substantial cosmetic work.

The notion that laymen are becoming more astute at noticing plastic surgery is misguided at best. If anything, the opposite is true – the signs of natural aging are more glaring than ever, even if we don’t recognize them for what they are. Our conception of aging gracefully has fundamentally changed – but not in the way that many of us assume.

Customers who walk into a restaurant and order a hamburger off the menu for $1 usually know what to expect – it’s certainly not a cooked-to-order burger you’d pay $12.95 for at a sit-down restaurant. As consumers, we are familiar with how nationwide chains make their money: volume and uniformity. But for some reason, patients have trouble making the same connection when it comes to facelifts.

The prevalence of nationally branded and marketed facelift procedures comes in cyclical waves, often in lockstep with economic recessions and down markets. But while the names and trademarks might change, the strategy for profiting rarely does. They take a one-size-fits-all approach to facelifts that focuses on getting patients in and out the door as fast as possible. Oftentimes, the shortcuts are marketed as benefits. They advertise it as a “lunchtime lift” that takes only an hour, doesn’t require general anesthesia and requires minimal incisions. In a pamphlet, these promises sound alluring; but in practice, they seem to reinforce that sad but true old adage: “You get what you pay for.”

The problem is that uniformity is inherently incompatible with facelift surgeries. The face is undeniably the most unique, nuanced feature of the human physique and surgically creating beauty requires experience, subtlety and expertise. Just like very few women can wear a bridal gown off the rack, even fewer patients get a perfect fit from an “off the shelf” facelift. That’s why qualified plastic surgeons approach facelift surgeries on a case-by-case, highly personalized basis. That is, they tailor the operation to the patient, rather than the other way round.

For example, Dr. Robert Wald, an Orange County facelift specialist and board-certified plastic surgeon, is known for his creative artistry and his passion for subtle enhancement. He spends a great deal of time during pre-operation consultations to ensure that he understands the fundamental goals of each of his patients in Orange County. Rhinoplasty, forehead lifts, otoplasties, and other facial surgeries are among his top specialties.

This approach is what you should expect from a qualified plastic surgeon. The goal is to create the prettiest face possible—not to profit quickly and move on. Make sure that your doctor takes all the necessary steps towards getting the job done right.

Approximately 50 percent of those who are of Asian decent have distinct eyelid structures that lack a crease in the upper eyelid. In order to create this crease and what is commonly referred to as a more “Westernized” look, many individuals, more specifically females, undergo Asian eyelid surgery.

Media attention on beautiful, nearly flawless women rarely depicts females of Asian cultures; this often portrays the idea that a certain facial anatomy and ethnicity is more aesthetically attractive and desirable. However, those who opt to undergo this procedure have been criticized of abandoning their heritage and culture in the name of vanity. Patients who undergo this surgery claim, however, that they are not necessarily looking to westernize their face, but to create a crease that better suits their features.

This procedure, termed “Asian Eyelid Surgery,” entails removing small amounts of fat, tissue, and skin in the area where a natural crease would be. Once the incision heals, scars are hidden in the new crease. A common improvement for female patients who undergo this procedure is their use of eye shadow make up. Prior to surgery, many are unable to wear cosmetics due to their lack of visibility from hooding.

Those in the Beverly Hills area who are interested in Asian eyelid surgery may contact Charles S. Lee, M.D. at Enhance Plastic Surgery.