How have we changed?
Eventually, everyone wakes up one morning looking in the mirror only to see a completely different person. That person in the mirror is you! But it is not the same person we were before! It is a person who looks like us, only more tired, angry, wrinkled and sad looking.
How have we changed? Our foreheads have deep furrows. Our eyebrows have become droopy. We have Crow's feet wrinkles in the corners of our eyes. Our upper eyelids are sinking ever closer to our eyelashes. Our lower eyelids are getting ever-fuller bags. Our facial lines are getting deeper and deeper. The corners of our mouths are pointing down. Our lips are getting thinner and we are getting vertical Bar Code lines on the upper lips. Even our earlobes are longer and droopy!! You feel like screaming, Help! Stop this right now! You talk to your friends about it and they tell you, Yes, I have noticed, but I did not want to say anything to you about it. or Don't worry! Its normal. Everyone has to get old. What has happened to the person that we were before? Can that younger appearance we had just a few years ago be restored? Well, thanks to modern aesthetic surgery, the answer is Yes!
Premature ageing
Aesthetic surgeons call this problem Premature Ageing or the Ageing Face. The problem is simple. A person feels younger than he or she appears! This has a severe psychological impact on a person and may pose negative health consequences. I still remember the first time a younger person referred to me as Sir. Now that I am a grandfather, I am still shocked by that term because I do not feel like a grandfather. In my mind, a grandfather is an old man! What has happened? Well, the first answer is that people are now living longer! In 1965, the average life expectancy of a person in the developed countries of the world was only 65 years of age! Today, it is over 80 for men and over 85 for women!! In most European countries, retired persons are rapidly approaching 25% of the total population. Most of these people are relatively healthy and will live at least another 20 years after retirement. But the big increase in Facelift surgery is not among the retired, but instead in much younger patients. We have performed Mini-Facelift surgery on women as young as 32 years of age and are today treating wrinkles as soon as they develop! Today's Facelift surgery is Corrective surgery. After the fact. To correct the premature ravages of ageing. But in the future, Facelift surgery will be Preventive surgery! To prevent the causes of premature ageing. Before the patient even develops the problems! This is a big advantage for the patient. It is much easier to prevent and delay Premature Ageing than to repair it! So, what can one do about Premature ageing? Fortunately, there is a lot we now can do. Let's begin with understanding the essentials of what is happening to the face.
- First, the skeleton or the bone is changing. Especially in women. As we grow older, we lose calcium from the bones and the jaw bone becomes smaller. Our Gums recede and we lose teeth. The bones form the foundation of all the soft tissues that are attached to it. It is these soft tissues, which form our faces, and these are the ones that suffer the visible changes of Premature ageing.
- Second, as we grow older our muscles become smaller and weaker. The layer of fat between the muscles and the skin also becomes thinner. This means that the space between the bones and the skin is now less full than before.
- Third, the skin also becomes thinner and less elastic. The dermal layer, the layer that creates the new skin is drying out and becoming more like leather.
- Fourth, our lifestyles don't help much! We over eat. Stay up late. Smoke. Do very little exercise, take too much sun and our vitamin intake is low.
As you can see, the changes described above are all, to one degree or another extremely hazardous to your external beauty.
What is Beauty?
Traditionally, beauty has been described as follows: Youth. We all know and see people that are full of Youth. Especially in magazine advertising. These are persons who appear to have virtually no wrinkles! Symmetry. This means that both sides of the face are symmetric and all the structures are at the same height and of the same size in relation to each other. Harmony. This means that the face is good looking in relation to the different parts of the face. This means that the forehead is not too big or the jaw is not too small or the opposite. Also, that the Mid-Face is not too far forward making one look like a shark and not too far back into the face, giving the appearance of a flat face, like an owl. It is the foremost goal of Aesthetic surgery to give you a more youthful, symmetric and harmonious looking face! But how does society define contemporary Beauty. This is easy! Just look at the covers of any woman's magazine and what do you see? What one sees are beautiful women that have all these attributes described above. They may be very different from each other in appearance but what they all have in common are well developed jaw lines, full lips and the absence of wrinkles. Why? Because smooth jaw lines and full lips are the traditional symbols of youth and beauty. One cannot be beautiful with jowls or a double chin. One cannot be beautiful with thin, cracked lips. One cannot be beautiful with deep wrinkles like a prune.
So what can Facelift surgery do for me?
I am glad you asked that question!
- The first thing a surgeon must do is analyse the underlying bone structure and explain to you what problems, if any you have with the skeletal base of the face, nose and jaw.
- The second part is to analyse the symmetry and harmony of the face. This includes the soft tissue boundaries such as the hairline, the ears, the size and width of your lips, the space between your eyes, the space between your upper lip and the nose and the overall configuration of your face.
- The third and final part is to assess the quality of the skin and the underlying fatty layer.
Most of the work we do in Aesthetic surgery is in these two layers. The skin and the fat under the skin. Modern Aesthetic Surgery has developed a panoply of techniques and procedures to deal with Premature Ageing that are safe, economic and very effective! No longer is the Mask or Wind Tunnel Facelift acceptable today. Today's Aesthetic surgery must be Natural Looking as well as making one look more youthful. Only an experienced Facelift surgeon can give you an adequate recommendation for your specific case. However, there are general recommendations that can be made in a report such as this one.
When should I consult with a surgeon about my wrinkles?
The correct answer is that if you already have wrinkles, you are already too late!
As mentioned before, proper wrinkle treatments should begin before the wrinkles actually become visible. Since there are many good wrinkle
fillers that will give long lasting results. Once your surgeon examines you and determines that surgery is a good choice for your specific
case, what type of Facelift should I have?
Facelift surgery has evolved quite dramatically along with the great improvements in Surgery in the last century. Before, everyone had a
full Facelift, lasting 4 or 5 hours, under general anaesthesia and had severe swelling and long recoveries which required long stays in
private clinics or hospitalisation. Today, most patients have Mini-Facelifts, lasting 2 hours, under local anaesthesia with sedation only
and the swelling is much less than before. Recovery is much shorter and the patients usually go home. Clearly, this is an improvement!
The Full Facelift still has its indications, but as more and more people have Facelift surgery, much younger than before, amount of
Full Facelifts that we do has gone down and the numbers of Mini Facelifts have gone up! The Mini-Facelift surgery is indicated for younger
patients with Premature Ageing, with only slightly loose skin or for patients who have already had a Facelift surgery in the past. The
Mini-Facelift only treats the Mid-Face Region and the Upper Jaw Line. Sometimes, the Mini-Facelift is combined with other procedures too.
The most common ones are the Closed or Open Necklift, the Eyelids, the Browlift and the Nose Correction. Preparing for a Facelift is simple.
Shower and shampoo your hair. Do not eat or drink anything 4 hours prior to surgery. Make sure you collect your hair and pull it back as
much as possible. Wear warm, comfortable clothing, with a top that opens in the front and shoes without laces. The rest is up to your surgeon
and the surgical team. Normally, today's Facelifts are done under local anaesthesia and sedation called TIVA.
This is an excellent choice for most patients. During the operation you will be instructed to turn your head from side to side and to open
and close your mouth and eyes. This permits the surgeon to perform a more natural looking Facelift than if you were totally asleep!
Whether you have a Facelift or a Facelift with other procedures, there is another important issue to consider. All of these procedures treat
one or more parts of the problem of Premature Ageing, the loose skin, but these procedures ignore one very essential problem, the Skin itself!
Removing skin does not treat the skin. If the skin is not treated after the surgery, in my opinion, the job is only half done. The situation
is similar to the repair of an automobile after an accident, but neglecting to paint the parts that have been worked on. Sure the parts look
better than before, but in order for them to look great, one has to paint the parts! The same applies to the skin! Facelift surgery without
Resurfacing is only half the job. If we lift the skin of the face and do not treat the skin of the face, then the patient will receive only
half the results possible. For some patients, half is enough. But for most patients today, half is one half too little! Resurfacing of the
skin is very old. It started with dermabrasion to treat acne scars or other skin lesions. Then came the Chemical Peels in the 1960's from
Dr. Baker in Miami, Florida. Next came the Laser Resurfacing of every type imaginable and later Micro-Dermabrasion and Coblation. The results
from a Facelift plus a Resurfacing are so much better than with just a Facelift alone, that there is no question in my mind that Facelifts
and Resurfacing should always be done one right after the other, unless there is a good indication against the Resurfacing.
What is Resurfacing?
Just what it says. Re-Surfacing or providing a new Surface to the skin! Although the skin has 7 layers, there are only 2 main parts. The dermis, which is the deep pink layer of the skin, this is the part which creates the skin itself and the Epidermis, composed multiple layers of dead skin cells. Which serves to protect the skin and the body from the environment of the outside world.
The purpose of Skin Resurfacing is to promote the new growth of healthy and younger looking skin. The best over all skin resurfacing technique is a Chemical Peel. Today, there is a Chemical Peel for each type of skin! Almost any patient can have a chemical peel and sometimes with very old or ill patients, all we do is the Chemical Peel without the Facelift! You might now be confused. This report was about Facelifts and now he is talking about Chemical Peels? The reason is simple. We no longer consider these two separate treatments. We consider the skin resurfacing as an important step for treating Premature Ageing and a co-equal partner to the traditional Facelift. We call this the Facelift +. How is the Facelift + different from the Traditional Facelift? We do our Facelift + on Saturdays. Why only Saturdays? Because by doing them on Saturdays, we can watch these patients overnight and change their dressings the next day without the interruptions of having to deal with other types of patients. After the dressings are changed, we discharge the patients to their homes or hotels on Sunday. Then the following Friday, the patient returns to the Clinic for suture removal and for the Chemical Peel Resurfacing. The patient returns home that same Friday and remains at home throughout the recuperation phase for the next 8 days. We complete both treatments in just 2 weeks total time! But the results are dramatically improved, as compared to just the Facelift alone. A Facelift without a Peel is just a good Facelift. A Facelift with a Peel is a Great Facelift! That is the Facelift + ! Of course it costs more and takes a little more time for recovery than a just a Facelift, but the same can be said about any comparison, such as a Rolls Royce and a Fiat. Both will take you to the same place, but not in the same style, luxury and comfort.
How long will the results last?
This is the most common question about Facelift Procedure : The correct answer is, for life!
Of course one will continue to age, but the improvement made by the surgeon will always be there, to a great degree better than if the patient had not had the facelift.
How do I take care of my skin after a Facelift?
Immediately after the surgery, you are not allowed to take direct sunlight or tanning. You must protect the delicate new skin with moisturizers at night and sunblocker by day. After 3 months, you must return for a check up and you will receive an appointment for yearly controls. We provide all of our patients with a yearly freshening peel. This helps keep the results of your facelift as fresh as possible. If you look good. We look even better!! Your Face is our best advertising! Is it better to wait until one is really wrinkled to have Facelift surgery? By now, you already know the answer to this question is a definite, No! Waiting will not help and it may even hurt, because as the Ageing process continues, one will need ever bigger corrections. It is better to have a small surgery now, than a big surgery later. Does the Facelift hurt? Remarkably, the majority of our patients report little pain. They tell us that the discomfort is due to the swelling, the bandages and the stiffness of the muscles after surgery. You must keep your head elevated while in Bed and never lower your head in bending over, during the immediate post-operative phase. (photo of bandage) During Facelift surgery, the nerves to your skin are severed. As they regrow, you will experience what we call paraesthesias. These include, numbness, tingles, warmth and altered sensation over the skin. This is normal and eventually disappears. Additional procedures can be performed along with the Facelift, such as the Neck Lift, Eyelid corrections and Browlifts at additional costs.
We sincerely hope that this informative report has helped you make a wiser choice for Facelift surgery and you are now more comfortable about what to expect. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you soon. Thank you for taking your time to read our report. As always, if you have any further questions regarding your specific case, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Combining cosmetic procedures
Additional procedures can be performed along with the Facelift, such as the Neck Lift, Eyelid corrections and Browlifts at additional costs.
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