Hello, it’s Dr.Go from Newport Plastic Surgery with another GoPost! For today’s topic, I will be discussing three interesting facts about facelift surgery that you should know. Although facelifts are commonplace occurrences in our entertainment-centric pop culture, there is still an elusive air to what they really entail. To help clarify some misconceptions, here we go:
Not All Facelifts Are Created Equal
Like with all things in cosmetic surgery, there is a certain artistic flair mixed with surgical technique that goes into every procedure, and not all facelifts are created equal. In fact, if you put a dozen plastic surgeons in a room, it is safe to say that no two methods will be exactly the same. Even with several well-known and studied techniques in the plastic surgery literature, there will be variations of each procedure based on where the surgeon trained, which technique is most comfortable and reproducible to them, and adjustments in each case based on their own experiences of what worked and what did not work well previously. As such, it should go without saying that it is important to go to a board-certified plastic surgeon who has had good experience performing facelifts to ensure the best possible outcome for you.
Results Are Not Permanent
It is true that certain facelift techniques lead to longer lasting and natural results, such as methods where deeper layers are lifted VS a skin-only lift that tend to lead to poor scars and the stretched-out ‘fake’ look. However, some patients believe that once they have cosmetic surgery, the results will be permanent. This unfortunately is not the case and I try to educate my patients as such. Although cosmetic procedures can rejuvenate the face and body into a more youthful appearance, essentially setting back the clock, the aging process goes on due to the continual insults of time, sun damage, hormonal changes, and the natural progression of aging with thinning of the skin dermis, loss of elastin fibers, and stretching of supportive structures in our bodies. It is important to understand that although patients will always look better than if they did not have anything done, the aging process will continue for which they may benefit from a touch-up procedure in the future.
It Is Not As Scary As You May Think
Many people are cautious or afraid of undergoing facelift surgery, especially after seeing the well-popularized poor results and complications of certain celebrities in the media, including Kenny Rogers, Joan Rivers, Meg Ryan, and Mickey Rourke. There are also television shows such as Botched on the E!@ network (https://www.eonline.com/shows/botched) that showcases cosmetic surgery disasters that some patients have suffered. That being said, facelifts are still a very safe procedure that can give amazing results and take years off the facial aging appearance as long as patients do their due diligence and find a board-certified plastic surgeon with experience to perform their procedures. I personally have performed hundreds of facelifts, with the vast majority done in the comforts of my office under only local anesthesia, with great results. Not every patient is a candidate for local anesthetic alone, but with the proper workup and thorough discussion with your plastic surgeon, the procedure is overall safe and well-tolerated with minimal risks and complication rates.
Hopefully these are some useful facts for you to know and understand about facelift procedures. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please give my office a call for a free consultation, and be sure to check out all of the helpful information at Newport Plastic Surgery. See you next time for another GoPost!
Parviz Hiroshi Goshtasby, M.D., F.A.C.S., a.k.a. “Dr.Go”
Newport Plastic Surgery, Inc.
Diplomate, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Diplomate, American Board of Surgery
Certification, Subspecialty of Surgery of the Hand
Fellow, American College of Surgeons
Newport Lido Medical Center
351 Hospital Road, Suite 418
Newport Beach, CA 92663
(949) 500-5440
Facsimile: 949 629-3692
