Your face harbors some of the most delicate parts of your body. The skin around your nose, eyes and mouth are all prone to developing cosmetic flaws as you age. Lines and wrinkles, jowls and sags are some of the most common concerns. What’s worse is that developing these issues can go past the skin as they can ultimately be a confidence deflator and make you feel old. Loosening of facial skin and creasing around the nose and mouth is a normal consequence of getting older. Fortunately, procedures like facelifts and neck lifts are highly effective means to reverse the aging process.
A facelift is a popular surgical procedure that can be entirely customized based on your unique desires and goals. The procedure can also be combined with other procedures, such as blepharoplasty and a brow lift, allowing you a comprehensive treatment. Dr. John P. Freeman of Katy, TX, is a highly successful oral and maxillofacial surgeon with years of experience performing facelifts. Under his guidance, your facelift will surely be a success. If you are interested in scheduling a consultation and would like for Dr. Freeman to devise a treatment plan suited to your needs, please contact us at 281-599-9445 or visit our contact page.
What Is a Facelift?
A facelift can help eliminate or reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and is often performed in conjunction with eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) in order to create a more cohesive aesthetic effect. A facelift can also reduce or eliminate the appearance of sagging jowls, resulting in a more rejuvenated and youthful appearance. In addition, the procedure can hide deepened smile lines and other creases around the corners of the mouth.
Those who undergo a facelift will enjoy tighter and more youthful-looking skin. Drooping cheek fat is elevated, resulting in a slightly different look for the cheeks. Additionally, this surgery removes excess deposits of fat under the neck, while also resulting in tighter skin around this area. Overall, the result is a dramatically more rejuvenated appearance.
Who is a Good Candidate?
Candidates for a facelift include those experiencing the signs of aging, those who have lost weight and who wish to eliminate excess skin in the face and neck areas, and those who wish to reduce the appearance of excess fat around the face and neck.
Because there are many different types of facelifts, including full and mini facelifts, it is important to consult with a skilled and experienced facial plastic surgeon in Houston to determine which kind of facelift procedure would be the best given your unique needs and aesthetic goals. Your age, your areas of concern, and your desired results all play an important role in determining what kind of surgery would be the most appropriate for you.
What Are the Different Types of Facelift?
There are several types of Facelift. Each of these options is well-suited for particular cosmetic concerns. The most common facelift procedures include:
Full Facelift
A full facelift creates the most comprehensive results compared to other facelift procedures. The procedure requires more extensive incisions, but the results are fantastic and can help remove years of age from your image. The procedure is perfect if you struggle with sagging cheeks and wrinkles, and lines around your mouth and nose. A full facelift essentially corrects cosmetic concerns in the mid and lower face region. Incisions for a full facelift are made around the ears and up to the temples. Patients in their 50’s or 60’s will find this Facelift particularly beneficial because it can correct severe signs of age.
Mid-Facelift
This Facelift is ideal if you seek to correct concerns beneath your eyes or around your cheeks. Sunken cheeks, sagging skin along the jawline and wrinkles around the nose can all be corrected with a mid-facelift. The technique utilizes deeper incisions, but they are small than the incisions required for a full facelift. The procedure is excellent for patients in their 30’s or 40’s who are beginning to notice signs of age and don’t want them to continue developing.
Lower Facelift
A lower facelift focuses specifically on cosmetic concerns around the mouth and jaw. If you have a double chin, struggle with jowls or have nasolabial folds, lines that run from the nose to the mouth, then a lower facelift is an excellent procedure. Incisions are made along the ears and hairline.
Is a Facelift Right for You?
If you desire to eliminate excess skin and fat in your face and neck, then a facelift is right for you. You are a good candidate for a facelift if you have developed facial cosmetic concerns due to reasons such as age or weight loss. Common cosmetic concerns that make people consider having a facelift include:
- Moderate to severe sagging
- Wrinkles, crease and folds
- Hollowed cheeks
- An uneven jawline
Although the procedure is often performed on patients ranging in age from their 40’s to 60’s, there is no age restriction. However, some contraindications can prevent you from having the surgery. Tobacco use, high blood pressure, obesity and certain health conditions can potentially lead to complications. You will also need to reserve a significant amount of time for recovery after your procedure, so it’s best to plan accordingly.
A facelift is a procedure that can enhance your appearance by ridding your face of certain cosmetic flaws. However, it is best to go into the procedure with realistic expectations. A facelift won’t completely change your facial structure, nor will it put a stop to the natural aging process. Your results will be long-lasting, but signs of age will eventually return. Despite this, a facelift will give you a fantastic image that will make you look your best given your age.
What to Expect: Your Facelift Consultation
Because there are many different types of facelifts, including full and mini facelifts, it is essential to consult with a skilled and experienced facial plastic surgeon in Houston to determine which kind of facelift procedure would be the best given your unique needs and aesthetic goals. Your age, areas of concern, and desired results all play an important role in determining what kind of surgery would be the most appropriate for you.
Dr. Freeman is an experienced oral and maxillofacial surgeon with many years of experience. With compassion and professionalism, Dr. Freeman will review your cosmetic concerns during a personalized consultation and devise a well-suited treatment plan to your unique goals. Your treatment plan may include a facelift procedure exclusively, or you may be recommended a facelift combined with other treatments, including a brow lift or blepharoplasty.
What to Expect: Your Facelift Procedure
Your Facelift will be performed utilizing either IV sedation anesthesia or general anesthesia, depending on which you prefer. Most patients prefer general anesthesia. Before Dr. Freeman begins your procedure, you will slip a surgical gown on and be connected to equipment that measures your EKG, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and carbon dioxide levels to ensure safety. Dr. Freeman will then mark your facial structure with a surgical pen where incisions will be made.
These markings will be unique to your aesthetic goals since there are different surgical techniques for a facelift. Once you are prepped, Dr. Freeman will begin making the incisions. Incisions are typically made in the hairlines and the temples, extending around the ears and the lower scalp. In the neck lift procedure, an incision is usually made in front of the ear lobe, wrapping around behind the ear and ending in the lower scalp. Your fat may be sculpted, removed or redistributed from the face, jowls and neck through these incisions. Underlying tissues and muscles may also be repositioned, depending on what your goals are.
After altering your facial structure’s fat, muscle and tissues, your skin is carefully positioned so that it is more contoured and taut, relieving your image of cosmetic flaws. Excess skin is then trimmed away. Once Dr. Freeman has finished improving your facial structure’s appearance, he will utilize tiny sutures or skin adhesives to close the incisions. Small drains may be put into place to remove excess fluid build-up and reduce swelling.
What to Expect: Your Facelift Recovery
Following your facelift procedure, dressings will be put into place that will be removed after one day. Your face will be bruised and swollen, but these are usual side effects that will subside. Your dressings may be reapplied, depending on which type of facelift technique you have performed, and surgical drains, if used, will be removed. Dr. Freeman will provide you with thorough post-operative instructions to you and your caretaker that will ensure you have a smooth recovery. Follow-up appointments will be scheduled during which Dr. Freeman will examine your treated area and make certain that you are healing correctly. Facelift patients are usually seen one day after surgery, three to four days after surgery and after one week for suture removal.
What to Expect: Your Facelift Results
Swelling and bruising will gradually subside, and your results will be apparent. Your final results will give you a more toned and smooth image, giving you a more flattering, youthful appearance that can boost your confidence. Given the versatile nature of a facelift and the various surgical techniques that can be used, you can experience smoother cheeks, jowl correction and reduced appearance of nasolabial folds and marionette lines.
Your facelift results can be long-lasting so long as you maintain a healthy lifestyle and a daily skincare regimen. Your results can last as long as five to 15 years. However, as mentioned earlier, a facelift is not a permanent cosmetic solution. The natural aging process will lead to more wrinkles and sags. Despite this, having a facelift will make you look many years younger than those who do not.
It is important to note that a facelift and a brow lift are different procedures leading to different results.
Often patients who elect to undergo a facelift choose also to undergo a brow lift as well. Dr. Freeman, an experienced facial plastic surgeon in Houston, works closely with his patients to assess their goals and to find the best treatment plan to achieve beautiful and natural results. With years of experience in maxillofacial surgery behind him, you can rest assured that the outcome will be spectacular.
Contact Dr. Freeman’s Clinic in Katy, TX
Your face is among your most expressive facets. How it looks and appears can ultimately impact how you perceive yourself and how others see you. Unfortunately, the natural aging process can take a toll on your facial structure’s quality, resulting in various cosmetic flaws. Jowls, sagging cheeks, nasolabial folds and marionette lines are among some of the most cosmetic concerns associated with age. Various cosmetic treatments can improve these flaws, but with just one procedure, you can do a complete upheaval and restore your image into one that is fresh with vitality. A facelift, offered at Dr. Freeman’s Clinic in Katy, TX, can greatly help reverse age signs, giving you an image that you can be proud of. If you are interested in learning more about a facelift and would like to learn more about the various surgical techniques that Dr. Freeman can perform, please schedule a consultation by contacting us at 281-599-9445 or visit our contact page.