Frequent Questions About Cosmetic Surgery
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Answers To Questions About Facelift
| Q. |
Will smoking affect my recovery? |
| A. |
Smoking adversely affects wound healing. The small vessels that supply blood to the tissues shrink up and prevent the necessary nutrients for healing to get to the wound. The incidence of having a wound complication such as an open wound or skin death is much higher in smokers. Furthermore, the rate of wound infection is also significantly increased in smokers for the same reason of limited blood flow. Because of this, a patient must stop smoking for a minimum of two weeks prior to surgery to decrease the risk of these complications. |
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| Q. |
What is the recovery period after a facelift? |
| A. |
After a facelift, you may recover comfortably at home or in a facility with nursing care. You will have a light bandage around your head to protect the incisions which will be removed in 2 days. There will be some swelling and bruising which will peak at 3 to 5 days after surgery and then gradually subside over the following days to weeks. Generally, patients do not have much discomfort and are off of pain medication within a few days of surgery. Non-exertional work activity is permissible after 1 to 2 weeks. You must avoid straining, lifting, bending over, and any strenuous activity for a couple of weeks. At 3 weeks, low-impact exercise is permissible followed by unrestricted activity after 6 weeks. |
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| Q. |
Do you perform any "threadlifts"? |
| A. |
Our physicians do not perform the thread lift. They would instead recommend a mini facelift as they do not feel that the threads provide the benefits that our patients are looking for. The thread lift does not address sagging skin and does not provide a permanent change like a mini facelift would. |
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| Q. |
Can you do liposuction along with a body lift for maximum results post gastric bypass? |
| A. |
Congratulations on your weight loss. There are several well developed operations intended to rid you of your excess skin. A lower body lift will lift the buttocks and outer thighs while also tightening the abdomen. An inner thigh lift will tighten the upper, inner thighs while an arm lift can reduce the skin laxity on your upper arms. Finally, if lax, sagging facial skin is a problem, a facelift or mini-facelift combined with a brow lift will tighten your facial tissues without giving you that fake, operated appearance. Often, women choose to have liposuction of nearby areas such as the flanks (love handles), hips, back, or thighs at the same time to improve their overall look. |
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| Q. |
Are facelifts commonly performed with other procedures? |
| A. |
Yes. Facelifts do not treat the upper portion of the face. Baggy eyelids, crow’s feet, descended brows, or a wrinkled forehead can be addressed by combining your face or neck lift with a brow lift, and a blepharoplasty. Other facial procedures which may help achieve your desired look, such as an otoplasty/ear surger, lip augmentation, chin augmentation and rhinoplasty can also be performed in conjunction with a facelift. |
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| Q. |
I have thin lips. Will a mini face lift accentuate the thin lips and give it a pulled appearance? |
| A. |
The mini-face lift will not affect the appearance of your lips. The goal of a mini-facelift is to lessen the wrinkles on your face, decrease jowls, elevate the cheeks, and tighten the neck. You will not have a pulled appearance. A facelift should not pull on the corners of the mouth or the lips and therefore, has no affect on the mouth or lips whatsoever. We can use Surgisil lip implants to plump thinning lips if the patient desires. |
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| Q. |
I have lost a massive amount of weight and would like to know what my surgical options are to remove the excess skin. |
| A. |
Congratulations on your weight loss. There are several well developed operations intended to rid you of your excess skin. A lower body lift combined with an abdominoplasty or tummy tuck will lift the buttocks and outer thighs while also tightening the abdomen. An inner thigh lift will tighten the upper, inner thighs while an arm lift can reduce the skin laxity on your upper arms. If your breast are too relaxed, you may benifit from a breast lift (mastopexy) or combination breast augmentation with lift. Finally, if lax, sagging facial skin is a problem, a facelift or mini-facelift combined with a brow lift will tighten your facial tissues without giving you that fake, operated appearance. |
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| Q. |
Is the minifacelift the same as a lifestyle lift, with 4 incisions and minimal downtime? Also, which of the injectables (ex. Juvederm) last the longest-I am interested in vertical lines around mouth-mainly upper lip area? |
| A. |
The mini-facelift is a shorter scar version of a traditional facelift and requires less invasiveness and achieves wonderful results. The mini-facelift will reliably and safely elevate the cheeks, tighten the jawline and neck, and reduce facial wrinkling in a long-lasting fashion. Down-time is minimized.
The "lifestyle lift" is not an accepted terminology within the world of plastic surgery. There is no published paper on the "lifestyle lift" nor is it an entity in any legitimate plastic surgery text book. The "lifestyle lift" is a term created for marketing. We therefore can not elaborate upon the details of this procedure and there is no discussion as to the technical aspects of the operation on the "lifestyle lift" website.
As far as injectables for lip lines, juvederm does last longer than restalyne and may be the ideal option for you. We have a skin care center called rejuvenate with nurses specially trained in performing these injections and they would be happy to meet with yo to discuss your concerns. |
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| Q. |
How much time passes between the initial consultation and surgery? |
| A. |
Once you have had your complementary consult with one of our surgeons, it is typically 2-4 weeks before surgery. However, this can vary significantly. |
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| Q. |
What does a facelift do? |
| A. |
- Lifts cheeks
- Removes jowls
- Reduces wrinkling
- Defines jaw line
- Tightens neck
- Removes neck fat
- Softens nasolabial fold (crease from corner of nose to corner of mouth)
- Removes marionette lines (crease from corner of mouth down to chin)
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| Q. |
What kind of anesthesia is used? |
| A. |
Either general anesthesia or IV sedation, depending upon your situation, is used to achieve sedation and pain control during a facelift. You will be asleep either way, and awaken comfortably in the recovery room. General anesthesia and IV sedation are extremely safe in healthy patients undergoing cosmetic surgery. |
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| Q. |
Where is the surgery performed? |
| A. |
Facelift surgery is performed either in an office operating room setting or at the Denver West Surgery Center in Golden, Colorado, depending upon your anesthetic and post-operative needs. The Denver West Surgery Center is an accredited outpatient facility which provides an extremely safe surgical environment. Tenured board-certified anesthesiologists with hospital privileges provide anesthetic care. |
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| Q. |
How long do the results of a facelift last? |
| A. |
This is a difficult question to definitively answer. Undoubtedly, your genetics, bone structure, and skin quality effect the duration of your results. While the effects of gravity and aging on your skin can not be halted by surgery, generally patients feel a restored youthfulness to their appearance for ten years or more before they consider a "touch up" procedure to selectively relift certain areas. |
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| Q. |
What is a mini-facelift? |
| A. |
A "mini-facelift" is a minimal incision facelift. This procedure offers much of the same benefits as that of a full facelift. However, scarring within the hair, behind the ear, can be avoided. Additionally, a small incision under the chin to tighten the neck muscles is unnecessary in these patients. Good candidates for a mini-facelift have moderate neck laxity rather than an extremely saggy "turkey" neck. They are usually slightly younger than a full facelift candidate. |
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| Q. |
Where are the scars hidden? |
| A. |
The scars are hidden in the junction between the face and ear, and within the hair. When the incisions are precisely placed and the skin is meticulously sutured closed, these scars become inconspicuous so that no one will know that you had surgery. |
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| Q. |
Will I have an "operated" or "pulled" look? |
| A. |
At the Center for Cosmetic Surgery, the goal of a facelift is to rejuvenate, not change your face. The facelift will take years off of your face without pulling the corners of your mouth or eyes. You will look natural, not "operated" upon or "pulled" so that you simply appear and feel younger. |
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| Q. |
Am I a good candidate for a facelift? |
| A. |
A facelift is an appropriate and rewarding surgery for healthy people who do not smoke and wish to rejuvenate their facial appearance. The procedure does not make you look like a teenager again, but can bring you back many years to a younger, more alert, energetic look. Excellent candidates for a facelift are those who wish to rid themselves of their jowls, tighten their neck, define their jaw, and reduce their wrinkling. It is essential that anyone considering a facelift understands the reasonable expectations. A personal consultation with Dr. Wolfe or Dr. Vath at the Center for Cosmetic Surgery in Golden, Colorado can provide you with a thorough understanding of what a facelift can do for you. |
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| Q. |
How is a facelift performed? |
| A. |
The layer of tissue underneath your skin called the SMAS is used to help lift and support your face. This lifts the cheek, removes the jowls, softens the nasolabial folds, defines the jawline, and tightens the neck. When there is neck muscle laxity and separation (banding) and excess neck fat, the muscles are tightened in the neck and the fat is removed. Then, with your facial structure supported from the inside, the excess, loose skin is removed, tightening the neck and reducing wrinkles. |
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| Q. |
What kind of anesthesia will I need for a mini-facelift? |
| A. |
Most facial procedures can be performed under conscious sedation, or "twilight" anesthesia. With this technique, an IV is started before the operation, and a variety of medications are then used to deeply sedate the patient. Most patients are unaware of any painful stimuli, and recollection of the procedure is minimal. In contrast to general anesthesia, patients continue to breathe on their own without the aid of a machine.
Benefits of sedation over general anesthesia include quicker recovery, less chance of nausea, and a more gradual emergence from anesthesia ,which reduces coughing and blood pressure changes, both of which can increase the risk of postoperative bleeding.
General anesthesia can certainly be used for facelift procedures, if required for additional procedures being done at the same time. |
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| Q. |
I'm 51 and am interested in getting rid of the wrinkles on my face. |
| A. |
Facial wrinkles can be reduced by undergoing a mini-facelift. This procedure will tighten the facial skin without giving you a pulled, operated look. It also tightens the jawline and neck, reduces jowling, and lifts the cheek to give you a more youthful appearance. |
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| Q. |
How do I eliminate saggy areas at the corner of the mouth to jawline and under the chin? Do tissue glues help? |
| A. |
The lines from the corner of the mouth (marionette lines), saggy jowls, jawline, and neck skin are all best managed by a facelift or mini-facelift. This has stood the test of time and is undeniable and reliable. The actual tightening of the underlying facial layers beneath the skin to lift the face and then the removal of excess, lax skin will decrease unwanted lines and sagginess in the face. Fibrin sealant and plasma products have been employed in order to decrease the risk of bleeding beneath the skin and have not been accepted as the standard of care for minimizing this risk. The use of these products to assist with the aesthetic goals of a facelift (tightening skin laxity and ridding of unwanted lines) is unsubstantiated and experimental at best. I would recommend that you stick to tried and true techniques that we know work well. |
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| Q. |
How old can I be and still have a mini-facelift? |
| A. |
There is no easy answer to that. Everyone shows facial aging at different rates. A mini-facelift can be applied to those who have mild to moderate neck skin redundancy and jowling. Once there are more severe changes, especially in the neck region, a full facelift requiring a skin incision in the hair behind the ear may be necessary. Generally, a mini-facelift is beneficial for those into their 60's, or even later. |
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