In a facelift, an incision is made from the temporal hairline, down along the front of the ear, and then up behind the ear and along the hairline. The skin is lifted with dissection so that the deeper tissues of the face can be elevated.  Tightening these deep tissues is essential to obtain a long lasting lift to the face. Excess skin is then excised and closed with sutures. A facelift will help to diminish the nasolabial folds, soften the marionette lines, decrease jowling, and sharpen the jawling.  It will also help to elevate the cheek fat back to it’s former position, and will tighten the neck as well. A facelift should not alter the shape of the lips or smile. Unfortunately it will also not improve the appearance of lip lines.

If patients have significant volume loss a fat transfer is an excellent way to provide additional rejuvenation when doing the facelift. And for patients with significant skin wrinkling, laser resurfacing can be combined with the facelift. Large amounts of neck fat can be removed during the surgery, and neck bands improved.

The surgery can be performed with local sedation anesthesia in the office.   Most patients are bruised and swollen for at least a week, but there is not usually significant pain.  Results usually last for many years.