Austin Facelift

Dr. Louis W. Apostolakis is a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery as well as the American Board of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. Here the Doctor has answered some of the common questions Bizymoms visitors have about Facelift.


Q. What is a facelift?

A. A facelift is a procedure to lessen the signs of aging and is sometimes called a rhytidectomy.  By making a series of incisions around the ear, the tissues of the neck, cheeks, and temples are released from their deep attachments and positioned higher on the face.  In addition to repositioning the age related falling, redundant tissues are removed (fat and skin) as appropriate.  I typically refer to this as a "lower facelift" with the addition of a forehead lift making it a "complete facelift."  Many patients like to treat their eyelids and shrinking lips at the same time as well.

Simply thought of, a facelift is like "tailoring" the tissues of your face and neck.  The overall shape of the face is changed to more closely resemble the shape you had as a younger person.  Much like tailoring a piece of clothing makes it fit you better.  Many patients like to combine laser resurfacing with a lifting procedure as this addresses the quality of the skin or "fabric" of your face.  Just like a piece of clothing needs to be cleaned and pressed as well as tailored, many people need both resurfacing as well as surgery to appreciate maximum reduction in the signs of aging.

Q. What are the benefits of a facelift procedure?

A. The most obvious benefit is the reduction in the appearance of aging.  From there some people appreciate an improved sense of self confidence which can translate into improvement in many aspects of there lives.  "Looking how I feel" is commonly reported by patients as their reason for doing these things.

Q. Are there significant risks associated with facelift surgery?

A. Facelift surgery is associated with risks.  All of us incur varying degrees of risk every day simply by being alive.  We balance those risks with our "reward" for having taken on the risk.  For example, every time we drive to the grocery store we balance the risks of getting in a car against the benefits of having the groceries.  In surgery you need to consider the likelihood of risks against the benefit you expect to receive and decide if surgery is right for you.  Every procedure has a different risk profile which I go into great detail explaining during consultation.

Q. Can I expect permanent results from a facelift?

A. Yes, but it does depend on exactly what you mean by permanent.  By permanent, I mean that you will look better for the rest of your life for having done a facelift.  This does not mean that a facelift "freezes you in time" never to look a day older from there on.  I like to tell people to imagine they could clone themselves the day before surgery.  One clone has the surgery and the other does not.  After surgery they live exactly the same lives.  The one who had the surgery would expect to look better from that point forward even though they both will develop new signs of ageing as the years pass.

Q. Is there a common technique for facelift procedures?

A. There are as many different ways to do a facelift as there are surgeons.  Most surgeons do basically the same procedure but the more subtle aspects can make a huge difference in the results.  I do a lot of facelifts and have fine-tuned my technique to maximize the benefits and minimize the risk.  I avoid techniques that create weird or overdone results that we can all point to and say, "look at that facelift".  The greatest compliment I get is when a surgery patient tells me that a friend or family member they haven’t seen in 10 years compliments their appearance along the lines of "you haven’t changed a bit."  I hear this a lot as people often times do a facelift to "prepare" for a reunion.

Q. Is a facelift performed under general anesthesia?

A. I do not, however many surgeons do.  I very much prefer deep sedation as it offers so many advantages.  The key is perfect local anesthesia so that the patient experiences no pain, even if they were awake (though they are not).  In addition, the local anesthesia continues to work for several hours after surgery making post-operative pain almost insignificant.  With deep sedation, patients have no awareness during surgery and simply remember going in and coming out of surgery.  They also have almost no problems with nausea as is very common after general anesthesia.  There are many other safety advantages to sedation over general anesthesia.  I find it to be technically better as there are no tubes pulling at the mouth and jaw, and getting in the way.