The modern facelift procedure is as different from the old standard facelift technique as is the difference between the computers of today and computers of the 1980’s.
The old standard facelift only addressed the lax facial skin, only pulling the skin tight to get a more youthful appearance. The problem was that this technique also distorted the natural anatomic features that caused the pulled, windswept look.
Today we address the aging face by looking at four basic principles.
1. First, of course there is
laxity in the facial skin and some degree of skin removal is necessary, but less pulling and tightening is required because we also address the next three other problems associated with the aging face:
2. The first of this group are
loss of bony architecture. As we age we all lose mineral bony structure from our facial bones and jaw. This is called osteoporosis. In the modern face lift, in order to produce a more natural look, augmentation of this bony loss with safe porous implants restore this needed facial architecture producing better jaw lines and facial contour without pulling the skin too tight.
3. Next,
loss of muscle mass occurs; this is seen in the aging lip. The red portion of the lip called the vermillion is a membrane sitting on an underlying muscle called the orbicularis muscle. As we age this muscle becomes thinner, known as atrophied, and the overlying membrane buckles giving the appearance of a wrinkled thin lip. Augmentation of the lip with natural injectable materials, and safe porous implants, restore fullness to the lips. This gives the overall facial appearance a more youthful look.
4. Finally there is loss of facial fat and malportion of natural facial fat pads. The resulting appearance is a hollow or gaunt appearance around the eyes and cheeks, excessive wrinkling around the mouth and facial jowls. Again in order to produce a natural facial rejuvenation, augmentation of the hollowed and wrinkled areas must be achieved. This is accomplished by injecting natural body fat harvested at the time of the face lift surgery producing a fuller youthful face. Fallen or ptotic fat pads are elevated and secured into their natural position, reduced in size and contoured with delicate liposuction techniques.
The overall affect of this strategic augmentation of naturally lost facial architecture and volume, is that it eliminates the need to pull the facial skin back too tightly during the facelift procedure. Therefore restoring these key elements to the aging face produces a modern and natural facial rejuvenation without distortion to anatomic facial features.
Using the above four treatment methods in the modern facelift produces a more natural long-term facial rejuvenation result.
Click here to see before & after photos
