After Your Facelift One of the main things we hear from patients after they have undergone a facelift is "How do I maintain this look?" There are a few things that can be done to help extend the "life" of your facelift. Remember, a facelift sets back the clock, but it doesn't keep it from running. Ongoing preventive maintenance is very important to get the most out of your investment in your appearance. The secondary tuck One very important thing we recommend is a secondary tuck. When you have your original facelift, if it is a complete full facelift, a network of scar tissue is created beneath the skin. This scar tissue is stronger than your normal subcutaneous tissue and is one of the factors that result in a tightening of the skin. The secondary tuck uses this scar tissue to maintain, and even improve the results of the initial operation. Secondary talks are only effective if your first facelift was a complete facelift. But this, we mean it facelift in which there was full undermining of the soft tissues of the cheek in the neck. The secondary tuck is most effective when the initial facelift was either a deep plane or a biplane facelift. If the first facelift was a mini-lift for an overly conservative facelift, then there may not have been sufficient development of underlying scar tissue to make the secondary tuck a practical option. The secondary tuck, as carried out at our Center, is performed by using part of the same incisions around the ear and removing any additional excess skin that is allowing laxity in the mid to lower face and neck. This procedure is quite simple compared to the traditional facelift. Most patients require only local anesthesia for the procedure, which takes a little over an hour. Recovery is quite simple. No dressings are required and all of the sutures are virtually invisible and absorbable, so that no special follow up care is required. Patients are able to return to normal activity within a day or so, and there is very little discomfort associated with the procedure. Secondary tucks are done at a reduced cost if carried out within two years of your initial surgery at our Center. Many of our patients periodically carry out these maintenance tucks and are able to avoid requiring another major facelift. Secondary facelift For those patients who are seeking rejuvenation more than two years after surgery, there is the secondary facelift. This procedure falls somewhere between the initial facelift surgery and the tuck. The incisions are similar to the original facelift, but because of the subcutaneous scar tissue produced by the original operation, the amount of dissection is considerably less. Recovery time is usually only around one week. We consider this an intermediate procedure. While it involves the same incisions and also includes tightening of the deeper structures of the face and neck, it is not as extensive as a complete traditional facelift. Again, the cost is less in comparison to the initial surgery but, at times, the results can be just as dramatic. Patients who have had their original facelift within the past 6 to 10 years are often ideal candidates for the secondary facelift. Laser resurfacing More and more of our patients are choosing to combine the benefits of facelifting with laser skin resurfacing. While facelifts are great for sagging skin and muscles, the benefits on fine lines are limited. The laser resurfacing compliments the tightening by reorganizing the collagen in the dermis of the skin helping to reduce and minimize lines and creases etched into the skin. Unlike the older phenol based peels, recovery from laser resurfacing is significantly less uncomfortable. While there still is considerable redness afterwards, patients usually find the laser much easier to tolerate. There is also reduced risk with the procedure compared to the older peel. For patients who have had a facelift without laser resurfacing, this procedure can be carried out afterwards, to compliment the results of the lift. Additionally, patients are requesting secondary laser resurfacing to further enhance the effect of the treatment. Our experience over the past few years convinces us that laser resurfacing is a vast improvement over the older deep chemical peel. If you were thinking of resurfacing but afraid of phenol, you may wish to reconsider. Skin care Last, but not least, we, as always, promote good skin care. The texture of your skin is key in maintaining a youthful appearance. Smooth, fresh skin can be attained by daily conditioning your skin with a good skin care program consisting of gentle, yet effective products. At our Center, we carry in an extensive line of Glyderm products which we have found be very helpful for a home based skin maintenance program. For additional information, please contact our Center or refer to additional information, which is available on this web site. Our search engine will help you find these other articles.   News Index

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