Facelift in Palm Beach & West Palm Beach

A facelift is ideal for individuals experiencing sagging skin of the face and neck, deep wrinkles, jowls, or loss of facial volume. To be a candidate patients must be in good health, with medical issues well-controlled. It also has to work for a patient’s social and work commitments, and finances.

There’s a lot of terminology out there whether it’s mini, mid, or full facelift, deep plane vs “SMAS” lifts. Facelifts are also often combined with complimentary procedures such as brow lifts, blepharoplasty, lip lifts, earlobe reductions, fat grafting and liposuction. Of course everyone wants a mini incision, a mini recovery and mini expense but more important is to personalize the procedure to each individual patient’s unique anatomy and aesthetic goals.

Timing is less about age and more about anatomy. I’ve performed facelifts on 43 year olds and 83 year olds. Some people are just predisposed to earlier deflation and sagging of the face and neck. There does seem to be a trend towards patients seeking facelifts at a younger age than previously. I think that is born out of the growth of the aesthetics industry in general, but also because of the realization of the limitations of dermal fillers and other more minimally invasive treatments to fully address aesthetic goals. Arguably, the earlier you address facial aging, the more natural and long-lasting your results can be.

I actually believe the results are permanent BUT time and gravity continues. So let’s say a facelift makes you look 10–15 years (depending on skin quality, lifestyle, and maintenance), then you should always look 10-15 years younger. However, after 10-15 years your appearance will likely once again resemble how you looked before the surgery.

Yes! This is always a concern for patients, and rightly so because we’ve all seen in the media (and around town!) some not-so-natural results. Fortunately, techniques have evolved significantly from just pulling and tightening the skin to repositioning the deeper tissues to anatomic ideals—ensuring a youthful, balanced outcome that enhances your natural beauty. The goal is for you to look like you, but younger and refreshed, and not to look like you have had surgery. Good plastic surgery shouldn’t look like plastic surgery!

Of course everyone is different, but I typically tell patients to expect bruising and swelling to last up to a month, and half of that is gone by about 2 weeks. For patients that work I recommend taking 1-2 weeks off work. I ask out-of-town patients to stay locally for 1 week. Most patients feel ready to go out socially after 2 weeks. I do advise that it’s 3 months before being “event ready” so plan the timing of surgery with that in mind before a family wedding or an important vacation, for example, and remember, all scars can take up to a year to fully mature.