Facelift
Enjoy a More Youthful-Looking Face With a Rhytidectomy
Facial rejuvenation can involve a number of different treatment strategies, but nothing is more effective or longer lasting than a facelift with or without a neck lift (rhytidectomy). Dr. Kevin Cross performs more than 100 facelifts and necklifts for patients from throughout the nation and the world, in addition to those in the Philadelphia area each year.
This is close to 20 times the number of facelifts and necklifts performed in a year by the average plastic surgeon and is one of the chief reasons he was named one of the nation's 30 best beauty gurus by Town and Country Magazine.
What Is a Facelift?
Why do patients choose facelift surgeries?
As we age, the face loses volume and tissues grow increasingly lax and begin to descend. This creates an inverted triangle or “bottom-heavy” look due to the appearance of loose and heavy skin in the lower face and neck.
The shape of the face tends to become more square with aging, moving away from the more conical shape of youth, when volume is greatest in the cheek region and the chin and jaw appear most tapered. These changes are seen when comparing the features of this daughter and mother:
This mother-and-daughter comparison shows the squaring of the face during the aging process.
Furthermore, loosening of skin and muscles and excess fat deposits in the neck add to the loss of a defined jawline and neck region. While many non-invasive and minimally invasive treatments are available to reduce signs of aging, these non-surgical options can't compare with a facelift. Advanced techniques have become available to make this form of cosmetic surgery safer and more effective than ever before.
Simply put, a facelift with Dr. Cross will help to “turn back the clock” by correcting signs of aging on the face and neck. Whether addressing changes in the mid portion of the face, the neck, or both, a good surgical correction via facelift will restore tissues to a more youthful location, secure them under the skin, and get rid of excess skin and fat.
A facelift helps define the jawline, achieve a more contoured neck, and restore lost volume in certain areas of the face, as seen in these patients:
*Results May Vary
Before & After Photo Gallery
See for yourself the patient transformations that can be achieved by Dr. Cross and his team.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION
Schedule a consultation to discuss facelift cost, results, and more in Philadelphia by calling Cross Medical Group at (215) 561-9100 (Philadelphia) or (610) 688-9100 (Villanova), or send a message online.
Who Is A Good Candidate For A Facelift?
One of the questions that patients most frequently ask is: “What is the ideal age to get a facelift?” While it is common for patients between the ages of 40 and 60 to have this surgery, women and men who fall outside of this age range may also be good candidates for the procedure and be quite pleased with their results. Patients who receive a facelift by Dr. Cross when they are in their 40s, 50s, and even into their 60s can expect that they will continue to look better than they did prior to their procedure for 15 to 20 years. Due to some thinning of the tissues that need to be lifted during a facelift, patients in their 70s or 80s can’t expect the same longevity to their correction, but can still expect to look great for a decade or more.
Dr. Kevin Cross's Facelift Technique
Dr. Cross's facelift techniques address not only the skin, but the stronger tissues under the skin. In doing so, the correction is performed so that the tissues lie naturally and do not appear overly tightened or unnaturally pulled, but remain in the proper position for many years.
To further help create a facelift result that looks balanced, Dr. Cross controls the important muscular layer at all levels of the face, from the neck to the cheek region and, when necessary, into the forehead, as shown in the diagram. This allows him the ability to balance each of these regions or to focus on an individual region, depending on what the facelift patient's needs and desires require. Dr. Cross will choose one of many technical options in order to create the most correction possible.
See the results of Dr. Cross' techniques in his facelift before-and-after photos. Browse the facelift before-and-after gallery online or ask to see images of his past patients—including mini-facelift before-and-after photos—during your consultation.
The Deep Plane Facelift
Widely considered to be one of the gold standards in facelift surgery, the deep plane facelift technique allows Dr. Cross to mobilize and reposition all of the aging elements of the face. This is most essential in patients with deflation in their cheeks, deep nasolabial folds, and excess jowls. Dr. Cross puts sagging fat, muscle, and skin back where it belongs after releasing tethered ligaments in the face. These ligaments can only be released from a deep access point, and this maneuver is the key to a successful deep plane facelift surgery. These same ligaments are also what prevent many standard facelift techniques from achieving rejuvenation in the midface and jowl area, because they prevent appropriate repositioning when not released.
Notice, in this picture of a 63-year-old woman who underwent a deep plane brow, face, and neck lift, that the sagging in her cheeks has been lifted. Her features are no longer flat and square, but take on the more curved shape of youthfulness. Her cheeks are higher and more full, and her jowls are corrected.
The High SMAS Facelift
The High SMAS facelift is similar to the deep plane facelift, except that the deep entry point occurs higher up on the face. This allows even more improvement in the cheek region and is an ideal option for younger patients, as well as those with a naturally thicker SMAS. Part of the artistry in face lifting is being able to recognize who is a better candidate for one procedure as opposed to another.
Other SMAS Facelifts
Suturing the SMAS without first lifting this tissue layer comes in many forms. This is the most common approach used by plastic surgeons who are getting comfortable with facelift surgery. While it is very limited in its ability to improve shape in the mid portion of the cheeks and face, Dr. Cross will use this type of approach when patients require more attention in their neck and only limited correction around the jowl and jawline.
Facelift Incisions
A crucial element of any successful facelift procedure is incision placement. It is important to keep the incisions as short as possible—but what is even more important is that the incisions remain as unnoticeable as possible. Incisions that distort the sideburns or that are visible in front of the ear, should not be tolerated. Often, plastic surgeons shorten their incisions but leave the skin around the ear and neck looking puckered and bunched. As is evident in the photograph here, when the incision is placed correctly, it is nearly impossible to find, even with the hair pulled back as seen in this image.
The Male Facelift
There are a few important elements of a facelift that are unique in men. This largely has to do with the beard. All men have a patch of hairless skin between the ear and the beard hair of the cheek and neck. When excess skin is removed during a facelift and/or necklift, bearded skin is moved into the location where the hairless patch used to be. During a procedure with Dr. Cross, male patients can expect Dr. Cross to remove as many hair follicles as possible from the skin that now covers the area around the ear. This extra step is rarely performed by facelift surgeons, but can be very helpful to minimize any evidence that a male patient has had a facelift or neck lifting procedure.
Men should also be very aware of the numbness of their facial skin for the first few months after their procedure, because when they shave, they will have less tactile feedback from the razor. Shaving will require a little more attention until the sensation returns.
What Is Recovery Like After a Facelift?
The recovery timeline for a facelift depends on which type of surgical technique is performed, the extent of the facelift surgery, and the healing capacity of each individual. Patients often ask us, “What is facelift recovery like?” Every patient's experience is unique, but regardless of what type of facelift you have—mini, deep plane, or other—you should expect some level of temporary bruising, swelling, and redness in the incision areas. These effects can persist for two to three weeks, but will resolve on their own.
So exactly how long will downtime be after facelift? Patients are typically ready and able to return to their typical activities within a couple of days. They are able to go for long walks almost immediately after their procedure and are showering and washing their hair and face after two days. Patients can typically feel comfortable running errands like going to the supermarket after approximately 10 days without anyone noticing that they recently had a procedure. Patients who don’t want to return to work until they are able to hide the fact that they had a procedure typically require two to three weeks, and it can take anywhere between eight to 10 weeks for the results to fully “settle.”
Some individuals heal at a faster rate than others, but no matter your ability, it will be critical that you get plenty of rest and take care of the incision sites while they're healing during your recovery.
What Are Revision and Repeat Facelifts?
Every year, Dr. Cross performs a significant number of revision procedures—or fixes of other surgeons' work. In fact, more than 20 percent of his procedures are revisions. Common reasons for revision work include poor scarring or scar placement, lack of improvement or rapid loss of improvement in the areas targeted for correction, and asymmetries or imbalances left after the original work. Dr. Cross encourages patients to wait at least one year before performing a facelift revision procedure, but under certain circumstances, corrections are performed sooner.
Even great facelifts won't last forever. The aging process continues from the second Dr. Cross puts in his last stitch. Whether it is one of Dr. Cross' patients who had a procedure more than a decade earlier or a patient who had a procedure elsewhere years in the past, follow-up facelifts are not only possible, but very effective. Former facelift patients will often find that they heal faster and more easily these days since techniques have improved over the years, shorter scars are possible, and the body is more prepared to heal, having gone through a procedure in the past.
As Dr. Cross tells his patients, "A good facial rejuvenation should mean that, once the recovery is complete, friends and family will appreciate an improvement, but a new acquaintance should not know that a procedure has been performed."
When significant work is necessary on the neck region in combination with face work, a small scar under the chin is used. Many people have scars in this location from having fallen as a child, and this facelift scar appears no different. In fact, it is usually forgotten by the patient over a short period of time.
Often, patients look at pictures of themselves when younger and notice that they had more upper facial volume in youth. When necessary, adding volume back to the face is performed through the repositioning of the natural tissues of the face. This can be enhanced with the use of fat and stem cell grafting during the time of the procedure. Added volume should not look overdone, but rather complement the restoration, as demonstrated in this patient:
*Results May Vary
Before & After Photo Gallery
See for yourself the patient transformations that can be achieved by Dr. Cross and his team.
More Face Surgery and Rejuvenation Options
Patients who address sagging on the lower portions of the face also frequently want to correct signs of aging on the upper face as well. A brow lift elevates a hooded, drooping forehead, while a blepharoplasty procedure creates a more alert look by opening up the eyes. Patients who want even more facial definition may opt for chin and cheek implants.
All of these facial surgeries alter contours, but a different technique is required to improve skin quality. As Dr. Cross says, surgery changes the quantity, but not quality of your skin. To address skin quality issues like crepiness and irregular pigments, Dr. Cross chooses from a wide range of treatments, including broad band light (BBL), radiofrequency (RF), and fractional laser skin rejuvenation treatments, chemical peels, microneedling, and more.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION
Contact Cross Plastic Surgery for facelift surgery in Philadelphia at (215) 561-9100 or Main Line's Villanova (610) 688-9100. You can also send a message online to inquire about a consultation, or for more information.
