Am I a Candidate for a Facelift?

As children, we cannot wait to grow older, even going as far as to measure age in months instead of years. It can seem like there are a constant line of events to look forward to while growing into adulthood. Like childhood, there are still many things in life to look forward to while growing older, such as having a family, excelling in one’s career, and eventually retiring. One of the things that most adults do not look forward to is looking older. The appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, creases, sagging skin, hollow cheeks, thin lips, and other signs of aging can make a person look and feel older than they actually are. Over exposure to the sun, environmental elements, tobacco use, and other factors can accelerate the aging process. Even without these factors, the appearance of facial aging typically begins to appear when a person is in his or her early to mid-40s. Unfortunately, the signs of facial aging cannot be easily hidden as there is not an effective way to hide droopy, sagging skin. Make-up may be able to camouflage some of the less obvious signs of facial aging, but it is ineffective at concealing the appearance of jowls, loss of volume, creases, and deep wrinkles. Facelift surgery can help a patient reverse the effects of aging, achieve a firmer, more youthful contour to the face, and gain confidence in his or her appearance.

Facelift Candidates

Before recommending surgery, Buffalo plastic surgeon David Sherris requires facelift candidates meet certain criteria:

• Have realistic expectations: A patient must have realistic expectations in order to be considered an ideal candidate for the facelift procedure. A patient can expect to remove five to ten years’ worth of aging from his or her appearance after recovering from facelift surgery. With that being said, a patient will always still look like him or herself just a more youthful version. The results achieved through facelift surgery can last from five, ten, 15, or more years depending on genetics and other lifestyle factors, but will not stop the natural aging process from occurring. Gradually, the signs of aging will begin to appear on the face once more, but a patient  but will always look more youthful for having done a facelift procedure.
• Be in good health: Ideally, facelift candidates are in good health. Certain health conditions, such as diabetes or other health conditions, can affect the healing process. During the facelift consultation, the patient’s full medical history will be taken into account. Alternative procedures may be recommended if a patient’s health prohibits him or her from qualifying for facelift surgery.
• Give up tobacco: Using tobacco products can greatly affect a person’s ability to heal. In order to qualify for facelift surgery, a patient must be willing to refrain from all tobacco products for at least two weeks before surgery and at least two weeks after surgery. Patients may find it beneficial to use facelift surgery as motivation to quit using tobacco altogether.
• Be unhappy with the appearance of aging on the face
• Be willing to follow the surgeon’s orders: Patients must be willing and able to carefully follow all pre-surgical and post-surgical instructions recommended by the surgeon.

Reveal a Younger, Revitalized You

Facelift surgery can help you look and feel refreshed and revitalized. If you are bothered by the appearance of jowls, creases, droopy skin, sagging, wrinkles, and lines on your face, you may benefit from facelift surgery. To learn more about facelift surgery, please contact the Clinic of Facial Plastic Surgery today.