Facelift Surgery (Full, Mini, Mid, and Lower Rhytidectomy)

Scottsdale, AZ plastic surgeon Dr. James Nachbar offers a full variety of facial plastic surgery procedures. One of the most common surgeries for correcting loose and sagging skin is the facelift.

This treatment is always tailored and customized to concentrate on the precise sections of the face where you have laxity.

It is important not to create an “over tightened” appearance of the face, as we have all seen among the Hollywood set on late-night TV.

Depending on your aesthetic goals, a facelift can focus on the areas around the eyes, the cheeks and mid-face, the bottom section including the jowls, mouth, and neck, and more for an all-around youthful look.

The type of facelift used depends on your goals, the condition of your skin, the amount of laxity present, lifestyle, age, and other factors. Some men and women are ready for a full facelift, which also tightens the neck, while others may need a more targeted procedure.

Dr. Nachbar is an experienced surgeon who has a complete understanding of the anatomy and complex intricacies of a facelift surgery. The objective is to create a natural-looking result that’s smooth and appealing.

Ideal candidates for a facelift are frustrated by noticeable facial wrinkles and lines, whether on the entire face or a specific section, such as the middle or lower face or neck.

It is important to understand that age does not necessarily define the timing to have cosmetic facial surgery. There are many unique concerns and reasons, as well as numerous lift types depending on the concerns being addressed.

The treatment chosen will vary for patients who are in their 30s versus those who are over 60.

Skin laxity is one of the most important components in the planning process. Facelift patients should be in good physical health and abstain from smoking, and also have realistic expectations.

Other treatments, such as facial fillers, sometimes called the “liquid facelift,” do not replace facelift, but are often the best first approach to facial rejuvenation.

If you have not tried facial fillers yet, you are encouraged to explore them before having a surgical facelift. Dr. Nachbar will be happy to meet with you and help you decide how to start.

Every facelift is significantly customized to your own personal condition and goals for surgery.

Dr. Nachbar performs facelift under general anesthesia in a surgery center, and keeps his facelift patients at the surgery center overnight after their procedure. Because of the nature of the procedure, and the temporary empty space created by the facelift, there is a risk of bleeding under the skin after surgery, requiring a trip back to the operating room. By keeping you overnight after surgery, we can substantially reduce that risk, because when bleeding occurs, it almost always occurs within six to eight hours after surgery.

Despite the local anesthetic, Dr. Nachbar places some local anesthetic to reduce bleeding. Often, he combines the facelift with fat grafting, to help plump up the face, in which case the fat is harvested, and it is injected before making the facelift incisions.

Dr. Nachbar then makes the incisions necessary for your procedure. After the skin is released from the underlying tissue, Dr. Nachbar carefully pulls and tightens the facial muscles to help tighten the face and neck.

Sometimes it is necessary to make a small incision under the chin, to get adequate exposure to the center of the neck.

Once the muscle has been tightened, the extra skin is carefully removed, and the incisions are sutured closed.

After the facelift, you will be gently awoken from anesthesia and transferred to the recovery area, and then to the overnight stay area. You will have a tiny drain on each side of the face, which Dr. Nachbar will remove on the morning following surgery before you go home.

There is usually some soreness, but facelift is not a very painful procedure. Some bruising can occur, and if so, can take several weeks to resolve. There are two sets of sutures to be removed, one set after one week, and the rest after a second week.

Scottsdale, AZ plastic surgeon Dr. James Nachbar is highly trained in executing this procedure and performs many breast augmentations year round. During your consultation at Scottsdale Plastic Surgery, Dr. Nachbar will address your concerns and desires and provide you with all of the options available, while also tailoring a surgical plan to reach your goals.

Also at your consultation, we can do a 3-D Surgical Simulation, so you can see what you might look like with the breast implants you have selected.