Facelift is a bit of a misnomer. Patients assume that it is a surgical procedure to rejuvenate the entire face. While the improvement from a facelift can be transformative, it’s actually a procedure that addresses only the lower 1/3 of the face. This makes it ideal for eliminating “jowling” or drapes of sagging skin around the mouth, delivering definition to the jawline and re-positioning your mid-face. However, a facelift is often combined with a neck lift, as the face and neck work in tandem, and/or a blepharoplasty and a brow lift, which address the upper 2/3 of the face, in order to restore a more youthful contour to your face as a whole. The other misperception about a facelift is that the results are going to make you look “done”. This is not the case with Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Mark Deuber.
Dr. Deuber is passionate about embracing new technologies and techniques that will deliver the highest quality patient experience for his Dallas area and beyond patients. This includes a natural looking result as well as the fastest recovery possible. He utilizes the same unique surgical technique in his facelift and neck lift procedures that he does in a 24 hour recovery breast augmentation. It gives him not only superior control, but also produces less post-operative pain which translates to a much speedier recovery. In addition, he practices a SMAS facelift. This technique places the tension or lift not on the skin, but on the deeper, underlying tissues, allowing him to deliver a completely natural looking result with none of the wind-blown look of yore
What is a Facelift?
With time, your body starts to produce less collagen and elastin. The first is what keeps the skin looking lifted and plump while the latter is what allows it to “snap back” into place after you laugh, cry or scowl. Certain lifestyle choices may speed up this aging process such as:
- Sun exposure
- Smoking
- Health of your diet
- Exercise routine
- Whether or not you live in or near a big city with more pollution
Though time affects the skin and tissues everywhere on the body, these adverse effects are often first noticed on the face since your face is always on display. Aging on the face may manifest as:
- Loss of volume in the mid-face/cheeks
- “jowling” around the mouth
- Deepening of the nasolabial folds
- Wrinkles
- Lack of definition at the chin/neck juncture
- Sagging skin and/or muscle in the neck
- “crepey” skin texture
A facelift is a surgical procedure to lift the skin and tissues of the lower face in order to combat the effects of gravity, creating a smoother, fuller, and more youthful looking contour. The important thing to remember with facelift surgery is that it does not work in isolation. Any facial rejuvenation must address the entirety of your unique facial anatomy. This is why an in-person consultation is so important.
Get a Facelift Consultation with Dr. Deuber
During your facelift consultation, Dr. Deuber will listen closely to what bothers you about your face. He will inquire into your medical history as well as any other aesthetic procedures that you may have had, including injectables. He will then perform a thorough physical examination to assess your:
- Skin texture
- Areas and degree of skin laxity
- Volume loss
- Weak, loose muscles
- Fatty deposits, if any
Then, together, the two of you will discuss the best facial rejuvenation plan for your individual anatomy, lifestyle and goals. The ideal candidate for a facelift is any man or woman in good overall health, who does not smoke and who is bothered by the appearance of aging on their face.
What are the Benefits of a Facelift?
Dr. Deuber is known for his honesty. He will always be straight with you as to what can and can not be achieved with any procedure. The face has a lot of moving parts. This is why he rarely performs a facelift alone. Instead, he will combine it with another surgical procedure such as a neck lift or eyelid surgery, or a non-surgical procedure such as fillers in the mid-face or laser skin resurfacing to address “crepey” skin texture. The goal is to rejuvenate your entire face with the least amount of downtime possible.
As someone who began his career on Wall Street, Dr. Deuber is an advocate of the efficiency model. He understands that recovery is a cost in terms of both time and money. As a busy plastic surgeon, husband and father of 3, he knows first hand that time is precious. This is why he uses techniques such as precise dissection because they deliver a faster recovery. It’s also why he plans every step of your facelift procedure before either of you ever step foot into the operating room. This attention to detail and meticulous planning produce a better aesthetic result with less risk of post-operative complications.
Furthermore, Dr. Deuber is known for his keen artistic eye. His love of design permeates his entire life from the clothes that he helps his wife, Cary, buy, to the gorgeous food that he prepares on his Instagram famous stove, to his aesthetic results. His style is also classic which means that your results will stand the test-of-time. A facelift can take 10 years off your face and though you will continue to age, your face will always look a decade younger.
SMAS Facelift Procedure Overview
Not all facelifts are created equal. In the olden days, a facelift was performed by lifting and pulling on the skin. While some plastic surgeons still practice this technique, the problem with it is that the skin is the weakest, most stretchy layer of the face. Pulling on it not only delivers a weird, overly tight looking result, but this result also doesn’t last. This is why Dr. Deuber practices a SMAS facelift.
SMAS is a layer that surrounds the muscles of the face. In a SMAS facelift, the tension or lift is placed on this deeper, stronger layer. Dr. Deuber performs all of his facelift procedures under general anesthesia at Lemmon Avenue Surgery Center, his on-site, state-certified and fully accredited day surgery center in Dallas. After first making a few small incisions around the ears and in the hairline, he will elevate the SMAS, leaving the skin attached. The benefits of the SMAS technique is that it delivers a totally natural and long-lasting result. The SMAS technique also allows Dr. Deuber to better position the mid-face by lifting your cheek mass back to its higher, more youthful looking position. The entire facelift procedure takes anywhere from 3-4 hours depending on what, exactly, you have done. Your incisions will be closed with a combination of absorbable and removable sutures and/or surgical staples behind the ears.
Neck Lift Procedure Overview
A facelift is almost always performed in conjunction with a neck lift. However, a neck lift may be a stand-alone procedure for certain patients. We live in an age where we are constantly looking down at our devices. This has created a population of younger and younger patients who are bothered by the signs of aging on the neck. These can manifest as:
- Loose, sagging skin
- Excess fatty tissue, particularly below the chin
- Weak vertical platysma muscles
- Lack of definition at the chin/neck juncture
During your neck lift procedure, Dr. Deuber will make the same series of incisions that he does for a facelift. He may also need to make a small incision in your chin. He will then lift and tighten the skin, tissues and muscles, if necessary, of the neck.
Dallas Facelift & Necklift Gallery
Facelift and Neck Lift Recovery Process
In cases where a patient has a neck lift alone, he or she may be sent home after surgery. But, generally, a facelift requires an overnight stay with a private nurse at our surgery center. This allows us to safely get you comfortable with the least amount of pain medication possible, and used to getting in and out of bed, walking and using your arms so that you can more easily return to your daily routines once you get home.
After facelift surgery, you can expect some bruising and swelling. The SMAS is a deeper layer of tissue so working there is going to produce more trauma. Generally, this bruising and swelling resolves in about 2 weeks following surgery although some residual swelling may exist for a few months. The good news is that it’s typically so mild that only you will notice it. Your face may feel numb at first, and your neck tight. Again, this should resolve on its own. Patients typically describe the recovery as uncomfortable, particularly around the ears where the incisions are located, but not necessarily painful. We will prescribe narcotics for pain as necessary, but our goal is to get you on nothing stronger than Advil or Tylenol as quickly as possible.
The lovely thing about facelift surgery is that you will see your new youthful contour emerge as the the initial swelling resolves. And these improvements will just get better with time. A facelift can make you look and feel a decade younger. And best of all, as long as you continue to take care of yourself, these results are permanent.
To find out more about a facelift and neck lift with Dr. Mark Deuber at Lemmon Avenue Plastic Surgery Center in Dallas, contact us today or call 214-220-2712 to schedule a consultation.