Moving beyond injectables

I am often presented with patients who are wondering if it is time to go beyond injectables and finally get a facelift. While there are many things that I consider when faced with such a question, here are a few characteristics that may make you a good candidate for a facelift:

1. Do you have excess skin or true pouches and bags? Excess skin can only be improved by reducing it surgically. A filler can smooth pouches and take up some extra skin, but it cannot eliminate true bags.

2. Have your facial muscles descended or become displaced, in other words, has your neck bottomed out? Muscles can descend due to aging and gravity. Only a surgical lift can restore them back to a more youthful position, whereas fillers do not address the muscle at all.

3. Do you need fat reduced or redistributed? If you have fat pooling in areas such as the brows, under the eyes, at the folds around the mouth, or even at the jaw line, a facelift is in order. The liquid lift can enhance volume or relax expression lines, but it cannot remove fat or move it back where it once was.

It is important to remember that there are a variety of facelift techniques that are employed to address each patient’s specific needs. Similarly, great strides have been made in pre-operative preparation and post-operative care to enhance not only our patience results, but also their level of comfort during the healing process. Please feel free to contact our office at 703-560-8844 if you have any questions or to schedule a complimentary consultation.