Facelift Austin, TX

The type of anesthesia Dr. Buckingham uses during rhytidectomy depends on the type of surgery he is performing. A mini lift will typically be performed using oral sedation and local anesthesia. A full rhytidectomy will usually require IV sedation. For the most part, general anesthesia is not used during facial rejuvenation surgery at Buckingham Center.

Dr. Buckingham combines different surgical techniques to meet each patient’s plastic surgery expectations. Generally, the surgery is an outpatient procedure. During the procedure, the surgeon makes an incision near the hairline and ears. He will then tighten the deeper layers of the face to minimize facial sagging and remove excess skin to create a smooth, natural-looking result.

Incisions are made around the ears and hairline and are usually completely hidden. Some procedures also require concealed incisions under the chin. The incisions do produce scars, but because of their locations, they are typically easy to conceal.

During a facelift, you will receive anesthesia and will not feel anything. After the anesthesia wears off, you might notice some mild discomfort in the surgical area. Many patients find that extra-strength Tylenol, taken for a few days after surgery, is enough to manage any discomfort they feel. If you need them, Dr. Buckingham can also prescribe pain relievers.

The recovery period after surgery varies. For lower facelift surgery, sutures remain in place for 6-7 days. Bruising usually clears up after a week following a limited procedure. Bruising may persist for up to 14 days after a more involved surgery.

Many people can go back to their social activities within 7-10 days. How long you need to take off from work depends in large part on the type of work you do and how comfortable you are in letting people see you after surgery.

You can start light exercise, such as walking, about a week after your surgery. It’s a good idea to wait at least two weeks before resuming moderate exercise. Very strenuous and vigorous workouts should be postponed for three to six weeks after surgery.

A pixie ear deformity can occur after facial rejuvenation surgery if the surgeon removes too much skin from under the earlobe. The result is an earlobe that is pulled down. The deformity is easy to correct by detaching the earlobe from the facial skin. The correction will leave a scar, but the scar will be hidden beneath the earlobe.

You can style your hair however you would like after your surgery. Dr. Buckingham positions the incisions in such a way that they are concealed by the hairline and heal well.

Your facial structure does play a role in your results from facial rejuvenation surgery. Your surgeon can adjust the techniques he uses to give you the best results possible and improve the appearance of your bone structure. He might also recommend a chin augmentation to improve your jawline or fat transfer to add more volume.

People start considering having limited incision facelift or a facelift in their 30’s, although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a procedure like this at that age. It is quite variable however, based upon the patient’s bony structure, facial shape and weight. The most common age to perform a full facelift is late 50’s and early 60’s. Limited incision facelifts are common in the 40’s more so than the older or younger ages.

There is not an absolute age limit for a facelift. I have performed limited incision facelifts on patients in their 30’s (rarely) and have also performed one on an 83 year old. Conversely I have turned patients away who are 50. The real question is what is the health of the patient? If the patient is healthy, then assuming the person has age related changes that a facelift can help it can provide great benefit. There isn’t any advantage to doing a facelift earlier or later, you should have one when your face undergoes enough changes that it bothers you enough to have a surgical procedure.

We pride ourselves for the fact that our patients can wear their hair in any style they want to after a facelift. Our post auricular incision is performed right along the posterior hairline. It is carefully sutured and usually heals without visibility. Incisions can also be made into the hair behind the ear however when done in that way a surgeon has to realign the hairline to prevent a step-off. Usually the neck does not lift well in that vector

The terms you are referring to are not standardized, but I will answer the question with the traditional thoughts. The face has layers which consist of skin, fat, then SMAS, then fascia, then nerves and muscle and bone. A SMAS facelift refers to a facelift in which the skin is elevated and then the SMAS is elevated off the deeper structures and used to suspend the face. Many different degrees of SMAS elevation may be carried out from just incising the SMAS to elevating it for a great distance. The only difference between an aggressive SMAS lift and a deep plane lift is that in the deep plane lift the skin is only elevated for a short distance and left mostly attached to the SMAS and the dissection is carried out over the cheek and down one of the facial muscles to attempt to elevate the cheek and smile line. Studies have shown the smile line improvement does not last from this technique. We perform a wide variety of facelifts that are all SMAS in nature. In patients without a great degree of aging we might to a mini-lift or limited incision facelift with very little SMAS work. In patient with a greater degree of aging we will perform a more extensive SMAS lift even bordering on the traditional deep plane lift. The results from any of these can be great and they should be matched to the individual patient. They can each last the same length of time if they are utilized correctly.