A facelift is a time-honed cosmetic procedure that can turn back the clock and make you look 10 years younger. This surgery tightens muscles and underlying facial tissues, reduces and firms loose and sagging skin to lift and smooth the skin. It also treats fine lines and wrinkles and can give a youthful contour to your face.

Facelift surgery is often performed in combination with other procedures, including brow lift, eyelid surgery, neck lift or skin treatments including dermabrasion, chemical peels and laser resurfacing.

Ideal Candidates For The Facelift Procedure

Any one or a combination of the following indicate you are a good candidate for facelift surgery:

• Deep lines or folds that run from the corner of your nose to the corner of your mouth;
• Jowls or loss of a well-defined jaw;
• Deep wrinkles in the cheeks and sagging of the “highlight” area of the cheekbones;
• Loose skin, wrinkles, vertical cords or excess fatty tissue in the neck.

A facelift may help improve all of these problems. It cannot correct conditions like sagging eyebrows, excess skin and fatty deposits in the upper and lower eyelids, or wrinkles around the mouth. Dr. Minniti will recommend other procedures to help treat those issues.

Initial Consultation

The doctor spends considerable time with each patient. In your initial consultation, he will ask you to look in a mirror and identify exactly what you want to see improved. You should be very honest in discussing anything that bothers you about your appearance and what you hope to achieve with surgery. This will help Dr. Minniti understand your expectations and determine whether they can realistically be achieved.

Dr. Minniti will assess the thickness, texture and elasticity of your skin along with the severity of wrinkles and folds. He will examine your hairline to determine where incisions can be placed strategically. These factors, along with your bone structure and underlying tissues, are important to develop the best surgical plan.

Surgical Techniques

There are many variations in facelift procedures. The most common involves making an incision along the lower hairline extending around the earlobe. The incision is hidden in the natural contour of your ear and may easily be concealed by your hair or make-up. Sometimes a small incision is made underneath your chin. Through these incisions, Dr. Minniti can free the skin from underlying tissues, pull it up and back and reduce excess skin. If necessary, a small incision beneath the chin allows the doctor to reduce fatty tissue and smooth the cord-like structures of the underlying muscle in the neck.

Dr. Minniti will select a surgical procedure most suited to your anatomy and desired outcomes. You can trust in this doctor’s extensive experience to select techniques based on prevailing medical evidence and time-tested results.

Preparations For Facelift Surgery

The doctor will provide you with detailed pre-surgery instructions. Most often you’ll be asked to:

• stop smoking well in advance of surgery;
• avoid aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs which can increase bleeding;
• get a complete physical exam to be cleared for surgery;
• discuss any plans to lose more than 15 pounds with the doctor as they can affect surgical outcomes.

The Surgery

Your surgery is performed in a fully-accredited outpatient surgery center in Dr. Minniti’s office building in Beverly Hills, CA. The doctor works with an experienced anesthesiologist who administers general anesthesia so that you sleep during the procedure. His medical staff continuously monitors your blood pressure and oxygen during and after surgery. After surgery, bandages will be applied and you are taken to recovery.

You may experience some discomfort following surgery. While many patients may be permitted to go home after a few hours, some may need to stay overnight in an aftercare facility.

Recovery

The time it takes to recover varies greatly. Possibly in two weeks, you may be able to resume many of your normal activities and most bruising can possibly subside. You may be able to resume moderate exercise three or four weeks after surgery.

Bandages and tubes to drain excess fluids may be reviewed one to three days after surgery. Your stitches can possibly be treated within a week.

Swelling and discoloration following surgery can be perfectly normal. Most swelling can possibly occur within 24-73 hours following surgery but it may take several weeks before all puffiness is reduced. You may experience some numbness in your face along with uneven asymmetrical facial bruising and swelling, a normal part of the healing process that can gradually reduce.

Straining, bending and lifting should be avoided during the first few days following surgery. You should avoid direct sunlight for a while.

Risks & Complications

All surgery carries some risks. These include bad reactions to anesthesia, infection and accumulation of blood under the skin that requires treatment.

Injury to underlying facial structures is possible during facelift surgery. This is can be temporary. Scarring can be inconspicuous and fades, but this is not entirely predictable due to individual variations in healing.

You can help minimize risks by carefully following Dr. Minniti’s instructions.

Results

The ultimate results of your facelift may be dramatic or subtle depending on how you look before surgery and what goals you’ve set with the doctor.

Since the healing process is highly individual, it may take several weeks before you have an accurate picture of your “new look.”

The doctor will work with you to ensure optimal results. You will return to his office periodically so the doctor can evaluate your progress.

Review the Before & After Photos of actual facelift patients to get an idea of the great results you can expect from facelift surgery.

Why Choose Dr. Minniti For Your Facelift?

The facelift is the most comprehensive facial surgery to successfully address many unattractive signs of aging and possibly give you a youthful appearance. But when it comes to your face, the doctor you choose makes a world of difference.

See Dr. Minniti's Before & After Facelift Photos Here

Contact us to discuss your plans for a Facelift.