Facelift and Necklift

You need not look any further than the face and neck to see the effects of age and gravity. Perhaps you are tired of your loose neck skin or "wattle" under the chin. You may miss the youthful jaw line angles you once had. This procedure will allow Dr. Cooper to restore your youthful appearance while maintaining your natural beauty.

The Operation

Dr. Cooper uses a variety of facelift and necklift techniques to restore a natural, youthful look. Each operation is tailored to the individual patient's needs and Dr. Cooper will work with you to find an approach that best fits your goals, unique anatomy and age.

These operations are performed as an outpatient and patients can return home the same day as their procedure. Under the direction of a board-certified anesthesiologist, you will be given a general anesthetic or intravenous sedation. Based upon your own particular degree of skin elasticity, Dr. Cooper will make an incision that begins in front of the ear and extends around the ear, behind the earlobe and up to the neck hairline. He will then undermine the skin in the direction of the nose and mouth, and will continue down into the neck to elevate the skin off of the deeper facial tissue. Dr. Cooper then re-drapes the skin and excises a small amount of excess skin and tightens the deeper facial tissue.

Addressing this deeper tissue, called the SMAS (Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System), may help give a longer lasting look and improved cosmetic results. Depending on the laxity and fullness you have in the neck, Dr. Cooper may also make a small incision under the chin to remove excess fat and tighten up the superficial neck muscles to give your neck a more youthful appearance. Two small drainage tubes are left under the skin in order to prevent fluid accumulation. Dr. Cooper takes special care to hide your scars in the natural ceases of your skin and behind your hairline.

A minimal incision facelift is an alternative for a select group of patients who are experiencing early signs of aging. This limited facelift does not include incisions behind the ear or earlobe and is reserved for younger patients with skin laxity primarily in the lateral neck and jowl regions.

In order to help rejuvenate the upper face, a facelift/necklift may be combined with a blepharoplasty or browlift.

Recovery

Patients usually go home the same day as their facelift/necklift with some bandages loosely applied around the face. Dr. Cooper will see you the next morning and remove the small drainage tubes that were placed at the time of your operation. Skin sutures are removed 5-7 days later and a support strap is worn under the chin for a week. Patients usually find that pain is fairly minimal. You can expect some swelling and a small amount of bruising. Both will steadily improve over the course of a few weeks.

Risks

Potential complications are uncommon but include hematoma formation, infection, delayed wound healing, over versus undercorrection and injury to a branch of the facial nerve. Some complications can be avoided by making sure that patients are not smoking and have blood pressure that is well-controlled. Dr. Cooper will discuss ways to minimize complications with you during your consultation.

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