Facelift Rancho Mirage

What is a Facelift?

A facelift, also called a rhytidectomy, is a surgical procedure that tightens your face and neck areas to give your skin a smoother and younger appearance.

Some people have strong reservations about a facelift procedure in part because, in its early years, a facelift could look unnatural and be noticeable on a person's face. But the procedure has come a long way and now provide amazingly natural-looking results.*

*Individual results may vary.

The secret to a great facelift is a combination of several new advances in the approaches and techniques used for other popular procedures. In the early days of facelifts, the ideal methods for achieving natural-looking results had yet to be discovered resulting in the skin of the face being too tight. The method used was that of a backwards pull to wrap the skin tightly around the muscles and features of your face. This technique sometimes resulted in that fake “windblown” look that many commonly associate with a sub-par facelift procedure.

Now with advances in modern technology and medicine, surgeons have a better and more detailed understanding of how to treat the underlying causes of aesthetic facial issues. Not just treat the symptoms. Today, the face can be lifted nearly vertically, an approach that is ideal because aging and gravity pull the skin of the face downward that creates noticeable sagging, wrinkles, and folds. The goal is to repair and restore what gravity and time took away for a more rested and youthful appearance.

The face has three parts: the upper face, the mid face, and the lower face. The upper face has the brow and the upper eyelids, the mid-face includes the lower eyelids, the nose, and the cheeks and the lower face goes from just below the nose to the end of your chin. The face itself is surrounded by the neck below and the brow/forehead above. Wrinkles and folds on the forehead are often handled with tiny incisions that are well-hidden in the hairline. The skin is gently loosened from the underlying tissue and lifted with the help of a scope, which is a wand with a camera lens running through it.

At Ordon-Chopra, we require that anyone who wants to get a facelift from one of our world renowned Rancho Mirage facelift surgeons needs to have consultation prior to their surgery. It provides you with an opportunity to discuss the reasons for wanting a facelift, what your goals are and ask any questions you may have. The information gathered during your facelift consultation, along with a thorough evaluation of your medical history and current health, is essential for determining what is “out of place” and how to fix it so that you receive the results you deserve to satisfy your unique aesthetic needs.

A facelift surgery has improved tremendously to the point where it is now a composite operation borrowing the best components of other surgical techniques such as a liposuction technique like Tumescent to separate the tissues with minimal trauma to the cells and make the draining of fat from the body a much easier and quicker process.

A facelift can now be performed with fewer and smaller incisions and a lower impact on your body resulting in a faster healing period. Tissue glue is used instead of, or in addition to, sutures as a way to provide enhanced reinforcement during the healing period. That way your wound does not re-open or cause any complications. The glue also allows you to be bandage free so you can return to an active life sooner.

The majority of people take only a week off from work compared to the two or three weeks that used to be the norm with the old ways of the tradition facelift. Any post-surgical marks are nearly unnoticeable thanks to improved closing techniques.

Unfortunately, sagging skin, excess fat, and loose muscle tissue are all part of getting older. But these mild aesthetic issues can be made less visible with proper skin care and maintenance. The problem is that, as we continue to age, these issues can create a compounded problem that can only be treated through surgery. Jowls and a double chin may also occur due to the sagging of the skin and facial muscles. Stop looking in the mirror and noticing the side effects of aging and consider receiving a facelift as a way to restore your youthful appearance and natural beauty.

The SMAS Facelift

Rancho Mirage facelift surgeons Dr. Villanueva and Dr. Chopra perform facelifts using the SMAS (superficial muscular aponeurotic system) technique. Typical facelifts only lift the top layer of facial tissue, which can give patients the too-tight, “worked-on” appearance. But the SMAS technique lifts three layers of facial tissue at once for a more cohesive lift. The SMAS layer is a facial tissue layer below the subcutaneous fat layer and the surface skin layer. It has fibers that connect to other layers that lifts the SMAS layer and the layers above it. This is essential for retaining the natural appearance of your face to keep the layers of tissue together as one cohesive unit.

Another advantage to the SMAS facelift is the direction of its pull. A typical facelift offers a backwards pull which looks “worked-on.” Although this approach did create a tighter-looking face, it disrupted the natural appearance of the skin. The SMAS facelift involves the vector of pull being vertical, the opposite to the pull of gravity, leading to a beautiful, natural lift.

The SMAS Facelift Procedure

A SMAS facelift begins with either general anesthesia or local anesthesia with IV sedation. You can discuss these options with your plastic surgeon during your consultation.

After the anesthesia, incisions will be made in order to allow the surgeon to raise the skin layers of the area upwards. If appropriate for your aesthetic goals, your surgeon may use an endoscope, a small tube with a camera and a light, to get a better view of the underlying tissues.

Once the SMAS layer is lifted, excess drooping skin is trimmed away from your face and neck. Liposuction may be used to take away fatty deposits and the underlying muscles can be altered and trimmed.

Once this facial recontour is complete, the remaining skin is redraped over the area and the incisions are sealed. A bandage may be wrapped around the area and drains may be inserted in order to safely take out excess fluids. A couple of days after your facelift surgery, you’ll come back for a visit to remove the bandage and drains.

Facelift Recovery

Following your facelift, you’ll need to stay home from work for at least a week and up to three weeks to allow the tissues to heal. We recommend that you stay away from any activities that could cause strain and avoid extreme heat during the healing process. You may have some temporary bruising and swelling during your recovery period.

The results of your facelift can last for five to ten years. To find out more about the procedure, contact The Plastic Surgery Institute and arrange a consultation with Dr. Ordon or Dr. Chopra, two of the top facelift surgeons in Rancho Mirage.