The face lift is one of the most sought after and well known plastic surgery procedures, so much so that the phrase â??face liftâ? has come to refer to an overhaul or renovation of any sort, as when someone says, â??the building got a face lift.â? Hereâ??s a brief history on one of plastic surgeryâ??s top procedures.
Many of us seek out health advice on our own. So, who do you turn to when you seek out information on face lift procedures? Find out just how much social media influences your health decisions. Continue Reading
In a new study, the endoscopic brow lift was shown to have extremely high levels of patient appearance satisfaction, including a marked decrease in headaches.
The new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association was recently published online, and found that both male and female patients were particularly satisfied in their procedures, answering with remarkably positive answers compared to other surgeries. This in-depth study involved 57 patients who had previously had endoscopic forehead lifts, with nearly 50 questions designed to get a complete picture of their situation.
The endoscopic forehead lift is a modern version of the popular and trusted traditional forehead lift. In the traditional forehead lift, an incision is made along the scalp line, and the underlying tissues are adjusted, repositioned and tightened. Any excess skin is also removed and the incision closed very carefully, for a youthful, more smooth upper face.
The endoscopic version of this procedure is designed to be more minimally invasive, with incision lines that are hidden in the hairline. Instead of one long incision, this procedure uses several very short incisions, which run perpendicularly to the hairline and are set far back from the scalp. The same tissue adjustment is still performed, but it is done using an endoscope, which allows for the most discreet adjustment possible.
The forehead lift is a less invasive version of the full face lift, which has long been considered the quintessential facial cosmetic surgery procedure. It is often performed in concert with a nose job, or other procedures like chin surgery, facial implants or non-surgical procedures like facial fillers. 93% of the patients surveyed reported that their procedures were successful, and 96% recommend others having the same procedure. Nearly 75% of these women reported being told that they looked younger, and reported increased confidence.
Photo by mislav-m on Flickr.
Refining the appearance of the upper lip is a delicate business, and sometimes a single procedure just doesn’t do the trick. Recently, some plastic surgeons have been using a two-part procedure to enhance the appearance of the upper lip a Botox injection to mask fine lines, followed by injections of hyaluronic acid fillers to add volume. This technique was recently featured on an episode of ABCâ??s The Doctors.
(Please note: the video below shows a woman having her lips injected with dermal fillers. Although the procedure is painless, it might be a bit unsettling to people with a phobia of needles.)
I’ve always had thin lips, says Mary. I’ve tried different kinds of lipsticks and liners and things that might allegedly plump your lips but it’s not really worked. I don’t do enough for myself and it would be really fun to have some girly lips. The solution for Mary is what Dr. Ordon calls the upper lip overhaul. Unlike similar procedures previously performed on the show, this is a twofold procedure with one half having been performed in advance. Botox has been injected near Mary’s upper lip to resolve the fine lines that appeared there. The second step involves adding volume with dermal fillers along the border of the lip, where the lip has thinned as a result of the aging process. Typically, with the aging process, you see those lips thin, because we lose volume in the structures around the mouth, says Dr. Ordon. Botox and hyaluronic acid fillers both last roughly 3-6 months, so that patients can have the results of the dual procedure refreshed simultaneously.
There’s something else that I noticed in the video, which often goes unnoticed, but bears mentioning. You can see how subtle the results of the procedure are Dr. Chopra deftly avoids the over-plumped look that is the hallmark of bad cosmetic surgery in Hollywood nowadays. That’s because Dr. Chopra knows exactly how far to go, and when to stop.
Back in April, the ASAPS website had an interesting post about the importance of shape, as well as size, when performing lip augmentation. Plastic surgeons need to be careful about how much volume to add, since too much volume can result in trout pout overdone lips that make you appear fishy. Your lips have a natural proportion that must be respected. According to one Detroit plastic surgeon quoted in the article, the lower lip should be one and a half times the size of the upper lip. That’s the proportion of Mary’s lips that you can see in the video.
The appearance of aging is often very difficult to measure, which is why I love reading studies like the one that was published in the most recent issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Based on a long-term follow-up, three-quarters of facelift patients still look younger than they did before their surgeries, even after five years. The study is the first of its kind to use rigorous, standardized assessments to evaluate these types of long-term results. The study used three different sets of assessments on standardized photographs of 50 patients who had undergone facelift surgery five years previously. One set of objective measurements involved carefully gauging factors like jowl height and the angle of the chin to the neck. Another set of subjective assessments involve examining key areas, like nasolabial folds. Finally, the third set of assessments involved an overall score of the patient’s appearance. By having these three sets of assessments, the researchers were able to accurately measure aesthetic improvement across a variety of dimensions. They found that all three sets showed significant improvement, although there was some loss of improvement in the years since the surgeries, which one would expect. Here are a few of the conclusions from the three sets of assessments:
The researchers hope that this evidence will help to guide plastic surgery patient expectations. One of the most common questions that plastic surgeons get is: how long will my facelift last? Based on these results, there seems to be no significant objective or subjective sign of continued aging or ‘relapse’ in any area except for the neck, the researchers conclude.
new set of nonsurgical procedures known as the “voice lift” is making waves on both sides of the Atlantic although many doctors feel that it offers too few benefits. A recent post on RealSelf discusses the trend towards adding volume to the vocal cords to boost vocal performance, which is becoming more popular in the US and UK. Human voices naturally age as our vocal cords thin over time. This makes the voice sound crackly and reedy. Plastic surgeons are able to restore some of the natural fullness of the voice by restoring some of this volume to the vocal cords. Some of the same techniques that can be used to and volume and definition to the face are being used for the so-called “voice lift.” One of these approaches is fat grafting. During this procedure, unwanted fat is removed from elsewhere in the body, specially processed, and then grafted onto the vocal folds in the larynx. The other approach is through dermal fillers such as Juvederm. Unlike with fat grafting, injectable fillers do not require an additional surgical procedure to remove fat from elsewhere in the body. However, injectable fillers usually don’t last as long as fat grafts. They are typically absorbed by the body after a few months. Regardless of the method, the voice lift is severely limited in its effectiveness. These procedures only tend to improve the voice over the course of weeks, maybe months, but certainly not years. Some might ask whether there might be a surgical approach to the voice lift. While it is possible, no responsible surgeon would perform that kind of surgery. Unless the voice box is seriously impaired, no cosmetic voice enhancement is worth the risk of complications. Until these injectable techniques become more advanced, and provide longer lasting results, the voice lift is one procedure that is likely more trouble than it’s worth. Photo credit: Dinozauris, Wikimedia Commons
In 2011, chin augmentation has seen a huge increase in popularity among all demographics, making it one of the fastest growing trends in the plastic surgery industry. With a nearly 71 percent increase, chin augmentation has grown more than breast implants, Botox and liposuction combined.
Chin augmentation was equally popular among both men and women this past year, with approximately 10,593 men and 10,087 women electing to undergo the procedure. Also referred to as mentoplasty, chin augmentation is a cosmetic procedure designed to reshape the chin. It is frequently sought out by those who are wishing to achieve a more harmonious balance of their facial features.
Chin augmentation also has undeniable anti-aging benefits, which may have contributed to its surge in popularity, especially among those over 40 according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
“The chin and jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging. People are considering chin augmentation as a way to restore their youthful look just like a facelift or eyelid surgery,” said ASPS President Malcolm Roth.
The digital age of video-chatting may also be a contributing factor. Men and women who are connecting with other people both socially and professionally on Skype and other popular video-chatting technologies are seeing themselves more often and in a more animated manner.
“We also know that as more people see themselves on video chat technology, they may notice that their jawline is not as sharp as they want it to be. Chin implants can make a dramatic difference.”
The increased interest in chin augmentation follows a more gradual growth in the plastic surgery industry. Cosmetic procedures saw roughly a 5 percent increase across the board in 2011.
