The patient is a 47 year old woman who saw loose skin in the jowl area that seemed to move downward into her neck and also of a deep marionette line in front of her jowl. She had tried fillers for the marionette lines but she wanted a longer lasting alternative and noted that even though the filler softened her marionette line it did not fix her jowl. She also wanted to have a smooth neck line that was also sharper and more defining. At her procedure which was done safely and comfortably under general anesthesia, a face lift and neck lift were performed and her lower eyelids were treated. The patient was very gratified by the surgery and felt that not only were the tissues back to where they should be but that she looked younger and felt more confident because of that.
More effective, longer lasting and more even and harmonious lifting can be achieved with a face lift because it’s not the skin that is pulled but rather the deep tissue under the skin that is lifted. The skin simply rests on that deep tissue and when it is lifted, the skin is also lifted, moving smoothly upward with no darts or other tip-offs that a patient has had a face lift because there is no tension on the skin itself. So it’s not how hard one pulls during a face lift but rather the technique, how the lift is done that makes the results appear natural. We want to lift the face completely and also have it look natural and so the technique of deep lifting achieves both of these results consistently and effectively.
The natural and complete lifting of the jowl away from the jaw line and up into the lower face both fills the lower face and allows us to see the defined jaw line which is a beautiful part of the lower face. It not only defines the lower edge of the face but it smooth and beautiful in its own right and confers youth, vitality and strength. Face lifts push the soft tissue of the jowl backwards and so make the chin appear more prominent and that further lengthens and strengthens the jaw and the jaw line.
A face lift lifts the lower face but it does much more because it also lifts the neck to create a unified, even and harmonious result. That’s because the lifting comes both the front of the face and into the upper neck and from the neck itself and into the lower neck. There are different types of face lifts and what truly defines a face lift technique is what that specific technique does in the neck. We want the technique that addresses 95% of the problems and gives the best results no matter how long the procedure takes because that’s also the safest and most effective procedure. And we want the surgery that not only addresses all of the patient’s concerns but is also longer lasting.
The patient’s lower eyelid fat was moved to blend the junction between the lower lid and the cheek where there was a depression and the depression was also filled by moving fat from the cheek upwards. This creates a natural flow as one gases downward from the lower eyelid margin down into the cheek. Youth is created when these two areas, the lower lid and the cheek are made into one unit. The results are smoother and more striking can turn back the clock on facial aging.
