My Plastic Surgery Group

Facelift

About Facelift Surgery

The board-certified surgeons at My Plastic Surgery Group perform variations of the facelift in Carmel and Indianapolis. A facelift (rhytidectomy) is a facial rejuvenation procedure that will improve visible signs of aging in your face and your neck allowing you to look as young and refreshed as you feel.

When how you feel inside is no longer what you see reflecting back to you when you look in the mirror, it can eventually take its toll on your emotions and your confidence. You want to look as young and healthy as you feel. Now, with a facelift, you can.

Facelift Procedure Details

  • What?
Facelifting is a term that actually doesn’t “say it all” about facial rejuvenation. Is aging only a falling down of skin? No! Aging is a change in stressed tissue: trying life events, environmental poisons like nicotine or ultraviolet rays, altered body chemistries from weight or hormone shifts.The results: fat loss and relocation, thinning and drying of skin, color changes, skin redraping inward and downward.
The goal of surgery is to turn these pages backward, and therefore requires the orchestration of pharmaceutical agents which help the skin chemistry (through better collagen, elasticity, texture, color, and thickness) and surgery which repositions skin and fat, and strategically enhances volume. What better affirmation of success than for loved ones or even strangers to comment: “What a glow!” “You must be younger than that!” “ You look rested!”
  • HOW?
Surgery involves going under the skin via incisions around the ears and possibly also under the chin, optionally up in the scalp, adjusting the underlying tissues to create in women a beautiful pear shape and in men a squared shape in the lower face, to tidy up the unwanted hanging neck skin, to smooth the uneven jowls along the jawlines, to highlight the cheekbone prominences, to refine the eyelids, to highlight the shape and position of the eyebrows
Surface-smoothing treatments may be included (e.g. dermabrasion, laser, or chemical peeling). The goal is recognizability and naturalness. (Alien beings can only show up at Halloween parties or UFO sightings!!)
  • WHO?

The best candidates (i.e. those who can reasonably expect nice improvements) are those who generally are healthy: non-smokers (at least 8 weeks total nicotine abstinence), reasonable weight, controlled blood pressure, treated skin conditions (e.g. rosacea), absence of active acne or Herpes, on healthy low-salt diet with minimization of white starches.

A skin-care program to prepare the skin for quick and easy healing can be started 6-8 weeks before surgery. During the week prior to surgery all blood thinners must be halted including prescribed agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, Vitamin E, fish oil.
  • AND THEN?
One can expect some swelling and bruising for 1-2 weeks on average. Good preventative measures include continuing the low-salt diet, head elevation on extra pillows, skin and scar moisturizers and good SPF sun protection. Strenuous activities should be postponed for a couple of weeks. The skin typically is numb for several weeks.
It is common to identify small irregularities or asymmetries during the early healing, most often related to focal swelling. A small residual amount of swelling actually creates pleasant additional skin smoothness, winding down over 3 months. The wonderful effect of facial (cheek and neck) rejuvenation typically lasts 5 years or longer.
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Real Results

View before-and-after pictures of real patients of My Plastic Surgery Group.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Although a facelift creates dramatic changes in the facial contour, these stubborn lines benefit more from resurfacing procedures such as dermabrasion, laser or chemical peels. Injectable fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm, done in our office, are also beneficial.
There will be slight relaxation of facial tissues 3-4 months after facelift surgery, but the major beneficial effects are evident for 5 years and longer. Minor revisions can be done to “freshen” those results.
It is normal and expected to have facial skin numbness for a number of weeks following facelift surgery. Full recovery of feeling is expected, although, occasionally there may be small areas of persistent numbness.
Ordinarily, drains are not required.
Yes. Facelift surgery avoids major organ compartments and major blood vessels. The risk of infection is extremely low. Anesthesia is used but is considered quite safe.
Most patients take 2-3 weeks to recover at home following facelift surgery. Most will resume public engagements after that time.
The jowls, which represent lax skin down along the lower cheeks and jawline, usually respond very nicely to the “lower facelift” or “meloplasty” procedure. Simultaneously, the neck appearance is also improved.
Most patients seek changes that give them a more refreshed look, or one that appears to “turn the clock back” a few years.
No. Any nicotine use places you in significant jeopardy of having skin death in very conspicuous areas such as the cheek area. The skin has very delicate circulation pathways which are shut off by nicotine, robbing the skin of it’s nutrition. You must not have any nicotine products at least 8 weeks prior to facelift surgery.
The cost of a facelift is dependent on the details of the surgery. The techniques utilized, the anesthesia required, and the amount of time needed to perform the surgery all affect the price.

Facelift Procedure Information

When you first look at a picture of a young person followed by one of an older person, what differences do you most notice? The older person projects less energy, less vitality, and perhaps even tiredness or sadness. These communicated features are the result of fat and skin descent, deflation and laxity. Time, genetics, nicotine, sun damage, stress, medications, etc. are all contributing factors.
Facelift surgery is a rejuvenating cosmetic surgery. Facelift surgery will lift, tighten, re-drape and smooth facial and neck soft tissues. The location (e.g. temple, cheeks, jowls/jawline, or neck) and degree of aging will be major factors in deciding the extent of this operation. A conversation between you and your surgeon will be key in deciding what to expect throughout the recovery period. Typically, incisions for a facelift are around the ear or under the chin and may extend into or along the hairline.

Many times a facelift is combined with other procedures such as a forehead lift, or eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty). Significant visible improvement can also be achieved by smaller procedures that can be performed under local anesthesia in the office such as a variety of mini-facelift procedures, eyelid surgeries or lip enhancement surgery. Botox (which weaken muscles that produce lines or furrows), or “fillers” such as Restylane and Juvederm are very useful treatment that can help maintain surgical results or delay the need for surgery.

Facelift surgery may be outpatient or overnight stay and is usually done under a general anesthetic.

We invite and encourage you to view some before and after facelift photos on our website.

Get Started Today

Arrange a consultation to find out more about the facelift in Carmel – contact our office today to make your appointment.
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Meet Dr. Aker

Dr. Aker, an Indianapolis plastic surgeon affiliated with several area hospitals, has lectured and is published widely on a variety of plastic surgery topics. Dr. Aker brought several new techniques in cosmetic surgery to Indianapolis and Carmel including the endoscopic breast augmentation (“endo aug”) and Asian eyelid surgery.
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Meet Dr. Beckman

After receiving her medical degree with honors, Dr. Beckman was selected for a highly competitive integrated plastic surgery residency position at Rutgers University, where she rigorously trained in both aesthetic and complex reconstructive plastic surgery for six years. During residency, she developed a strong passion for plastic surgery education and research. She earned several teaching and clinical excellence awards and served as Chief Resident in her final year.

After residency, Dr. Beckman was selected for an aesthetic plastic surgery fellowship position at H/K/B Cosmetic Surgery, one of the nation’s premier aesthetic plastic surgery practices. This additional year gives her the unique opportunity to learn from some of the most recognized names in aesthetic plastic surgery and to train with the most innovative procedures and products available.

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