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Rhytidectomy    (facelift - QuickLift)

 

 

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First off, I want you to forget everything you ever heard of or knew personally about a facelift……..even if you’ve had a facelift in years past.  The days of big bandages, mega bruising and swelling and months before you were comfortable to be back in the public eye are gone, if……….. you choose the right procedure.  The QuickLift. 

In the last 10 years, there’s no area of cosmetic surgery that has advanced more for the benefit of the patient than the facelift.  No more pulled tight, wind blown unnatural results.  No painful, long recovery.  Today’s advancements in surgery and anesthesia have taken the facelift to a new level of excellence.  In retrospect, I’m sorry I didn’t jump on this new way of thinking a little sooner but I’ve always been the conservative type.  The QuickLift is not exactly the way most of us were taught to do a face lift and to some extent I think we are all resistant to change.  The old way was a good start but it had too many concerns and it just didn’t go quite far enough.

Now days, I refer to my face lifting procedure as the QuickLift.  It’s a modern version of a face lift technique called the S-lift that was first reported in the literature by Dr. Saylan, I think, in the mid to late 90’s…….with some modifications.  So why do I now call my facelifts QuickLifts?  Because to say it’s like the old facelift is like saying a Chevy Vega and a Rolls Royce are the same thing because they both have wheels.  And, more importantly, because I am trained in these advance techniques, and licensed by and participate with the national marketing and training program out of Pittsburg called QuickLift.  

Why do I do this?  Simple.  I’m not a marketing guy.  I’m a plastic surgeon.  If it doesn’t hurt, bleed or cry………I don’t know what to do with it.  I don’t know the first thing about market development, producing or distributing a commercial, etc.  I wanted to get the word out about these great advancements in face lifting but I didn’t know how.  My partnership with QuickLift has been wonderful. You may have seen the QuickLift commercials on TV.  Aren’t they gorgeous?  Believe me…….. I didn’t have a thing to do with these beauties.  I leave that to the folks at QuickLift.   I was shy about asking my patients to share their photos on TV.  In my early years of practice, a facelift was such an ordeal that once it was over nobody wanted to talk about it.  On the other hand, because of the comparative ease and great results of the procedure now I’m finding the QuickLift patient is more eager to share their experience.  One patient was at her monthly “girl’s luncheon” when someone told her she looked great today and without putting her fork down or batting and eye…..…..she said, “ I should I had a facelift a week ago.”   Anyway, the photos on the TV and the official QuickLift website are not my patients.  The photos that we rotate in and out of this site and most that you will see in the office are. 

I am the only licensed QuickLift provider in the St. Louis metro area.  You can see the official QuickLift website at www.quickliftmd.com. All surgeons have their own way of doing things, so even though it won’t be exactly how it happens for you and me, I would encourage you to spend some time on the site because it is a good basic over view of the technique and a good, truthful representation of the results.  There’s so many before and after photos you’re bound to find one with similar concerns to yours.  Some patients even tell their story on video. 

AND I WANT YOU TO NOTICE, the photos are pretty consistent. We don’t have the before shot with the shoulders pulled up and forward with the chin tucked down and the postop views bent forward with a wonderfully stretched neck and a broad smile……..if you know what I mean.  Sharon is wonderfully artistic and she paints a mean oil portrait but I admit she’s a little too right brained to be a great clinical photographer. We’ve gone round and round about this for about 28 years now.  I like to complain………..but not enough to take the photos myself (grin.) Sometimes we’re a little off and it’s hard to keep a postop patient from cracking a smile because they’re so darn pleased and feeling pretty is a good thing………. but we try to be as uniform as possible. 

Something like a facelift which will influence how others view you, and more importantly, how you look at yourself……… everyday, for the rest of your life is an important investment and decision. Don’t you agree?   This is one area where I would really advise you to do your homework carefully.  There is a barrage of ‘look a likes’ out there.  Carefully, check the credentials of any surgeon you are considering.  You can verify the credentials and years of experience of any plastic surgeon by calling 800 635 0635.   Faces are not alike and a face lift cannot be a cookie cutter procedure.  There is a great deal of artistic vision involved.  Call the Better Business Bureau. Take your time.  Get to know the doctor and the staff.  How long has the doctor been there?  How long has the staff been with them?  Visit more than once if you have to.  Make sure you’re really comfortable with the whole set up: where you’ll have your surgery, the level of experience of the doctor and the staff who will be assisting….and more importantly the ability to handle an emergency.  

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.  Be sure to ask what the quoted fees include.  Is it just the surgeon’s fee or is it inclusive of the surgeon’s fee, the facility fee and anesthesiologist. Are there “add on” fees for things like the use of ultrasound or liposuction?

The photo above is my nurse and office manger, Sharon.  We’ve worked together for about 28 years.  This first picture was taken in a photography studio by a professional photographer in 1992 when Sharon was in her early 40’s.  The first photo below is a clinical photo taken at age 53 under the harsh florescent lights in our office a few days before I did her facelift the Thursday before Christmas in 2005. The 3rd is clinical photo taken in the office 5 days after her QuickLift on the day she came back to work.  The last one was taken in December 07, age 55, two years after her facelift.

This type of correction, or much greater depending upon your starting point, is not unusual with the newer face lifting procedures.  In fact, most people feel they look like they did in photos taken about 10 years ago.  The beauty is that you can gain so much with so little discomfort, downtime, aggravation and expense compared to years past.  Once Sharon’s husband, Michael, saw that it wasn’t such a big deal…………we did his QuickLift a few months later, too.


Before                                                After

 

All of you will have a chance to meet Sharon at the time of your consultation.  Sharon will go over the whole procedure with you, in what we call a pre-consultation, before I even come in and give you the real consultation.  It’s nice for you, as a prospective patient, to have the benefit of seeing the placement of the typical scars, etc., on someone in the flesh.  Sharon is a good sport about being checked out.

Patients seem surprised when we tell them they will meet with the doctor at their first visit.  They expect to meet with ‘a consultant’ first and only meet with me prior to surgery.  I’m not saying this is wrong if you are comfortable with it.  It’s just not how I do it.  My thought is….how can you possibly decide you’d like to hire me to do any procedure for you until we’ve looked in the mirror together and spent some time talking it over.  Who knows, your concern might be better addressed by another surgery or sometimes even a non-surgical procedure.  You wouldn’t believe what we can do with our new Portrait plasma skin regeneration. 

You will meet with me personally.  This is a thorough consultation. We think the “hearing it twice” approach is helpful in making sure you really comprehend all that we discuss.  Bring your spouse or a friend.  Their concerns are valid, too.  We want to make sure you get all your questions answered.  This takes some time so plan on being with us for 30-45 minutes.  There is no charge for this consultation.      

We plastic surgeons have become more savvy in the recent years.  The old type facelift where you were bruised and swollen for months is a thing of the past…….. in my practice.  In the past, unless you were a celebrity who could hide out for months with unlimited funds………..you just couldn’t have a facelift.  Whether you’re a waitress, a school teacher or a CEO, today’s typical facelift patient can enjoy beautiful, natural looking results with very little downtime, bruising, swelling or discomfort………. at an affordable price.  If you can afford a cruise, a boat, a motorcycle, a diamond anniversary ring or to redecorate and furnish the living room, you can afford a QuickLift.  The average patient will take pain medication a day or two and is back to work in a week or so.   No kidding.  

In the past, the skin dissection was much, much more extensive which accounted for the increased bruising, swelling and increased risk of damaging the facial nerve.  The correction was in more of a backward direction. You certainly had less sagging and wrinkles but the results were usually a startled look with the majority of the correction in the cheek area.  The neck….not so much.  Sure you had fewer wrinkles but the look was not particularly natural.  Unfortunately, the older results also didn’t have as much staying power because we put more of the work load on the tightened skin hoping it could hold everything in place and maintain the shape for the long haul.

Today’s modern procedure uses a technique pioneered by Dr. Saylan, called the SMAS.  This approach lifts and internally supports the sagging tissues/muscles of the lower face including the cheeks, jowls and neck with an upward correction.  The internal support helps to reposition and support the muscles and soft tissues back into the position where they sagged from.  This gives a very natural look………..just like you had some years back.  Of course, the excessive skin is still excised and removed but the weight of the sagging internal tissues are supported with what we call internal purse string sutures. We aren’t asking the stretchy skin to “hold all the weight” anymore.   This also uses some of the body’s short comings to our advantage against future gravity and future aging.  We’ll explain this further at the time of your consultation.   Did you know your fatty jowl used to be your apple cheek?  This fat pad has migrates downward because the skin in the jaw line is loose.  We all stand in front of the mirror and give ourselves that little mini finger lift and think, ‘if only.’    Well, that’s what the QuickLift does from the inside. 

Most QuickLift patients will typically look just like a younger version of themselves (not their sister or their cousin.)  Most compare their results to photos taken about 10 years ago.  We tell everyone to pull out photos from about 10 years ago and keep them on hand.  BUT, even more importantly, even though you don’t see it, feel it, know it’s there, etc., the purse string suture is like an internal bra for your face.  This internal support does not allow gravity to affect you the same as it did before you had your facelift.  We can’t stop the hands of time from ticking but we can turn them back AND slow them down somewhat.

In conclusion, today’s modern facelift, commonly called the QuickLift, is a convenient outpatient surgery with comparative little downtime, bruising or discomfort.  Most people are back to work within a week.   Of course, all surgery has inherent risks, but keep in mind; we're dealing primarily with skin so this isn’t a high risk or high maintenance procedure. It’s not like we're operating on your heart, your liver, lungs or any other vital organ.

A facelift of any sort can’t guarantee that it will make you look years and years younger; however, most QuickLift patients feel they look as they did in photos taken about 10 or more years ago.  The correction is upward, not backward so there’s never any of that unnatural, pulled look.  You always look like yourself…..not your sister or your cousin. Our objective is for you to look the best you can at whatever age you are. We prefer the comment, "Hasn't he/she aged nicely?" rather than "What a great face lift!"

 

 


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