Considering a Facelift? Here at Advanced Concepts in Plastic Surgery, we like to give things away free if at all possible. Since we almost never get that chance, after all, body sculpting tends to have many fixed costs associated with it, I thought I’d let everyone in on a little secret.
Everyone considering facelift surgery wants to know what he or she will look like after the facelift surgery is performed. It is only human nature that if we are going to pay for something, we want some idea what we will be getting!
Of course as a plastic surgeon in Sacramento, I’ve performed thousands of face-lifts over the last 25 years but as hard as I may try to describe what I will be doing, words can only go so far. You will look more rested, this or that will be lifted, skin will be smoother and more relaxed. The mental picture a patient will get will likely be somewhat accurate but they may still have a hard time picturing.
Over the years a lot of software has been developed to duplicate what the result of facelift surgery will be. However the facelift preview software still relies on the surgeon’s ability to manipulate the software and may exaggerate or understate what the final result may be. It also only shows a two-dimensional image.
What if there was a way to preview the result of a facelift in a simple, cost-efficient way? In fact, what if it were free and you didn’t even have to visit a plastic surgeon for a consultation? Well there is. In plastic surgery, this method has been known for years. In fact, I learned about it in my residency years ago. Another plastic surgeon recently published and article about it although the idea has been around for decades.
And the fancy, high tech method to previewing what your facelift surgery will end up looking like? –Lie down. That’s it. Lie down on your back with a mirror and look at your face. Most of the sagging effects are due to gravity and lying down takes some of that out of play. Pictures taken of this position nicely preview a future facelift. Now if you’re a real stickler for accuracy you could say lying down only accounts for some of the effects of gravity and ideally you would actually do well to stand on your head. This is true and some doctors have actually written about this as well. Dr. PatrickTonnard, when talking about the MACS facelift, one of the best facelift innovations of the last 10 years, has a picture showing this in his book. However, from a practical standpoint not many people can stand on their heads for very long, or want to.
As winter approaches just days away, it is time to bundle up, put a fire in the fireplace, turn on some classic old movies and have your significant other serve you some warm soup and hot apple cider. And all the while you can know that when spring arrives, your new bod will be healed up beautifully and warm weather clothes will be next on the list!
