How specific do I need to be about my goals for my facelift? Will my doctor be able to suggest to me how I can achieve a more youthful look?
Answer:
I believe that patients should be very specific about their goals before undergoing a cosmetic procedure. Communication between the patient and physician is important because it allows the physician to understand exactly what it is that the patient would like to accomplish with the procedure. In this way, the physician can explain to the patient what it is exactly that he can achieve with the plastic surgery procedure. Specifically, the patient should communicate what his or her goals re for the neck, lower face, and midface. Most patients want an improvement in all three areas, but are not willing to look «pulled.» Patients always make it a point that they want a «refreshed» look and have a natural appearance. I recommend patients look at the physician’s before and after pictures. A plastic surgeon should have plenty of before and after pictures to show for each procedure that they are offering the patients. In addition, other areas of interest should be communicated. For example, are the eyelids a concern? If so, a blepharoplasty, or eyelift procedure, should be discussed. This is a procedure that removes the lower eyelid «bags» and the excess skin in the upper eyelids. This procedure is commonly done in conjunction with the facelift procedure. The brows should be discussed as well in the consultation. The brows tend to descend with time. If they are minimally low, then Botox can be used to lift the brows. If the brows are very low, then a browlift procedure can be done in conjunction with the facelift procedure. Posted by Dr. Bustillo