Ah, summer. For most of us, summer means vacation: long days under the sun, hanging out at the beach, and barbecues on hot summer nights.
But what we are not thinking about during these vacations are the damaging effects that the sun’s UV rays can have on our skin. While they are not immediately noticeable, the effects of the sun can surface years later. In addition, time and genetics can also gradually dull skin, contributing even more to an aged appearance.
The summer season is a great opportunity to give yourself some TLC and refresh your appearance. Cosmetic surgeries like a facelift or brow lift can erase years of damage from your face to create a beautiful appearance that you can enjoy throughout those dog days of summer.
Facelift Surgery
Facelift surgery helps to improve the appearance by removing excess skin and fat and tightening facial muscles.
Patients who have loose, sagging skin along the midface or jawline, or other issues that create an aged appearance, are good candidates for facelift surgery. Patients should be in good general health before the procedure.
There are a few different techniques Dr. Alexander offers for patients seeking a facelift:
Full Facelift
Dr. Alexander creates an incision at the hairline that goes around and under the ear to remove excess tissue and fat. The facial muscles and skin are then pulled tight. This technique is used to address extensive aging along the midface, lower face, and neck.
Mini Facelift
This technique is very similar to the full facelift but uses smaller incisions to target only the midface. This technique is a good option for patients with fewer signs of aging and little to no issues in the neck area.
Neck Lift
Dr. Alexander makes an incision behind the ear, around the earlobe, and into the lower scalp to remove excess fat and tighten muscles along the neck. This technique is performed together with a full facelift.
Brow Lift and Eyelid Lift Surgery
The forehead and eye areas are often where aging first begins to appear. Deep creases along the forehead and crow’s feet, under-eye bags, and dark circles give off an aged and tired look, no matter how much sleep you get.
A brow lift procedure can help smooth creases and tighten sagging or drooping along the forehead, while an eyelid lift surgery is expressly designed to brighten up the eye area.
Patients who are in good health and are concerned about deep forehead creases, sagging skin, drooping eyelids, or other signs of aging along the forehead and eye area can greatly benefit from these two procedures, which are often performed together for optimal results.
Brow Lift
Dr. Alexander creates incisions along the hairline and temple area to lift drooping skin along the top of the eyebrow. He then performs a coronal brow lift, which uses an incision in the hairline from ear to ear, to tighten the brow muscles and remove extra skin.
Eyelid Lift
Dr. Alexander can use two different options to best treat each patient. The upper eyelid lift uses incisions in the natural creases of the upper eyelids to remove excess tissue. This method is particularly useful for drooping or sagging eyelids and causes virtually no scarring.
With a lower eyelid lift, Dr. Alexander will instead put incisions on the lower eyelids before tightening up surrounding skin and muscle.
Results and Recovery: What to Plan for This Summer
Dr. Alexander will provide instructions on how to care for surgical sites following a facelift, brow lift, eyelid lift, or a combination of all procedures to ensure patients heal beautifully.
Pain medication and bandages will be used after surgery to keep discomfort at a minimum. Strenuous activity or exercise should be avoided for a few weeks, but most patients can return to work in about a week.
Facial surgery procedures typically only require a week to a few weeks to heal, depending on each patient. This can make the summertime an ideal period to plan for surgery. Exposure to the sun, however, should be limited and sun protection used right after surgery to better finalize healing and minimize the appearance of scarring.
Summer’s just around the corner. Ready to learn more? Schedule a consultation with Dr. Alexander soon by calling our office at 954-589-0722 or 305-756-8743.