Facelift

Conveniently located to serve the areas of Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert and Scottsdale, AZ

As we age our skin and connective tissue loses elasticity and the shape of our facial features changes. To address facial aging, we have the facelift. Often, we begin to notice a “droopy” look to our face, which has to do with the loss or displacement of our natural fat deposits. The facelift can produce dramatic results by tightening both the underlying soft tissue and the skin.

The facelift effectively turns back the clock on facial aging and provides natural-looking, long term rejuvenation.

About Facelift

The facelift is a surgical procedure that involves reducing excess skin and lifting supporting muscle tissues to address signs of facial aging such as jowls, drooping and an overall sagging appearance. Facelifts are often associated with the neck lift, but the two are separate procedures altogether. The decision to undergo cosmetic treatment improve your appearance is highly personal and requires a doctor who understands your concerns and desires.

Across the board, the best results come from an experienced surgeon with an artistic eye who dwells on details and puts your well being above all else.

Dr. Bonillas is an experienced specialist in facial rejuvenation who uses the latest techniques with the shortest possible incisions, which means you will recover faster and be more comfortable in the postoperative period.

Preparing for a facelift

In the time leading up to your procedure, there will be a number of steps you can follow to ensure that your results are the best possible. At least two weeks before your procedure date, you will be required to stop smoking if you do so.

If you are taking any anti-inflammatory medication, you will also need to stop to avoid complications in healing. We always advise patients to make arrangements for a ride to and from their surgery.

It is ideal to also arrange for a loved one to assist you around the house in the first few days as it is important to avoid overexertion or strain on treated areas.

The Procedure

While a facelift and neck lift are considered two different procedures, they share many of the same goals and methods. There are many features of the face that are vulnerable to the signs of aging and the treatment for each facial region is its own procedure. A facelift or neck lift may also include other facial rejuvenation procedures to achieve a complete anti-aging treatment.

Your experience with a facelift will be discussed in detail during your consultation. But in general, you can expect that they involve the following steps:

Anesthesia

A facelift is a significant surgical procedure that will require anesthesia for your safety. Anesthesia is a medication administered at the very beginning of treatment that puts you to sleep so you feel no pain and are relaxed.

Incision

A discreet incision may be made near the lower end of each earlobe to remove excess skin. The incision will follow your hairline so the surgical marks are well-hidden. The size and shape of the incision will vary and is designed according to your personal anatomy.

Closure and Results

Finally, the incisions are closed with absorbable sutures and you are taken to a recovery area to receive aftercare instructions.

In some cases, the results of the treatment are immediately obvious, but more likely it will take a few weeks for healing to complete and swelling to subside before the improvements become clear.

Consultation

Your consultation is a meeting between you and Dr. Bonillas. A facelift is entirely customized to address the specific presenting issues of your anatomy and your personal goals. At the initial consultation, a history will be taken and we will try to understand what is most important to you. After a brief examination, we will discuss the various options for you to achieve your goals.

Facelift Procedures

There are a variety of options for a neck lift and facelift, each offering a different set of benefits depending on the goals you’d like to accomplish.

Forehead/Eyebrows (Browlift)

Many people notice excess skin in the upper and lower eyelids and attribute this to loss of elasticity. What in fact has often occurred is the eyebrow has become too low and needs to be lifted. This can have a dramatic effect on appearance. In addition, at the time it is done, the corrugator (wrinkler) muscles that cause lines between the eyes can be weakened to give a better appearance.

Eyelids (Blepharoplasty)

Sagging and bagging of the lids can be corrected by a judicious removal of fat and skin. The lower lid often requires tightening (canthopexy) to restore a youthful appearance. All of this can be done with minimal incisions.

Midface (Midface lift)

The area of tissue beneath the eye down to the nasolabial fold can be elevated to restore a youthful roundness to the face and decrease the fold formed when we smile. This can be performed through two tiny incisions in the fold itself.

Face and Neck (Facelift or “Rhytidectomy“, S-lift, Mini-lift)

Two of the most obvious areas of facial aging are the cheeks and the neck. A clear jawline with a smooth neck devoid of sagging skin looks younger. This can often be achieved by sculpting the neck with liposuction, tightening the neck muscles and removing excess skin with an “S” shaped incision around the ear. This “mini” or ‘S” lift is very safe, heals quickly and does not look overdone.

It’s true – facial rejuvenation cannot stop the aging process; however, it can make you appear years younger. Through the removal of excess fat, tightening of underlying muscles, and redraping of facial skin, a facelift can most definitely “set back the clock.”

Complementary Procedures

Each treatment is always designed according to what will achieve the most beautiful, natural-looking results in line with your personal goals. For this, we offer a number of related procedures that can effectively address other issues of aging and achieve a complete facial anti-aging result.

Liposuction

When it comes to removing stubborn pockets of fat from your body, liposuction is the gold standard. Using a specialized, thin hollow tube called a cannula, liposuction can give you the leaner, sculpted body you’ve always wanted. Moreover, modern liposuctions techniques enable us to remove even the smallest pockets of fat with precision from areas like the neck and face.

Eyelid Surgery

Also known as a blepharoplasty, eyelid surgery lifts sagging and removes puffiness from the eyelids that are caused by aging. With eyelid surgery, your chronically tired, asleep expression can be a thing of the past.

Rhinoplasty (nose surgery or nose reshaping)

As a central point of focus for your face, imbalances and disproportion of the nose can distort your entire appearance. Rhinoplasty can reduce a nasal hump, correct asymmetry and restore your nose to align with your facial harmony.

Candidates

Signs of Aging

Deep creases between the nose and mouth
Slack and jowly jawline
Folds and fat deposits around the neck

The symptoms of aging that impact your appearance and your face can come prematurely, leaving you looking far older on the outside than you feel on the inside. Much of the symptoms of aging are caused by skin laxity or a loss of skin elasticity.

Loss of skin elasticity means your skin is less able to bounce back to it’s natural, youthful and tight form. Elasticity is your skin’s ability to hold it forms along the contours of your bone structure and resist the force of gravity. When you lose skin elasticity, that is when issues such as sagging, creasing, wrinkles and sunken areas develop on the face.

Recovery

Your surgery is performed in a precise manner using the latest techniques which include: local anesthesia, infiltration of the surgical site to decrease bleeding and pain, minimal incisions to decrease the appearance of scars. Local anesthesia provides several hours of pain-free recovery while you are awakening from anesthesia.