PLANNING

During your initial consultation with Dr. Kolker, he will thoroughly discuss your desires and expectations for facelift and facial rejuvenation. After a careful discussion of your health history and previous treatments, he will conduct a thorough examination of your face, including your skin tone, texture, and elasticity, as well as the facial soft tissue relationships and bone structure. Dr. Kolker will carefully review the facelift procedure, or combination of procedures, that suit you best. Dr. Kolker will answer all questions that you might have regarding any step of the process. Skin "preparation" is extremely important prior to surgery, as the goal is to maximize the effects of the facelift procedure. Preparing the skin before a facelift is akin to "priming the canvas", a necessary step prior to painting. A skincare regimen that includes moisture, antioxidant serum, a retinol (such as Retin A), and sunblock is extremely important prior to facelift. When there are moderate or severe fine lines or wrinkles within the skin, a resurfacing treatment, frequently with an ablative laser (such as CO2 or erbium) or fractional laser (such as Active FX) may be recommended prior to, or occasionally during, the facelift surgery.

PROCEDURE

The facelift is performed through incisions concealed inconspicuously within the hairline and in front of the ear, extending around the earlobe and in the crease behind the ear. Many individuals are candidates for a short scar facelift or limited incision facelift technique that maintains an incision limited to, or only slightly around, the earlobe, without any incisions behind the ear or in the hairline behind the ear. This is not a "mini lift" or "mini face lift", rather, it is a powerful facelift technique for those with mild or moderate facial and neck skin laxity. In all cases, the deep tissues (SMAS) are treated by tightening (SMAS plication facelift), by conservative removal and tightening (SMASectomy with plication facelift), or by elevation of the deeper supporting tissues as a composite (deep plane facelift). Dr. Kolker will select the individual facelift technique that suits you best. In each case, the fat is sculpted to restore a more youthful shape to the face and neck. After the resuspension of the soft tissues of the face by elevating the jowl, neck, and cheek fullnesses to their more youthful positions, excess skin is removed and gently redraped, taking great care to ensure that the skin is naturally and youthfully taut, never tight. A facelift in New York is most often performed in Dr. Kolker's office-based surgical suite, accredited by the American Association for the Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF). Your facelift may also be performed at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. The facelift procedure takes approximately four hours.

RECOVERY

Following your facelift procedure, you will spend the night with a private duty nurse who will attend to your every need. You will go home on the morning following your facelift with a friend or family member; if you desire, an at-home private nurse can be organized for you to ease your recovery. Most patients experience only mild discomfort after a facelift. Swelling and bruising are expected after a facelift, and generally resolve after two weeks, although the period of swelling and recovery will be slightly longer when fat transfer (autologous fat grafting) or laser procedures are performed at the same time as your facelift. Dr. Kolker will remove most stitches approximately five days following a facelift, and any stitches within the hairline will be removed after the tenth day. Dr. Kolker suggests taking fourteen days for recovery, although it is indeed possible to return to work as early as ten to twelve days after your facelift (provided there is no strenuous activity or heavy lifting involved). Light aerobic activity (elliptical or Precor, light treadmill walking, stationary bicycle, recumbent bicycle) may be resumed as early as seven to ten days following facelift, and more strenuous activity is begun at three to four weeks. The final shape and feel is reached approximately three months after facelift. Your relationship with Dr. Kolker does not end after facelift surgery; he will see you often through the first weeks and months following your facelift, and will advise you on all matters in your recovery including skin fitness and health including diet, skin care, retinols, antioxidants, and sun blocks to maximize and preserve the rejuvenative effects of your facelift procedure.

RELATED PROCEDURES

Facelift surgery is frequently combined with other facial rejuvenative procedures. For those individuals who desire additional plastic surgery enhancements, particularly geared toward achieving and maintaining a youthful balance of all parts of the face, your facelift may be combined with eyelid lift (blepharoplasty), brow lift (forehead lift, endoscopic brow lift or coronal brow lift), chin implant (chin augmentation), liposuction of the neck, neck lift (platysmaplasty), fat transfer (autologous fat grafts), laser resurfacing procedures, or chemical peels. Most commonly, the facelift procedure is combined with an eyelid lift (blepharoplasty), and frequently with fat transfer (autologous fat grafts).

If you would like to learn more about having a facelift in New York, and about the facelift techniques that will suit you best, we invite you to meet with Dr. Kolker for a private consultation at our office, located at Park Avenue and 70th Street, by calling 212-744-6500, or by scheduling an appointment online.