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Home | Cosmetic Surgery | Facial Surgery | Face Lift and Neck Lift

Face Lift in Chicago

When you look in the mirror, does your face no longer reflect the vitality, energy, or spiritedness you still feel inside? As people age, the facial skin loses its elasticity, and underlying structures such as fat and muscle atrophy, or shrink. Meanwhile, external factors such as sun damage, smoking, and stress all conspire to accentuate or accelerate these changes that come with age. A face lift in Chicago by board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Paul Steinwald can address these jowls and deep wrinkles that result from facial aging, to reposition sagging structures that lead to an "oval" appearance, and recreate the "inverted pyramid" effect of a more youthful face.

Chicago Face Lift Surgery

Moderate to severe signs of facial aging are most often best-addressed by a formal face lift, or what is clinically known as a "rhytidectomy." During this procedure, incisions hidden in the hairline and along the ears are made to access the deeper muscular and fascial (supportive strength) structures, which are "lifted" and secured in an appropriate direction, after which excess skin is trimmed away at the incision lines, which are precisely closed with fine sutures. A sagging, ill-defined neckline (and underlying visible muscular bands) is often addressed concurrently through the use of a neck lift.

Generally, there are two variations of this type of face lift for Chicago area patients. Dr. Steinwald will either recommend a "mini-facelift" for patients with earlier signs of facial aging or what he calls "The San Francisco Facelift," which is a full, deeper-plane face and neck lift utilizing a combination of sophisticated techniques Dr. Steinwald learned from several expert facelift surgeons while training in San Francisco. The mini-facelift approach provides similar deeper support, but features shorter scars behind the ears, avoids the chin incision, and requires less time to perform, with less post-operative downtime as well.

More about Facelift and Neck Lift

The best candidates for a face lift are motivated, non-smoking women or men with signs of moderate to advanced aging of the lower 2/3rds of the face and neck. Finer wrinkles around the mouth are usually not helped by these procedures, but can be addressed with soft tissue fillers. A facelift can be performed as an outpatient or overnight stay procedure, under IV sedation or general anesthesia.

Regarding neck lifts, the neckline is often addressed concurrently via a facelift approach. This is most appropriate for patients with significant sagging/laxity of the neck tissues, prominent "banding" of the neck musculature (particularly upon grimacing or tightening of the jaw), or loss of an acute angle between the undersurface of the jaw and anterior neck. During a neck lift or "platysmaplasty," the neck skin is elevated and tightened through the facelift incisions around the ears, and the banding or excess fatty tissue in the mid-neck may be tightened or removed via a small incision under the chin. This restores the sharp, defined neck contour of youth, and removes excess, sagging skin. Neck lifts are commonly performed under light general anesthesia as an outpatient procedure, but may require an overnight stay if performed in conjunction with a facelift.

Younger patients with tighter skin but a full, poorly-defined neckline may be candidates for suction-assisted lipectomy in this area through three small incisions. This is often performed as an outpatient procedure under IV sedation. People who want to refresh the appearance of their face also may want to consider procedures such as eyelid surgery and medical spa treatments like BOTOX® Cosmetic or soft tissue fillers.

Your Next Step

It's easy to learn more about having a neck lift or face lift. Simply request a consultation online with Dr. Steinwald and save $50 off the regular consultation fee. Or, call the Lake Forest Plastic Surgery office at (847) 234-9464 to schedule your visit. Dr. Steinwald looks forward to helping you achieve your optimal appearance.