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Facial Plastic surgery is as much an art as it is medical. In order to make a facelift look natural, there are many details that need to be taken into account when your surgeon is planning his or her approach, such as the condition of your skin, presence and direction of any skin wrinkles, the direction of muscle laxity, the amount of volume loss, and the change in position of your facial volume to name a few. A facelift should be tailored to each patient's unique aging pattern. It's best to discuss these concerns prior to your procedure. The surgeon that you choose should be able to explain how and why your results will look natural with the approach that's been planned. A board certified facial plastic surgeon who performs these procedures on a weekly basis will be able to help you understand your aging pattern and why the procedures will benefit you. See my link below for a discussion on the importance of the direction of muscle tightening in a facelift as well as benefits of combining a fractionated CO2 laser to address the significant aging component of the skin.
A chemical peel will help, but it will not fix this. There are 2 things going on in these photos. 1-There is an unnatural sweep to the skin. It would be really helpful to see before photos to give a more detailed answer or explanation here. 2- The texture of the skin needs to be addressed. I always discuss the condition of the skin with my facelift patients, because while a facelift can be an excellent way to reposition or lift tissues, a facelift does not change the texture of the skin surface itself, and it does not change the elasticity of your skin. Over time skin loses elasticity, so even when the skin is lifted and tightened during surgery, there will be some degree of relaxation that depends on the characteristics of your skin (based on age and genetics and sun damage, etc). The photos show extensive wrinkles throughout, which would need to be addressed whether or not a facelift was being done. Typically this is through a combination of a series of lasers, peels, Botox, and medical grade skin care products. Regarding the condition of your skin, the good news is you can still do these things, but may have to budget it out to something that makes sense for you. Regarding the unnatural sweep to the skin, I would have a discussion with your surgeon. Also, I would make sure you seek out only a board certified plastic surgeon or facial plastic surgeon for this revision, so if your surgeon was not in one of these specialties, I would recommend a second opinion, and take your preop photos. Also, if you do trust your current surgeon to do a revision, check your paperwork for the surgeon's revision policy. Often surgeons will revise suboptimal results for a limited time without charging a surgeons fee, though you would likely still pay for the operating room and anesthesia fees. I'm sorry you're going through this. The good news is it can be made better :)
Hello and thank you for your question. I am sorry to hear about your experience. Thebest advice you can receive is from an in-person consultation. It would be very helpful to be able to compare your before and after pictures. You will likely benefit most from a revision. I would recommend that you either follow-up with your surgeon or seek a second opinion consultation.Best wishes and good luck.Richard G. Reish, M.D.Harvard-trained plastic surgeon
My best advice is to make another appointment with your original surgeon to discuss your results. A good surgeon is not just there during the surgery, but practices important followup with his (or her) patients, because we, as surgeons, should care that our patients are happy with their results. I would speak to your original surgeon again, making sure to express that you are depressed and upset. I wish you all the best.
Unfortunately, you have the classic "swept" appearance of a standard facelift. With the amount of wrinkles that you have and the quality of your skin, the only way you could have avoided this would be if you had undergone a deep plane facelift technique with or without volumization (such as with fat grafting). Now that you have these ripples, the best option is a revision facelift using the deep plane technique. I understand that this is not affordable. Treating the wrinkles with a "peel" may work, but only if the peel is incredibly aggressive (a Baker-Gordon Phenol peel). Any other peel will not provide the wrinkle reduction and skin tightening that you need and will not really effect the problem you have. The only other option would be a laser such as a full field CO2 (fractionated won't tighten enough) or full field erbium laser. The last option would be a series of fractionated CO2 or Halo laser treatments. I would discuss your very significant concerns with your surgeon.Andrew Campbell, M.D.Facial Rejuvenation SpecialistQuintessa Aesthetic Centers
