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Your Facelift Surgery Options in The Woodlands Tx

The natural process of aging, gravity, and heredity lead to undesirable facial features such as sagging skin and deep wrinkles. These can add years to your age and leave you looking gloomy, angry, or even unpleasant. Men and women in The Woodlands who suffer from this aesthetic issue can benefit from Dr. Chaowen Wu’s facelift plastic surgery. The surgeon specializes in a number of advanced facelift techniques to help you achieve a smoother facial appearance, among other benefits

What is a Facelift?

A facelift, also referred to as a rhytidectomy, is a cosmetic procedure that alleviates signs of aging on the face and sometimes also the neck. Plastic surgeons complete this treatment by removing excess facial skin while also tightening the underlying connective tissue and muscular structure. In many cases, a less invasive procedure variant known as a mini facelift will be carried out to address mild to moderate facial imperfections. Some patients may also benefit from fat grafting techniques that take fat from other parts of the patient’s body and use it to even out hollow areas on the face.

Is a Facelift for me?

You may be an excellent candidate for facelift surgery if:

  • You are physically and emotionally healthy 
  • You are worried about the appearance of deep wrinkles, furrow lines, wrinkles, and other facial skin imperfections. 
  • You have folding skin on the neck or sagging tissues along the jawline that creates the impression of jowls. 
  • You desire a smoother and youthful-looking facial appearance. 
  • You have realistic expectations about the outcome of this procedure. 

While there is no minimum age at which you can choose to have a facelift surgery, most patients choose to have this treatment when they are around 50 years of age. It is also not uncommon to see individuals who are as young as 40 pursuing facial plastic surgery in order to enhance their aesthetic appearance. 

Facelift Techniques 

Dr. Wu has worked with numerous facelift patients from The Woodlands, Conroe, Humble, Houston, and surrounding Texas areas. The surgeon specializes in several different types of facelifts to suit the needs of each patient.

  • Mini Facelift 

A mini facelift is a procedure that removes excess skin and alleviates some of the signs of aging on the face, including wrinkling in the jawline. This type of procedure is less invasive than a ‘full’ facelift and often only involves the removal and pulling up of excess skin. Ideal candidates for this procedure technique are individuals who have less excess skin in the facial region and want to achieve the benefits of this treatment with less scarring. 

During a mini facelift, plastic surgeons create an incision along the hairline extending behind your ears. This incision will then be used to raise the SMAS muscle to achieve a smoother facial appearance. Excess skin may also be trimmed in line with the goals of the surgery. Once the necessary changes have been carried out, the surgeon will close the incisions and bandage the treatment areas to allow for healing.  

A mini facelift can be more beneficial than a traditional facelift because it is less expensive and results in less pain and a faster recovery time. Furthermore, unlike traditional face lifting surgery, this procedure can be carried out using twilight anesthesia which is safer and less invasive than general anesthesia. 

  • Deep Plane Facelift 

A deep plane rhytidectomy is an advanced technique that allows the muscle layer under the facial skin to be repositioned without any tension. This helps provide a more natural-looking outcome compared to facelifts that pull the skin layer (thus resulting in a ‘tightened’ appearance). A deep plane facelift is a specialist technique that is only performed by a small fraction of plastic surgeons in the country. It is also believed to be a superior technique that results in better and longer-lasting results compared to the traditional technique. It is not uncommon for patients who have received this advanced facial cosmetic treatment to look as much as 10 – 15 years younger. 

  • Facial Fat Transfer 

Age-related volume loss and the force of gravity often lead to prominent signs of aging. Some patients have skin that appears to be drooping, sunken, or hollow. This may make you look older and fatigued, taking the youthfulness away from your face. Facial fat transfer is a relatively new technique that Dr. Wu has perfected in the recent past. During this treatment, the surgeon typically harvests excess fat tissue from another part of the patient’s body and uses it to add volume to the targeted facial areas. This is a natural technique that helps contour the patient’s face to achieve a firmer and more youthful appearance. Dr. Wu may perform a facial fat transfer procedure independently or combine it with the mini or traditional facelift to suit the patient’s unique goals and objectives. 

Conclusion 

The right type of facelift in The Woodlands will vary from one patient to the other. During your initial consultation with Dr. Wu, the surgeon will listen to your concerns, examine your face, and let you know what technique is ideal for you. The surgeon will also discuss the recovery timeline to help you get ready for this individualized treatment.