Transcript

What is the difference between a facelift and a neck lift? It can be a big difference and it’s a point that many people are worried about, so let’s discuss what the differences really are. When we age we tend to age everywhere, in the face and neck, but sometimes parts of the face will age faster than others. How might this be? Well, in someone who has wonderful bone structure, for instance, they may have great strong cheekbones, strong jawline, and so where things will fall first will be in the neck and maybe in the jowls. In other people who don’t have particularly strong bones in the cheeks and the jawline, you’ll start to see the cheeks hollow and fall. So, when I look at someone I’m looking at before pictures; earlier picture of them; and I’m also looking aesthetically; three dimensionally, what do they need to look the way they used to look? So to me, a neck lift is what I call a lower face and neck. It involves getting the jowls cleaned up, cleaning the jawline up, and cleaning up the neck. And usually will involve some facial fat transfer as well. A full face lift in our jargon means going up all the way to the cheekbones and restoring the deep tissues –not the skin– but the tissues under the skin, and moving them back up to the cheekbone and creating that heart-shaped face. The look of youth is not tight. The look of youth is heart-shaped. The cheekbones are wider than the jawline. When we lose that; when we get the square face or the jowl, it tells me that they need more of what we call a full facelift. When this is retained and looks alright, it’s really just an issue of moving the lower face and the neck. How do I tell? One of the things that I like to do is actually lay the person on their back in the office. Guess what? We all look great when we lie on our back. Why? Because gravity is gone; it’s not pulling the face in a chair, which looks funny. It’s actually restoring everything to natural when the person lies down. When I’m looking at the person lying down, and I’m letting them look at themselves in the mirror, they’ll know what’s wrong by what looks better. And if we start to see extra skin in front of the ear that got created by that lying down, it’ll need to be more of a procedure where we go up to the cheekbone. If it stays loose only below the jawline it will be a neck lift. And that’s the reason that the best way is to actually come in, let us take a look at you, let us evaluate you, bring in your old pictures, meet the office and let us help you to the best decision. I’m Dr. Lawrence Koplin, and thanks for listening.