The following information is adopted from a lecture I give to head and neck surgery residents at the University of Cincinnati on the aging face and how it can be treated. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

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One major benefit of deep plane facelift surgery, including the extended deep plane facelift, is that unlike other facelift approaches the natural volume of the cheeks can be lifted. The benefits of this are best appreciated dynamically and in-person. However, images can capture some of the nuances of a cheek lift. See the following blog post discussing the differences between a cheek lift with deep plane facelift surgery and fat augmentation of the cheeks. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck. Ask them if they have been fellowship-trained in deep plane facelift surgery, specifically the extended deep plane facelift.

Swelling is normal and expected after any facelift surgery, including the extended deep plane facelift. It gradually resolves without intervention in almost all cases (see the extended deep plane facelift page for the average expected recovery time). Swelling is largely due initially to the normal healing (i.e., acute inflammatory) response after surgery followed by the fact that the lymphatic drainage system – the system that carries the body’s natural fluid through the body and back to the heart – requires time to heal as well. However, there are multiple strategies available to patients to accelerate the resolution of swelling after surgery. Please note that the below strategies may not be appropriate for every patient. There are potential benefits, potential risks, and alternatives to all of the treatments below, including simply the passage of time. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck. Speak to your surgeon about their preferred strategies to reduce swelling after facelift surgery.

There are many reasons individuals seek revision, or secondary, facelifts. Regardless of the reason, deep plane facelift surgery including the extended deep plane facelift is usually the superior approach. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

A weak, or recessed, chin can be concerning to men and women, not only because this feature can make the face appear smaller than it is, but it can also make the nose appear larger and more projected than it is. There are surgical and non-surgical options to treat a weak chin. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Small drains are an important component of the post-operative recovery after an extended deep plane facelift and neck lift at Harmon Facial Plastic Surgery in Cincinnati. While they are usually in place only for one day, the care of these drains is essential while they remain in place. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Some individuals lose volume (i.e., fat) in their face as they age. Other individuals are born with poor volume and/or poor projection of their facial bones. Both individuals may benefit from fat augmentation. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Fat grafting and a cheek lift procedure each address specific concerns about the cheek and the cheek-eyelid interface. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Ear pinning (otoplasty) surgery can address specific concerns about excessive projection of the ears in children and adults. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon to help determine whether ear pinning (otoplasty) surgery is appropriate for your concerns.

The post-operative recovery period is an important time where meticulous care can maximize healing and minimize down time. It is for that reason that Dr. Harmon has developed a comprehensive plan for the post-operative recovery period. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

A common question asked during consultation for facelift surgery is what the post-operative dressings will look and feel like. Many express a concern about being required to wear large, heavy compression dressings for days after surgery. They ask if this will be required after the extended deep plane facelift.

The short answer is no, for the following reasons:

1. Compression dressings have historically been used to prevent or reduce the risk of blood accumulating under the skin after surgery, called a hematoma. Unfortunately, there is no evidence compression dressings significantly reduce the risk of hematoma formation. Instead, the use of a special local anesthesia mixture, blood pressure control during and after surgery, and meticulous surgical technique to minimize the transection of blood vessels are the best ways to minimize the risk of hematoma formation (1), (2), (3), (4).

2. Tight compressive dressings can reduce blood flow to the skin, which can harm wound healing.

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People generally know their body better than anyone else, including their physician. However, people do not always have the medical language to explain what they see when they look in a mirror. For example, you may have heard and understand the term “jowling” but do not quite feel like that fully explains what you see. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

As explained in a previous blog post (4 Benefits of the Extended Deep Plane Facelift), the extended deep plane facelift can address multiple signs of aging of the lower two-thirds of the face as well as the neck in a manner that other facelift approaches cannot.

However, the upper one-third of the face and the upper lip also undergo age-related changes, which no facelift approach can address. The lateral temporal lift and lip lift are complementary procedures to the extended deep plane facelift and neck lift.

There is a great deal of confusion among patients between buccal fat and jowl fat and their appropriate treatment, likely due to the complex shape of facial fat compartments. This blog post seeks to reduce that confusion. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck. A consultation is essential to evaluate whether your concerns are related to your buccal fat, jowl fat, or both. A comprehensive, specific plan may then be developed to best address your concerns safely and effectively.

The core of any facial plastic surgeon’s skills come from their training in fellowship, which follows their residency training. The premier body for fellowship training in facial plastic surgery is the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS). Established surgeons learn from their colleagues by visiting them in the operating room and by engaging with them through medical literature and at meetings. True advancements in surgical techniques are more likely to be published in reputable journals than kept within the surgeon’s operating room. Moreover, these advancements usually improve upon previous innovations in an iterative process where the wisdom of a surgeon’s colleagues is built upon.

Those surgeons who advanced early facelift techniques (e.g., Suzanne Noel) set the stage for improvements based on an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of those techniques and an improved understanding of the anatomy of the face and neck. No truly innovative technique ignores history. The deep plane facelift as developed by the plastic surgeon Dr. Sam Hamra (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) was a combination of the advancements made by previously developed techniques, specifically the SMASectomy facelift, and new understandings of facial anatomy. The extended deep plane facelift, a technique developed by my AAFPRS fellowship director Dr. Andrew Jacono, advanced upon the deep plane facelift technique as developed by Dr. Sam Hamra (6, 7, 8, 9). This blog post seeks to explain the differences between the deep plane facelift and extended deep plane facelift. As a result, this blog post will explain why these techniques were such an incredible improvement on previous facelift techniques. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

While often beneficial for their indicated use(s), non-surgical procedures, including injectables and energy-based devices (e.g., radiofrequency, ultrasound), can alter the tissue in the areas treated by facelift and neck lift surgery. These treatments do not typically preclude surgical treatment of the face and neck. However, they can affect the healing process post-operatively. They also alter the calculus of what facelift and neck lift approach would likely be the safest and most effective. This is why an in-person consultation with a qualified surgeon who has experience operating on patients who have undergone these non-surgical procedures is essential prior to considering any facial plastic surgery procedure. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Perioral rejuvenation – or plastic surgery of and around the mouth – is a popular topic in Cincinnati, Ohio. The perioral area includes not only the lips but also the skin and other soft tissue immediately surrounding the lips. The perioral mounds are a subunit of this anatomy that are relevant to facelift surgery. The characteristics and location of the perioral mounds make them very difficult to treat. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

The effects of some non-surgical procedures on the face and neck are often promoted as approaching/approximating the effects of a facelift and/or neck lift. These procedures fall into three categories: fillers, energy-based devices, and sutures, otherwise known as threading. In fact, many describe one or a combination of more than one of these non-surgical procedures as a “non-surgical” facelift and/or neck lift. The reality is that none of these interventions or combination of interventions approximate the effects of a facelift and/or neck lift. Instead, we feel the potential benefits of these interventions should be described for what they are and not compared with surgical procedures. The most effective way to treat age related changes to the face and neck remains surgery. More specifically, in the event of loose tissue and drooping volume in the face and neck, we feel the extended deep plane facelift and neck lift are the best surgical techniques to provide a natural appearing and long-lasting result. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Almost every surgical procedure in every surgical subspecialty has post-operative bleeding as a risk. This includes facial plastic surgery procedures. And while the risk of bleeding – also known as a hematoma – is low, it is something surgeons work hard to further reduce the risk of, especially with neck lift surgery and facelift surgery. The interventions discussed in this blog post include the use compression dressings, the placement of drains, hemostatic (Auersvald) netting, tissue glues (e.g., Tisseel©, Artiss©, and Platelet-Rich-Plasma [PRP]), and Tranexamic Acid (TXA). Current research does NOT indicate which intervention or combination of interventions is best to reduce the risk of bleeding. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

The effects of some non-surgical procedures on the face and neck are often promoted as approaching/approximating the effects of a facelift and/or neck lift. These procedures fall into three categories: fillers, energy-based devices, and sutures, otherwise known as threading. In fact, many describe one or a combination of more than one of these non-surgical procedures as a “non-surgical” facelift and/or neck lift. The reality is that none of these interventions or combination of interventions approximate the effects of a facelift and/or neck lift. Instead, we feel the potential benefits of these interventions should be described for what they are and not compared with surgical procedures. The most effective way to treat age related changes to the face and neck remains surgery. More specifically, in the event of loose tissue and drooping volume in the face and neck, we feel the extended deep plane facelift and neck lift are the best surgical techniques to provide a natural appearing and long-lasting result. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Almost every surgical procedure in every surgical subspecialty has post-operative bleeding as a risk. This includes facial plastic surgery procedures. And while the risk of bleeding – also known as a hematoma – is low, it is something surgeons work hard to further reduce the risk of, especially with neck lift surgery and facelift surgery. The interventions discussed in this blog post include the use compression dressings, the placement of drains, hemostatic (Auersvald) netting, tissue glues (e.g., Tisseel©, Artiss©, and Platelet-Rich-Plasma [PRP]), and Tranexamic Acid (TXA). Current research does NOT indicate which intervention or combination of interventions is best to reduce the risk of bleeding. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.