Facial aging effects all of us. Yet some more then others and sometimes this depends on your race, Asian, Caucasian African ,Hispanic or many mixes find different changes take place. Our Asian patients seldom age the same way as our Caucasian patient do. As example Asian patients tend to have “age spots “more than Africans. Caucasians tend to have those wrinkles around the corners of the eyes known as crows feet. When considering face lifts your race is an important factor. A good facial surgeon will consider the aging patterns accordingly when he helps guide you through the process of choosing a face lift procedure. In Hawaii we have one of the most diverse populations for face lifts in Dr. Pasquale’s practice. Lets first look at the aging process in general.
— Facial Aging Process in 3 steps —
The three figures above are the same individual graphically aged – progressing from your left to right. These three figures created by Dr. Pasquale show the normal male aging process well.
Description of Facial Aging
- 1. The nose widens and lengthens with age.
- 2. The brow falls and the outside corners of the eyes turn down.
- 3. The jaw line develops sagging and excessive skin.
- 4. The distance between the nose and lip gets longer.
- 5. The face widens or in some cases narrows with an unappealing loss of tissue.
- 6. Bags or hollows form under the eyes.
- 7. Various wrinkles form and corners of the mouth turn down.
- 8. The cheeks sag and develop hollow areas.
Choosing a Facelift Surgeon
When a face lift surgeon looks at your face he or she should have a tool bag full of techniques and procedures – solutions to correct the aging process. Dr. Pasquale at his Honolulu Clinic will ask you what is the area that is the most concern for you. Together you will go through your aging process and consider the points above (perhaps more or less). Dr. Pasquale will explain to you the procedures which can specifically address each area of concern. Depending on your desire circumstance and needs he can tailor your face lift procedures or nosurgical procedures for the optimal result.
Dr. Pasquale, as a plastic surgeon fully trained in surgical and non-surgical procedures has a toolbag full of many options. Unfortunately, unless you see a fully trained plastic surgeon who is also well versed in non-surgical treatment you may not be offered all the options available today. There are many physicians today who will offer treatment for the aging process, but so many only have a few tools to use. This gives great credence to the saying “if you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail”. The point is when seeking someone to help you correct facial aging be sure to seek a fully qualified and trained plastic surgeon who has experience in both non-surgical and surgical treatments of the aging face.
Face lifts are many in types and amount of detailed surgery. There are simple skin face lifts which involve only the skin. There are face lifts which involve rearranging not only the skin, but the muscles themselves and even more complex procedures of changing the facial bones. There are most likely more than 100 types of face lifts and related procedures. There are many non-surgical treatments such as fillers, Botulinum Toxin and thermage which are available as well.
When thinking about face lifts and comparing surgeons, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Don’t expect to pay either in recovery time or money the same for a simple skin face lift and a SMAS face lift as the latter takes longer, requires more skill and more effort. The recovery time when deeper tissues are addressed is longer and takes more of the surgeons skill and time. You will have to decide with Dr. Pasquale which face lift procedure is best for you.
