For most people with moderate excess weight, without a current weight loss goal, there is not much penalty to go ahead and have your facelift.   Your face and neck will appear smaller and more youthful afterwards.   For those who are more substantially overweight, it is helpful to lose some weight for your health during the several hour surgery and which will also help improve your results by reducing your neck and face size prior to surgery.    Patients with a near term defined goal to lose more than 15 pounds, are advised to do that before a facelift.

Years of sun exposure (sun damage) and aging together create surface wrinkles on the skin.   For patients with significant deep wrinkles, stretching the skin in a facelift to smooth out surface skin wrinkles may cause the type of windblown facial distortion patients want to avoid and Dr. Yeilding will not attempt this.   There is a direct remedy for skin surface wrinkles using CO2 laser resurfacing for certain candidates.   Laser treatment can dramatically reduce fine, moderate and deep skin surface wrinkles without the stretching that causes facial distortion.  Laser resurfacing will also reduce hyperpigmentation at the same time.   Therefore, there is a strong synergy for patients to consider both procedures.

Most surgeons would agree that an average or good facelift outcome is where a visually significant improvement in the jowls with neck tightening occur and will last approximately 10-15 years.  Dr. Yeilding tells patients their facelift will likely turn the clock back about 10-15 years but of course the aging process will continue.  Variations in longevity of result are according to patient age and health, lifestyle, diet, weight fluctuations and genetics.

You will see Dr. Yeilding during your initial surgery consultation. You will also see her before and after your surgery where she will speak with you and any family members or caregiver present that you wish. She will see you directly for most post-operative visits, as Dr. Yeilding wants to stay very close to personally evaluate how your healing is progressing especially during the first 2 weeks.  There are times when you may not see Dr. Yeilding directly, such as your Pre-Op visit, 2-3 weeks prior to your surgery, where you will receive detailed instructions to prepare you for your surgery and your recovery. Additionally, if you should have an issue or concern after your surgery on a day/time when Dr. Yeilding is operating, we may ask that you come to YMD to be seen by a staff member, who may take pictures, or perform a test, to be able to describe your issues to Dr. Yeilding, rather than rely on telephone discussion.  Sometimes telephone discussion is all that is needed.

Bruising is common and lasts about 2 to 3 weeks.    Infections can occur but are very rare; however, all infections must be treated quickly to avoid more significant issues.  Bleeding and other fluid buildup can collect to form a hematoma or seroma and if not treated can reduce efficacy of neck tightening, or in rare cases are severe enough to potentially degrade the skin itself.   It is important to inform Dr. Yeilding immediately if you see/feel pockets of fluid and she will see you quickly to fix the problem fast which typically avoids long term negative consequences.

Numbness in the lower face is common and is actually helpful for reducing pain after surgery.  Normal feeling typically returns in several months.  More severe nerve damage impacting normal facial movement is possible, but rare and also typically resolves over a few months.

Facial asymmetry between left and right sides of face can occur; however, Dr. Yeilding surgeries typically improve facial symmetry compared to the pre-op situation. Thickened scars or hair loss around the incision site are reported nationally, however Dr. Yeilding uses advanced techniques that typically do not cause hair loss or result in highly visible scars.  Dr. Yeilding’s incisions are made in front of the ear and behind the ear hidden in the sideburn area hair and behind the ear. It is also hidden inside the ear and behind the lobe and the ear (below left image). After 2-3 months there is very little for anyone to see of the actual facelift incision.  Facelift incisions heal extremely well and rarely present a problem of scaring.  If a rare undesirable scar forms, Dr. Yeilding can improve it with laser resurfacing.   See Below regarding Dr. Yeilding facelift incisions:

All facelift patients receive Dr. Yeilding’s personal cell phone number.