What happens in a facelift consultation?
Key takeaways
- The consultation starts with looking closely at where the looseness is, from the side and the front.
- The direction of the lift is planned for your face, to bring the jawline and cheek back to where they used to be.
- Lifting in one direction can create extra skin somewhere else, so the plan may include the brow.
- Dr. Buonassisi is clear about what a lift will and won't fully correct.
- Extra skin is trimmed along the incisions around the ear.
Part of a real consultation
This video shows part of a facelift consultation with Dr. Thomas Buonassisi, MD, FRCSC, a facial plastic surgeon with over 25 years of experience. He looks at the face from the side and the front, finds where the looseness actually is (here it is skin, not fat), and gently lifts the skin by hand to show what a facelift would do.
Planning the direction of the lift
For this face, the lift that looks right is mostly vertical, bringing the jawline and the cheek back up to where they used to be. Every direction has a trade-off: lifting this way creates some extra skin across the side of the face, so Dr. Buonassisi plans for it, often with a small incision in the hair to lift the outer brow as well.
Being honest about what will change
Part of a good consultation is saying what a lift may not fully correct. Here he explains that one area may improve without disappearing completely, and that it is usually better to wait and see after the lift before considering anything more. The neck is part of the same plan: the extra skin in front of and behind the ear is trimmed along the incisions.
What to expect at yours
Your consultation is where your plan is built around your anatomy and your goals. Read more about the deep plane facelift at 8 West Clinic in Vancouver and North Vancouver.
