Face & neck · Vancouver and North Vancouver
Facelift Videos with Dr. Buonassisi
Two facelifts, filmed from the consultation to the weeks after.
Facelift videos filmed at 8 West with Dr. Thomas Buonassisi, MD, FRCSC, Specialist in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, with a practice limited to facial plastic surgeries: his nine-part series All About Facelifts, one patient's facelift from her consultation to a week after surgery, our nurse Jenn's own facelift, and his short answers to the questions people ask. The surgery itself is explained on the main page: facelift surgery in Vancouver.
The first step is a complimentary, friendly call with a patient care manager.
The series
All About Facelifts, in nine parts
Dr. Buonassisi's own series, about an hour in all. Watch it in order, or start with the part you're curious about.
Part 1 · 6:34What the series covers
Why he made it, why a few standard ways of doing a facelift sit behind all the different names, and what each part covers.
Part 2 · 3:02The layers of the face
Skin, fat, the SMAS, the deeper structures and bone, and what changes in each as we age.
Part 3 · 6:19How the face ages
Changes in bone, fat, skin and the neck, how the shape of the face shifts, and what a facelift does and doesn't change.
Part 4 · 7:35Surgical and non-surgical trends
Liquid and lunchtime facelifts, less invasive surgery, and where treatments without surgery help and where they don't.
Part 5 · 19:06History and types of surgical facelifts
Skin-only lifts, SMAS plication and SMASectomy, the deep plane, high SMAS, the MACS lift and the neck, and when he uses each.
Part 6 · 3:21Facelift incisions and what to expect
Why a facelift needs incisions, where he hides them, and why a shorter incision isn't always a better one.
Part 7 · 2:19Anaesthesia for a facelift
Freezing, sedation and general anaesthesia: what each one feels like, and why some people prefer to be fully asleep.
Part 8 · 3:06Recovering from a facelift
Swelling, bruising and feeling tight, how the amount of surgery shapes your recovery, and when people go back to work.
Part 9 · 10:14Treatments besides a facelift
Wrinkle-relaxing injections, fillers and laser resurfacing: what each one does well, and what they can't do in place of surgery.
Written out, with drawings: types of facelift, facelift scars and incisions and facelift recovery.
Her facelift
A week after her facelift
The same patient at her one-week visit, and Dr. Buonassisi's answers to the questions people ask that week.
One week after · 2:50Her one-week follow-up
How her week went, what Dr. Buonassisi checks for, and how long to wear the dressing.
One week after · 3:07What a face looks like at one week
Her dressing is off and her staples are coming out. Dr. Buonassisi points out the puffiness, bruising and tightness that are normal at this stage.
Facelift questions · 2:26What you can do at one week, and at three
Skin products, makeup, hair colour, flying, swimming and the gym.
Facelift questions · 5:02Caring for your incisions and hair
The day after surgery: ointment on the incision lines, rinsing your hair, and the wrap for your neck.
The weeks after, step by step: facelift recovery, week by week.
Jenn's facelift
Jenn's facelift, on camera
Jenn Sheaves, RN, one of our nurses, filmed her own deep plane facelift with Dr. Buonassisi, from the consultation to three weeks after.
Consultation · 1:55Which way her face would lift
Dr. Buonassisi lifts Jenn's cheek and jawline to show the direction of the lift, and what it will and won't change.
Consultation · 0:32Repositioned, not just tightened
Jenn has kept up her skin with laser treatments and fillers for years. Dr. Buonassisi explains what surgery adds: it repositions the tissues.
Consultation · 0:44Filling or lifting
Jenn on why more filler wouldn't give her what she wanted, and Dr. Buonassisi on the difference between filling and lifting.
Consultation · 0:38Keeping the hairline where it is
Dr. Buonassisi shows where her incisions will go, and why they stay at the hairline and in front of the ear.
A week after surgery · 0:45Her follow-up, a week on
Dr. Buonassisi checks her incisions and bruising, and Jenn talks about the two days after surgery.
Incisions · 1:32Where her incisions sit
In front of the ear, behind the earlobe and at the hairline, shown by Dr. Buonassisi as they heal.
Three weeks after · 2:32Jenn at three weeks
Swelling, sleeping propped up, lingering bruising, and what she found hardest.
Three weeks after · 0:23Her lymphatic drainage massage
Jenn, three weeks after her facelift, at a lymphatic drainage massage.
Facelift questions
Short answers from Dr. Buonassisi
Most are under a minute, filmed in the clinic.
Facelift questions · 1:44The deep plane, with a ribbon
Why he moves the deeper layer instead of stretching the skin on its own.
In a consultation · 0:59Where the incisions go
He marks them at the temple, around the ear and into the hairline.
Facelift questions · 0:46How age changes the surgery
When the neck needs volume reshaped, when tissue needs moving, and why the skin stays attached to the layer beneath it.
Results · 0:35Your result over the year after surgery
Why things feel tight at the start, and why a little relaxation is normal.
Facelift questions · 0:51What's in a facelift name?
Vertical, northwest, signature: what the names mean, and what to look at instead.
Facelift questions · 0:53Fillers before a facelift
Whether fillers, biostimulators or other treatments you've had change a facelift.
The guide
The Essential Guide to Facial Rejuvenation
It answers the questions most people have before a facelift consultation, with drawings and short videos from Dr. Buonassisi. Inside:
- The deep plane facelift and the neck, explained, with drawings of where the incisions go
- Jenn's facelift recovery, week by week, with a short video at each stage
- Eyes, brows and the lip lift, with before-and-after photos
- Cost and financing, and your next steps
More about facelifts
The facelift pages, written out
Each one has the videos for its topic, with the details in writing.
Two clinics
Find us in Vancouver and North Vancouver
8 West Clinic is at 1788 W Broadway in Vancouver and 221 West Esplanade in North Vancouver. Financing is available through partner companies, and we can help you choose an option that fits your budget.
Every patient is unique and treatment results vary.
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