Facelift

A facelift is a type of cosmetic surgery that addresses signs of aging in the face and neck. They achieve this by removing excess fat and tightening the skin and muscles, giving your face a fresher and more youthful look. Facelifts can treat sagging skin, jowls, double chins, wrinkles, and more. After receiving this treatment, patients can appear as much as ten to fifteen years younger.

At Aesthetic Laser Center, Dr. Quita Lopez provides facelift procedures for patients in Lake Oswego, Woodburn, and the greater Portland area. She is an experienced cosmetic surgeon who leads her practice with an emphasis on thoughtful patient care and naturally beautiful results. For more information, call (503) 353-0888 or contact us online.

Before and After Photos

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Why Choose a Facelift?

Faces are the most visible and immediately noticeable part of our bodies. They connect us to society and give us the opportunity to express ourselves. They let others know when we are happy, sad, or mad, and they are a vital aspect of our social and intimate lives. Naturally, our patients come to us hoping to keep their faces attractive and healthy. Signs of aging on the face can become the source of major insecurities, and our office is here to help. With each passing year, time, gravity, sun exposure, and the stresses of daily life take their toll on our faces. Deep creases appear beside the mouth, the jaw line slackens, the skin begins to sag, and folds and fat deposits appear on the neck. Fortunately, facelifts can reduce and eliminate these problems.

Types of Facelift

Browlift

Also known as the “forehead lift,” or “browplasty,” a brow lift is a procedure that can remove the wrinkles in the forehead area from the hairline to the eyes. It involves Dr. Lopez making incisions above the hairline to prevent any visible scarring. She removes extra skin and tightens what remains to lift sagging and heavy eyebrows to a natural height. This procedure can clear up the visual field of patients whose brows sag exceedingly low. It can also smoothen and reduce deep wrinkles on the forehead.

Mid Facelift

Losing fat volume and skin firmness as a result of aging can lead to a tired, heavy, and gaunt appearance. ⁽¹⁾ The mid-facelift can restore a youthful look to the skin around the eyelids and on the cheeks. This procedure involves making incisions around the ears, hairline, and jawline to tighten the skin in the middle of the face. It can address problems such as baggy under-eyes, hollow cheeks, nasolabial folds, and wrinkles.

Lower Facelift

Lower facelifts are the most popular of the various types. This procedure rejuvenates the lower part of the face by tightening the chin, jawline, and neck, and reducing jowls. It requires smaller and less invasive incisions than other facelift techniques to provide substantial results. This can lead to less visible scarring and faster recovery times.

At Aesthetic Laser Center, we can incorporate elements from all three of these techniques to provide personalized results. Choosing the right type of facelift depends on your individual cosmetic goals, facial shape, problem areas, and other factors. We can also combine the facelift procedure with other procedures, including eyelid surgery, for more dramatic results. Eyelid surgery involves removing excess skin, fat, and tissue from the upper and lower eyelids to tighten them up.

Benefits of Facelifts

Facelifts have been a staple of the cosmetic surgery world since its early days, with the first procedure reported as early as 1901. ⁽²⁾ The modern-day facelift, also known as rhytidectomy, is a procedure that can make your face look like it has withstood the test of time. This procedure can reverse the effects of aging, stress, genetics, and elemental exposure. It can take a decade off your face and restore your youthful beauty.

Some of the issues that facelifts can treat include but are not limited to:

Regardless of the issues that you have with your facial appearance, rest assured that we have the solution. Do not settle for living with your insecurities and take action for your appearance. Patients who want a young, fresh, and rejuvenated appearance on their faces can achieve this at Aesthetic Laser Center.

Who is a Candidate for Facelifts?

Although there is no age requirement or limit, the most positive effects of facelift procedures have been seen with nonsmoking patients between the ages of forty and seventy. If you have sensitive skin, severe acne, or are allergic to anesthesia, this procedure may not be a safe option for you. You should be in relatively good health to ensure that you can heal properly from the surgery and benefit fully from it. It will also help to have a positive attitude and realistic expectations about what a facelift can do for your appearance. This procedure is designed to restore a youthful appearance and bring you back to looking like the best-looking version of yourself. 

Personal Consultation

At your personal consultation, Dr. Lopez will carefully examine your face and talk with you about your beauty goals. Feel free to ask any questions or raise any concerns that you have about the facelift procedure. We will ask you all about your medical history and current condition, including past surgeries, prescriptions, and ailments. This will help us determine if surgery is a safe and effective course of action. We treat every patient with discretion and care to provide the best possible cosmetic treatment. 

If we believe that surgery is not the right choice, we can recommend alternative and less invasive procedures that can improve your appearance. If you are eligible, we will create a personalized treatment plan for you. This plan will take into account all of the information that we gather at your consultation, including your unique medical concerns and the particular features of your face that we will focus on. This will allow us to give you an accurate cost estimate for your treatment, as well as provide specialized preparation instructions. At the end of your consultation, we can schedule your procedure appointment.

To schedule your personal consultation at Aesthetic Laser Center, call (503) 353-0888 or fill out this form.

Preparation

Preparing for your facelift can help increase the safety and efficacy of your procedure. The preparation instructions that we give you may include changes to your prescriptions and everyday activities. If you smoke, you should quit for the duration of your treatment process and recovery. The health effects of smoking can lead to complications during and after surgery. You should also avoid blood-thinning substances such as anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen and aspirin, certain herbal supplements, and vitamin E. These can lead to excessive bleeding and bruising. After your surgery, you may be exhausted and disoriented, and we recommend arranging a ride home from our facilities. Our office prioritizes the comfort, safety, and health of our patients. We always have your best interest in mind, and carefully preparing for your surgery will help us provide optimal cosmetic care. 

Facelift Procedure

When you come in for your surgery, Dr. Lopez will begin by marking the areas of treatment. She will give you a sedative or administer local or general anesthesia to prevent discomfort, depending on the extent of your procedure and your preferences. She will then make the necessary incisions to remove excess skin and redistribute fat around the face and neck for optimal contours. She may also use sutures to tighten your underlying facial muscles. Finally, she will pull the remaining skin tightly over the face and close the incisions. We will monitor your condition as you begin to recover from the sedative or anesthesia. We perform facelift procedures on an outpatient basis, which means you can go home on the same day that you receive your surgery.

Recovery

Recovery from cosmetic surgery is just as important as the actual procedure. This is because it is the time when your treatment area heals, which can affect your final aesthetic results.

Dr. Lopez will let you know what to expect from your recovery period at your consultation. During the first seven days of recovery, it is important to take the pain medication that we prescribe for you to minimize discomfort. To accelerate healing, you should take it easy and avoid any strenuous activities that could affect your incision sites. During the second week, you may still have visible bruising and swelling around your treatment area. This is perfectly normal, as it is a sign that your body is healing. During the third week, the results of your procedure will start to show. It is safe to return to work and to the gym at this time (unless Dr. Lopez instructs otherwise). We may schedule a follow-up appointment around this time to assess your recovery and make sure everything is going well. 

Results

You will be able to see the general transformation from your facelift treatment soon after your procedure. However, the final aesthetic results will not be visible until the swelling has gone down completely, which can take several weeks. During facelift procedures, Dr. Lopez makes the incisions in inconspicuous places, such as behind the hairline and along the natural folds of the face and ears. This will limit the visibility of your scarring, and it will fade over time as well. While a facelift cannot stop the natural aging process, the results of the surgery are long-lasting. The procedure can turn back the clock on your appearance and delay the progression of visible aging for many years. Proper post-operative care, including a healthy lifestyle and sun protection, can help maximize the long-term effectiveness of your facelift results.

How Much Do Facelifts Cost in Portland?

The cost of your facelift will depend on the extent and types of treatment that you require. Every facelift is different because every face is different. At your consultation, we will examine many factors such as your medical history and physical health to provide an accurate cost estimate. To learn more about how much facelifts cost at Aesthetic Laser Center, call (503) 353-0888 or visit our contact page. 

FAQ

References

1. Pérez P, Hohman MH. Mid-Face Facelift. PubMed. Published 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563237/ 
2. Yang AJ, Hohman MH. Rhytidectomy. PubMed. Published 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK564338/