Facelift

Conveniently located to serve Orange County, CA

Many factors contribute to the rate at which your face ages. Sun damage, genetics, gravity, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices all leave their mark in the way of fine lines, wrinkles, deep creases, and sagging skin and tissues. Facelift surgery restores youthful contours and definition to your mid and lower face by removing excess skin and repositioning underlying tissues and fat on the face and neck.

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What a Facelift can achieve

Reduced Facial Wrinkles

Gravity, sun damage, and lifestyle choices contribute to the development of wrinkles and lines anywhere on the face, which can make you appear tired and older than you are. Facelift surgery eliminates fine lines and wrinkles, such as marionette lines and nasolabial folds, to provide a smoother, natural-looking complexion.
Reduced Facial Wrinkles

Gravity, sun damage, and lifestyle choices contribute to the development of wrinkles and lines anywhere on the face, which can make you appear tired and older than you are. Facelift surgery eliminates fine lines and wrinkles, such as marionette lines and nasolabial folds, to provide a smoother, natural-looking complexion.
Reduced Facial Wrinkles

Gravity, sun damage, and lifestyle choices contribute to the development of wrinkles and lines anywhere on the face, which can make you appear tired and older than you are. Facelift surgery eliminates fine lines and wrinkles, such as marionette lines and nasolabial folds, to provide a smoother, natural-looking complexion.

Facelift Procedure

As each person’s facial features, level of visible aging, and expectations vary, there is no single facelift technique used by Dr. Reichner for everyone. He will examine your facial structure and degree of skin laxity and listen to your concerns to determine which techniques will best fit your needs and expectations.

Removes Excess Skin

During facelift surgery, an incision is made along the hairline, starting at the temples and running down and around the earlobe. Through this incision, skin is tightened, and any excess is trimmed away.

Repositions Underlying Facial Muscles

Through the incision made in the hairline, sagging muscles are tightened and repositioned, contributing to greater definition of the midface and jawline. Because of the lifting of the underlying muscles, more natural-looking results can be attained.

Enhances Cheeks

As skin and tissue begin to break down with age, gravity, and sun damage, fullness in the cheeks begins to disappear or slide toward the jawline. To enhance the cheeks, facial fat is redistributed to create volume. In patients who have lost a significant amount of volume, fat grafting can be used. During fat grafting, fat is harvested from another part of your body via liposuction and added to the areas of the face in need of enhancement, such as the cheeks or around the mouth.

Tightens Neck

Along with facial aging, many patients experience skin laxity and vertical banding on the neck that contributes to a prematurely aged appearance. Often, a neck lift with or without liposuction is performed to create a more defined and youthful contour that restores balance between the face and neck. Neck lift surgery uses a small incision beneath the chin through which loose skin is trimmed and tightened. If excess fat is present on the neck, liposuction is employed.

Before & After

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Concerns

Recovery
Scars
Pain

Although facelift surgery is an outpatient procedure, it is performed under general anesthesia, and you are required to have a driver present to get you home and stay with you for the first 24 hours. To help reduce bruising and swelling and to promote healing, you should keep your head elevated, even when you are sleeping. Patients typically return to work in one to two weeks, but exercise and strenuous activities should be avoided for at least three weeks.
Scarring will form at the incision sites. Fortunately, with facelift surgery, most of the incision is hidden within the hairline so that it will be inconspicuous. Dr. Reichner does his best to make these incisions as small and hidden as possible. To help minimize your chance of scarring, be sure to keep your incisions out of the sun and avoid putting any extra tension or pressure on them. All scarring will fade with time.
Following your facelift, you may experience bruising, swelling, tightness, and numbness. Bandages will cover any incisions for protection and to help in the healing process. Cold compresses and oral pain medication will help minimize discomfort.

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I a candidate for facelift surgery?

Candidates for facelift surgery experience moderate to severe signs of facial and neck aging. This includes deep facial wrinkles and creases, sagging cheeks, jowls, and neck banding. Candidates should be in good overall health, have adequate skin elasticity, be non-smokers or willing to quit smoking for at least one month before and after surgery, and have realistic expectations of their results.

Can non-surgical facial rejuvenation provide the same results?

While non-surgical facial rejuvenation treatments, such as injectable fillers, are a great way to postpone the need for more invasive surgery, they cannot reach the level of correction offered by facelift surgery. A facelift addresses the underlying causes of facial aging and creates lasting facial rejuvenation.

Will my results be permanent?

The results of your facelift will show within six months and will be long lasting; however, no procedure can halt the further progression of aging. Factors such as heredity, bone structure, skin texture, and elasticity all contribute to the longevity of your results. To help prolong your results, it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle, avoid the sun and practice good sun protection, and follow a proper skin care regimen.

What are the potential risks and complications associated with facelift surgery?

Complications following facelift surgery are rare, but when present, they are usually temporary. While it is unlikely that you will experience any of these, potential complications include:

Can I combine my facelift with any other procedure?

Facelift surgery addresses facial laxity on the mid and lower face. It does not address the upper portion of the face, such as around the eyes or on the forehead. To keep your results looking balanced, Dr. Reichner may suggest combining your facelift with an eyelid lift or brow lift.

Patient Testimonials

“Thank you for everything Doctor. I am very happy I went through with my facelift. My husband can’t stop telling me how beautiful I look, you literally turned the clock back!”

– Mrs. K.