Facial cosmetic surgery

Facial cosmetic surgery is a great way to not only change your appearance, but also boost your self-confidence and help you look as young as you feel. Whether you want to sculpt a facial feature, smooth wrinkles and tighten loose skin or correct a problem, a wide array of procedures exist that can help you achieve the appearance you desire. Every surgery performed is based on a customized plan of treatment designed to meet all of the patient’s goals. Below are some of the most popular cosmetic procedures we perform.

Eyelid Surgery

Blepharoplasty, also known as eyelid surgery, is a procedure that improves the appearance of the eyelids by tightening muscles and tissue or removing excess fat and skin. The blepharoplasty procedure is performed under local anesthesia with sedation. General anesthesia may be used for anxious or nervous patients. Patients may choose to have this procedure on their upper or lower eyelids, or both. Depending on these choices, the procedure can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours.

If the upper eyelid is being treated, an incision is made along the natural crease of the eyelid. Once the incision is made, your doctor may reposition fat deposits, tighten muscles and tissue or remove excess skin. For the lower eyelid, an incision is made just below the lash line in order for excess skin to be removed.

After the procedure is performed, the incisions are closed with sutures and usually wrapped in gauze to allow the area to heal.

Ear Surgery

Ear surgery, or otoplasty, is a cosmetic procedure to improve the appearance of a person’s ears. Otoplasty typically serves two functions: setting prominent ears back closer to the head, and reducing the size of large ears.

Otoplasty generally lasts two to three hours and is performed on an outpatient basis. The type of anesthesia used typically depends on the age of the patient. General anesthesia is recommended for very young patients, while local anesthesia and a sedative may be used for older children and adults.

The otoplasty procedure begins with a small incision made behind the ear, in the natural crease where the ear meets the head. The cartilage is then sculpted and repositioned to achieve the desired appearance. In some types of otoplasty, skin is removed but the cartilage is left in one piece and merely bent back on itself to achieve a smaller-looking ear.

Sutures are used to hold the ear in the new position until healing is complete. A bandage is then wrapped around the head to maintain this positioning. To achieve better balance, both ears may be operated on even if only one has a problem.

Facelift

Facelifts counteract the signs of aging by tightening muscle, removing fat and trimming excess skin, giving your face a fresher, youthful look. They are especially effective for rejuvenating the mid- to lower face and neck, correcting sagging, deep creases under the eyes or between the nose and mouth and loose skin and fat under the chin and jaw.

Facelifts are typically outpatient procedures and may be performed in an office-based facility, surgery center or hospital. Patients may have a choice of IV sedation or general anesthesia. The procedure takes about two hours.

In most facelift procedures, incisions are made from the temples down in front of the ears and back behind the earlobe to the lower scalp. The surgeon lifts the skin, suctions fat, tightens muscle, trims excess skin and then stitches the incisions closed. Sometimes metal clips are also used to hold incisions firmly closed on the scalp, and bandages are often wrapped around the head to reduce bruising or swelling.

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty, or nose surgery, can reshape, reduce or augment a person’s nose to achieve facial harmony and boost self-confidence. It is usually an outpatient procedure that is performed under IV sedation or general anesthesia.

Surgeons typically use one of two techniques when performing nasal surgery. In a closed rhinoplasty, incisions are made within the nostrils. In an open rhinoplasty, the incision is made across the columella, the tissue between the nostrils. With both methods, the surgeon gently lifts the soft tissues covering the nose. He or she sculpts the bone and cartilage to the desired shape. Any additional cartilage needed to augment the nose can often be taken from the septum.

The entire procedure generally lasts for one to two hours.