An incision is made behind the ear in the natural crease where the ear and head join. The skin is loosened from thecartilage of the ear. The cartilage is often reshaped with stitches to give a more natural look to the ear.

For one week following the operation, you will wear a protective dressing over your ear(s) to protect the delicate stitches placed during the operation. After one week, you will be back in the office and remove any stitches that were placed.My patients are encouraged  to purchase a sports headband and to wear this around the ears at night and while sleeping for four to six weeks following surgery. 

If absolutely necessary, you could return to work three to four days after the operation. Because of the protective ear dressing placed during surgery, most patients arrange to have one week off from work or school. 

In some situations, particularly for young children, insurance companies may view otoplasty as covered under your policy. Our staff can help you determine this before surgery. If not covered by your insurance carrier, payments can be made prior to surgery. 

After your consultation you will leave the office with an easy to understand written quote in which we will list the cost of these three components for your individualized surgical plan. Keep in mind that the facility and anesthesia fees are time-based and so may be increased, or decreased, based on the actual final length of your surgery.

Every type of surgery has risks. It’s my ethical responsibility to educate you on these risks so you can make the best possible decision for yourself while weighing these risks against the benefits of surgery. My training helps me to minimize these risks to the best of my ability, but I cannot eliminate them entirely. 

Common risks include infection of stitches. Corrected ears may relax over the first month or two following surgery, so I often over-correct them slightly during surgery. 

The risks above are the most common ones that I think you should be aware of, but they are not a complete list of all possible risks.

For lower lid blepharoplasty: 
1. An incision is made along the lash line. 
2. Excess fat, muscle and skin are removed. 
3. Fine sutures are used to close the incision.
4. Permanent stitches will be removed 3-5 days after the procedure.

If you have a pocket of fat beneath your lower eyelids, but do not need to have any loose skin removed, your surgeon may recommend a transconjunctival blepharoplasty. In this procedure the incision is made inside your lower eyelid, leaving no visible scar.

It is usually performed on younger patients with fatty lower eyelids. Transconjunctival blepharoplasty does not tighten the skin, but nicely reduces the puffiness in the lower eyelid region without visible scars.

For transconjunctival blepharoplasty: 
1. Incision is made on the inside of the lower eyelid 
2. Excess fat and muscle are removed (no tightening or removing of skin)
3. Incision is closed with self-dissolving sutures or they will heal naturally without sutures. 

Lower eyelid blepharoplasty generally takes about one to three hours to complete, depending on the technique used and the extent of the repair.

Lower eyelid blepharoplasty is performed on an out patient basis, in a surgical suite under local anesthesia, sometimes with light sedation by mouth. General anesthesia is reserved for patient's preference but usually can easily be avoided.

Initially, you may feel a tight sensation around the eyes, with minor discomfort that lasts for a day or two. A mild pain reliever can be taken as needed. People who have had the procedure are often surprised at how painless eyelid surgery can be. Many times, isolated eyelid surgery can be performed under local anesthesia with a total recovery time as short as 5 to 7 days. (Recovery time varies from person to person.)

After surgery, the physician will lubricate your eyes with ointment to reduce dryness in this area. Your vision may be blurred temporarily from the ointment. The first two days after surgery, you should rest with your head elevated. It will help to gently apply cold compresses to your eyelids. 

At first the incisions will be red and somewhat bumpy. Eventually, the resulting scar should become flat and inconspicuous. Your sutures will be removed within the first three to five days. The swelling and discoloration around your eyes will gradually fade, and you'll start to look and feel better each day. Swelling and bruising varies a lot from person to person. Bruising typically disappears within ten days. Within the first week you will be able to use makeup, if desired, to conceal any discoloration.

Your vision may be somewhat blurry for a few days or longer. Your eyes may be temporarily sensitive to light, and you may experience excess tearing or dryness. You may receive eye drops to help relieve any itching. Your surgeon will recommend lying quietly with eyes primarily closed for the first 36 hours after your eyelid surgery.

The more alert, youthful look that this surgery provides is usually long lasting. Thin scars may remain slightly pink for a few months, but can easily be concealed with makeup. They eventually fade to a thin, nearly invisible white line. The removal of fat is permanent, but the looseness of the skin and fine wrinkling of the eyelid area can return in the future. Even though the aging process continues, patients are usually happy with their appearance for many years following eyelid surgery. (remember sunscreen is the best plastic surgeon!)

The best candidates for upper eyelid blepharoplasty are people: 
* 18 years of age or older
* In good physical health 
* Understanding the procedure's outcome
* Desiring correction of droopy, baggy eyelids
* With no known ophthalmic conditions such as glaucoma or detached retina 
* With no known medical conditions such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, circulatory problems, hypothyroidism or other thyroid related conditions.
* Having realistic expectations for the outcome 

The above is only a partial list of the criteria that your surgeon will consider in determining whether or not this procedure is appropriate for you during your consultation.

The upper eyelid incision is made in the natural skin fold. Excess skin and fatty tissue is removed, the muscles and orbital septum (a thin connective tissue membrane) may be tightened. 

The external incisions are hidden within the natural fold in the upper eyelids. Much of the operation is done with a very fine electrocautery, which controls any bleeding. The skin is then closed with very fine sutures

Upper eyelid surgery, blepharoplasty generally takes about one to three hours to complete, depending on the technique used and the extent of the repair need to be performed..

Upper eyelid surgery ,blepharoplasty is performed in a surgery center or hospital as an outpatient. Local anesthesia is used often with the addition of light sedation by mouth. Patients return to their hotel with their personal assistants the same day.

Initially, you may feel a tight sensation around the eyes, with minor discomfort that lasts for a day or two. A pain reliever can be taken as needed although most patients do not require it. People who have had the procedure are often surprised at how painless eyelid surgery can be. Recovery time can vary from person to person You will be able to return to light activities within 5 to 7 days.

After surgery, your surgeon will lubricate your eyes with ointment to reduce dryness in this area. (Your vision may be blurred temporarily from the ointment.) The first two days after surgery, you should rest with your head elevated. Your surgeon will most likely recommend gentle application of cold compresses to your eyelids and that you lay quietly with your eyes mostly closed for about a day.

At first the incisions will be red and somewhat bumpy. Eventually, the resulting scar should become flat and inconspicuous. Your sutures (stitches) will be removed sometime within the first four to five days. The swelling and discoloration around your eyes will gradually subside, and you'll start to look and feel better each day. Swelling and bruising varies considerably from person to person. Bruising typically disappears within seven to ten days. Within the first week you can use makeup, if desired, to conceal any discoloration. 

Your vision may continue to be somewhat blurry for a few days. Your eyes may be temporarily sensitive to light, and you may experience excess tearing or dryness. You may receive eye drops to help relieve any itching.

The more alert, youthful look that this surgery provides is usually long lasting. Thin scars may remain slightly pink for several months, but are easly concealed with makeup. They will fade to a thin, nearly invisible white line. The removal of fat is permanent, but the looseness of the skin and fine wrinkling of the eyelid area can return in the future.(remember sunscreen is the best plastic surgeon!) Even though the aging process continues, patients are usually happy with their appearance for many years following eyelid surgery.

The best candidates for upper eyelid blepharoplasty are people: 
* 18 years of age or older 
* In good physical health 
* Is a non smoker
* Understanding the procedure's outcome 
* Desiring correction of droopy, baggy eyelids
* With no known ophthalmologic conditions such as glaucoma or detached retina. 
* With no known medical conditions such as high blood pressure, circulatory problems, hypothyroidism or other thyroid related conditions. * Having realistic expectations for the outcome 
The above is only a partial list of the criteria that your surgeon will consider in determining whether or not this procedure is appropriate for you during your consultation.

A facelift raises the facial skin, muscles, and subcutaneous tissue to restore a more youthful contour. In order to do this, incisions within the hairline and natural creases along the ear allow access to the deeper structures. If needed, through a small incision beneath the chin, your surgeon will remove the excess fat of the neck and tighten the neckbands that form” the turkey neck”. The skin is pulled up and back, removing the excess behind the ears. All incisions are then sewn together.

The purpose of a facelift is to make you look as good as possible. The facelift will improve the cheeks, and the jaw line; it will also improve neck-line by removing any excess fat that forms a double chin and neck-bands that form the turkey neck. Results are more predictable in some patient than in others. Influencing factors include the physical condition of the face, thickness and condition of the skin, facial fat, age, the amount of wrinkles, the bone structure, heredity and hormonal changes.
Smoking is another important factor, as well, so important there are many plastic surgeons who refuse to perform a facelift on heavy smokers

As soon as you notice the signs of aging you’re a good candidate for the procedure; these are:
1) deep lines or folds running from the corner of the nose to the corner of the mouth (smile lines). 
2) jowls or loss of well defined jaw line. 
3) deep wrinkles in the cheeks and sagging of the "highlight" areas of the cheekbone. 
4) loose skin wrinkles vertical cords or excess fatty tissue in the neck. 

Yes. Facelifts are most frequently preformed in combination with forehead lift, upper and lower eyelid surgery and correction of smile lines with fat grafts.

The facelift will correct the lower portion of the face, cheeks, jowls, and the entire neck. It will not improve the upper portion of the face, the position of the eyebrows, the wrinkles between the eyebrows and the excess skin of the upper and lower eyelids or the lower eyelid bags. It will do a little for the smile lines and the wrinkles around the mouth.

If you smoke, you must stop smoking at least two to three weeks before surgery. Smoking interferes with blood flow to the skin and can effect healing of the incision areas. It can cause scabbing and unsightly scars in visible places.

Aspirin and other anti-inflammatory medication can cause excessive bleeding so you should not take these medications for two weeks before surgery. 

If you wish to lose more than 15 pounds of weight, you should do so before the surgery so that all the skin that will sag can be removed at the time of the face-lift. 

Although you may eat anything you wish after surgery, most people find that they will not have an appetite the first evening. Take plenty of fluids and a soft diet that requires minimal chewing or opening the mouth. The dressing around the chin and cheeks may make it difficult to chew and open the moth completely.

Neither a facelift nor it’s recovery period are painful. Most patients experience a mild discomfort after surgery that is relieved with oral medication. The discomfort is usually in the back part of the neck and it is usually gone by the morning after surgery.

It depends on the amount of correction necessary. On the average a facelift takes 2 to 4 hours

There will be bruising of the face and neck for approximately 10 to 14 days. By this time all the stitches will be removed and you can resume normal activity and work.

The operation can be done with a strong sedative and local anesthesia or under general anesthesia.

Some patients do not want to hear or see anything that is going on in the operating room. For these patients we recommend general anesthesia.

NO. Most of the incisions are inside the scalp and having long hair will help hide the scars and stitches during the healing period for both men and women

Most of the stitches may be self absorbable. The non-absorbable stitches are removed at seven to fourteen days depending on the healing process.

The procedure will improve your present appearance but will not stop the aging process. Depending on how well you take care of yourself the results of a facelift can last 5 to 10 years. In very few patients those who age more rapidly may desire another operation in less than 5 years. On the other hand, there are those who never require it again. Each person is different. In order to have your results last longer, it is important to maintain your weight steady, avoid sun exposure, and maintain the skin, keep it hydrated and protected from the sun with moisturizers and sun blocks.

Significant complications from facelifts are very infrequent. Every year thousands of people undergo successful facelift surgery and experience no major problems, and being pleased with their results. All surgery carries some uncertainty and risk. Individuals vary greatly in their anatomy, physical reaction, healing abilities, and the out come is never completely predictable. Complications that can occur include hematoma (a collection of blood under the skin that must be removed by the surgeon), injury to nerves that control facial muscles ( usually temporary), infection, and reactions to the anesthesia or medication. Poor healing of the skin is most likely to affect smokers.

For a minilift or a Lifestyle lift, the procedure can be performed in an office outpatient setting. For a full facelift, and when combined with other procedures, this will be done in a hospital operating 

YES, to the head and the neck. They are removed the day after surgery in your first appointment. The bandage is designed to maintain the operated area as immobile as possible, to protect the incisions from the environment and to help minimize bruising and swelling. They are removed on the first post-operative day and after a light elastic bandage is placed around the chin.

The first stitches are removed approximately on the fifth day, and the remaining are usually removed around the tenth day. The process is quick and uncomplicated. The surgeon or other members of the staff always remove sutures.

On about the 10th day for the full make up. Camouflage make up could be placed prior to that time.

Shampooing your hair can begin two days after surgery. The stitches should get wet. This helps in the cleaning process. You may apply rollers loosely. You may use a hair dryer in the medium to low setting, never hot because you may not have full sensation of the surgical area and could cause a burn. Tinting or coloring may begin three weeks following surgery.

Yourself or an assistant or relative at home or hotel room.

It is normal to develop bruises and swelling of the face and neck followed by a period where you look strange to yourself. If the face-lift is combined with eyelid and forehead surgery, the swelling will be present in more areas of the face, but you should be ready to resume our normal lifestyle in about two weeks. Slight emotional depression right after surgery can occur and usually happens at a time where you look the worst. Fortunately this will pass quickly.