Question: When does one need a neck lift alone without a full facelift?

Answer: If you have early signs of aging in the lower third of the face such as early jowling and laxity under the chin, then a neck lift alone may be all that you need for rejuvenation.  If a patient has significant signs of aging in virtually all areas of the face, including the brows, upper and lower eyelids, lower face and skin then I would recommend a more comprehensive approach that would include brow lifts, eye lifts, and facelifts as well as a laser skin resurfacing.

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Question: Is microdermabrasion able to remove freckles, or are there any other procedures that would be more effective?

Answer: Microdermabrasion can certainly help people with the reduction or removal of their freckles, but additional treatments, including a good skin care with hydroquinone and excellent sun protection, would also be necessary and even then more than likely these procedures alone would not completely rid someone of their freckles.  In order to rid them of the freckles themselves, they would need to undergo a more aggressive treatment such as a laser resurfacing, though simply for freckle reduction they would not necessarily have to go horribly deep with the laser resurfacing, but in the future they would have to provide excellent sun protection for their skin or the freckles will definitely return.

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Question: I am curious about the laser light peels. How many peels are usually done on a face? Do you use any chemicals or natural products on the face along with the laser light?

Answer: Laser light peels can be combined with chemicals or natural products but for the most part are a stand-alone treatment. We do, however, highly encourage people to use skin care products after the laser peel as they will certainly be much more effective due to the fact that the superficial layer of the skin has already been treated.

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Question: Will a face lift improve malar bags?

Answer: For the most part, no, a facelift will not improve malar bags. Even the style of facelift that I personally perform which is called a high SMAS deep plane facelift really will not improve the bags but can certainly elevate the cheek structures. In order to improve malar bags, most patients need a combination treatment of a lower eyelid lift that treats the cheek area at the same time in combination with some sort of a laser resurfacing. This aggressive lower lid approach can lead to a good two months of some mild distortion invisible scarring but after that amount of time things look quite natural and it can be extremely effective at treating malar bags.

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Question: I had a blepharoplasty surgery several years ago and was amazed at how much it brightened up my face. Recently though I have begun to notice some sagging around my eyes again. Would you recommend that I get another procedure done?

Answer: I would have to personally evaluate your anatomy before I can make any definitive recommendations but if it has only been a few years since you have had your blepharoplasty I would be surprised if you have enough redundant skin to warrant another surgical procedure. You may, however, be a good candidate for laser resurfacing around the eyes since that should help reduce wrinkles and tighten some of the skin.

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