Question: Does chin augmentation have to be performed in a hospital?

Answer: No, chin augmentation surgery does not need to be performed in a hospital and, in fact, over the past almost 10 years I have been performing chin augmentation surgery in my office using strictly local anesthetic.

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 Question: I’d love to get cheek implants but I have a hard to envisioning where the incisions would be made so that they’re not visible. Where are they made?

Answer: Incisions for cheek implants are classically made inside the mouth above the upper teeth.  You really only need about a 1-cm incision since the mucosa inside the mouth is rather stretchy and we can work through this very small incision to create a pocket to place the implant up over the cheekbone.  Dissolvable sutures are placed and most patients have a very minimal amount of downtime though they do have swelling that can last for weeks.

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Question: I’m 45 and I’ve lost quite a significant amount of weight over the past year. I bring these two things up because my face has begun to look very aged and saggy. I’d like a facelift, but given my age I’m wondering if a mini facelift could be sufficient.

Answer: I would have to personally evaluate your particular anatomy to determine whether or not you would be a better candidate for a mini lift or a more advanced facelift.  If lifting your face from the corner of your jaw on each side gives you the result that you desire then you may be a very good candidate for a mini lift.  If you still have a significant amount of fullness under the chin despite the elevation on each side then you may desire a more sophisticated combination approach and this is where the art of rejuvenation really comes into play as I customize the procedures for each individual’s facial features.

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Question: How much improvement can I expect from a mini facelift vs. a traditional facelift?

Answer: It really depends on what type of traditional facelift you are talking about since the mini lift that I perform in my office is very similar to what most surgeons would consider their traditional facelift technique in that it is a SMAS imbrication facelift.  I simply perform this under local anesthesia in the office since I have a much more sophisticated technique called an extended SMAS deep plane facelift that I perform in the operating room setting.

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Question: I have malar bags and would like to know if this is something that can be improved with a facelift.

Answer: Malar bags will not be improved at all by standard facelift techniques.  There are, however, very advanced facelift and eye lift techniques or a combination of facelift and eye lift techniques where the midface is lifted at the same time as either the face and/or the eye lift and these more advanced and sophisticated techniques can frequently improve upon malar bags though even with these advanced techniques it can still be a difficult problem to completely eradicate.

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