Editor’s Note: Ready, Set, Go (under the knife)?
January 24th, 2011
As Editor and Filmmaker for the Nipntuck Blog, I have a unique vantage point in which to share patient’s experiences about their cosmetic surgery with our readers. As part of my research, I also follow new trends and catalog the latest cosmetic surgery headlines making the news. An article that we featured last week really piqued my interest. “About Face†was written by Contributing Editor for Vogue Magazine, Dodie Kazanjian.
Kazanjian concludes that if you want the best result for a facelift, opt to have one in your 40’s and if you wait until 60, basically forget it! Since I am awfully close to that “why bother†age, it made me start wondering about having a facelift myself.
Chalking it up to the winter doldrums, I joked with my hair stylist that he needed to give me a great perky haircut or I was going under the knife. Well Jason Deavalon is quite a formidable stylist and my hair did look amazing, but I am wondering if I should give serious consideration to having a little nipntuck of my own. My husband, the plastic surgeon, was decidedly quiet on the subject until I brought it up last week. Of course, he said it was totally up to me. I feel a slight obligation to look my best, lest I be judged too harshly due to the circumstances. My friends know me to be generally unaffected by what people think, so my concern comes as a little bit of a surprise to me. I’m thinking spring might be a good time for some “facial freshening.â€
Although I obviously won’t be able to film my own surgery, I can record a video diary and document my experience in a series of personal posts. Stay tuned!
Facelifts: Can you wait too long?
January 19th, 2011
Yesterday I talked about the benefits of considering a facelift sooner rather than later. Contributing Editor for Vogue, Dodie Kazanjian, discusses the issue in her column this month. Conventional thinking is to consider having a facelift when changes in your face begin to bother you. The author quotes Dr. Patricia Wexler, the New York dermatologist to the stars as saying, “If you do a facelift in your 40’s, you are thrilled. If you do it in your 50’s, you wonder why you waited. But if you have a facelift in your 60’s, you say, ‘Why did I bother?’
When patients wait too long, say perhaps in the 60-year range, the results can look too harsh, look pulled too taught. Facelifts on older patients tend to relax quickly, thus some surgeons resort to pulling the skin too tight to counteract this phenomenon. Of course when this is combined with overly plumped up lips and maybe a severe brow lift, a freakish appearance is almost guaranteed.
A facelift may be performed successfully on an older patient, however, it is important for the surgeon to pay careful attention to draping of the skin and tightening the underlying muscles. Less is more in this case and patient expectations must be realistic. While plastic surgeons may turn back the clock, it is impossible to create a natural, well-rested appearance when patients expect to shave off a few decades!
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