Face and Neck Lift

If the amount your skin needs to shrinking is about 30% or less, Dr. Duncan may be able to treat you with radiofrequency-assisted skin tightening. This approach is especially good for patients with mild to moderate sagging, jowls, and a bit of neck skin laxity. When combined with laser and fat grafting, a well-defined improvement can be seen. This approach corrects the problems created by natural aging: loss of collagen support for the skin, age-related facial volume loss, and wrinkles plus damage.

Occasionally a single procedure can dramatically improve facial appearance, especially if a strong history of sun exposure is the cause of aging. Many of our patients start reversing their apparent age with full field erbium laser resurfacing. Wrinkle reduction, correction of pigmented spots, improvement of acne scarring, and restoration of luminosity to dull, dry skin are hallmarks of this procedure. If there is volume loss or significant skin laxity, laser treatment can be safely combined with either fat grafting or fillers, plus a mini-neck lift or RF neck lift.

A traditional face and neck lift is needed if you have significant skin laxity. The neck can be approached by itself, but generally tightening the jawline is indicated as well. Short incisions can be used in many cases. Dr. Duncan is very careful to avoid distortion; your face will not look odd or “done”. Recovery time is about 7-10 days. RF assisted liposuction utilizes the Inmode FaceTite device or J Plasma, or a combination. It is chosen if skin laxity is mild to moderate, and the amount of skin tightening needed is less than 30%. In this procedure, tumescent fluid is infused and some liposuction is performed, if indicated. A compression garment is worn at night for several weeks, but patients can return to work within a couple of days. Laser and fat grafting are a good alternative if skin quality and volume loss are a concern. This combination costs less than a traditional facelift and can help take years off your aged appearance. Recovery for laser resurfacing and fat grafting is about a week. Minor procedures that can help include filler injections, or nanofat plus Allofill, if volume loss is a main concern. Resurfacing with the fractional laser, Halo, RF needling, or microneedling are good first steps if the idea of surgery is not for you. Soft tissue tightening with Thermismooth or Forma can add firmness and tone to aging lax regions. Lumecca and BBL are broad band lasers that reduce hyperpigmentation and prominent blood vessels. Rosacea can be well treated with Halo, based on recent research using high resolution ultrasound.

Dr. Duncan generally avoids midface lifting unless this is the only solution for the patient. She sees many patients who have been treated elsewhere. Quite a few have noted distortion or a “pulled” look following this procedure. Because her primary goal is to improve appearance without distortion, this is usually not a top recommendation.