Facelifting was once a procedure that had extensive healing time, however, with innovative technologies, we are able to receive better results with shorter recovery times. Rescu expert Dr Ricky Allen speaks to plastic surgeon Dr Jack Zoumaras on his new techniques to provide his clients with the best results possible.
‘It should never be about one procedure that fits all.’
Dr Jack Zoumaras
I spoke to specialist plastic surgeon Dr Jack Zoumaras from Artiste plastic surgery in Darling Point NSW. He performs a large number of facelifts every year and feels that the new era of facelifting gives a much better, faster healing and longer-lasting facelift than in past years. He now performs facelifts using the latest technique which is lifting the deep plane or the muscle SMAS. This technique gives a better result and less downtime.
Dr Bryan Mendelsson, a Melbourne specialist plastic surgeon, was the first surgeon in the world to work with the deeper muscles of the face to perform a facelift. He still travels the world educating doctors about the importance of working with the muscle for the best facelifting result. Unfortunately, just removing the skin does very little and would only last a few months. This was the facelift of old- just skin removal. Dr Zoumaras often injects fat as an adjunct to his facelifts to give not just a more natural-looking result but a better one. The fat is removed from the abdomen or thighs and harvested in such a way to preserve as many stem cells as possible so that the fat-containing those cells also helps to improve the matrix and general condition of the skin. It is interesting, said Dr Zoumaras that the average age of his patients requesting facelifts is now mid-forties. A few years ago it was the mid-fifties. It is not unheard of for him to perform a facelift on late thirties or early forties aged woman. They make up 80 % of his patients and men only 20%. He finds that men generally prefer just to have a blepharoplasty-eye lift or non -surgical procedures for their facial concerns.
Dr Zoumaras would never just have one consult with a facelift patient before surgery as he feels it is important that they understand exactly what he will be doing from an anatomical point of view and that he is able to work on their actual facial needs. Sometimes patients just feel unhappy with how their face looks but they cannot quite work out why. Spending time with the patient preoperatively makes the patient feel much less anxious as well as being able to have a plan to meet all of their aesthetic facial needs.
The general health of the patient is also very important and so he advises them not to drink for at least a week and definitely not to smoke as well. He also tells the patient to eats well and gets good rest the week before the surgery. The patient stays in the hospital overnight and they can return to work in two weeks. Dr Zoumaras is also an advocate of a regime of good skincare and often pre-surgery face treatments such as peels or microdermabrasion so that the skin is in optimum health and will not compromise the finished look of the patients face post-surgery. He recommends products such as the Doctor Babor Skin Repair Serums pre and posts face lifting surgery. Patients also undertake a course of LED treatments post-surgery to aid in healing. Many of his patients fueled with much more confidence also change their hairstyles and makeup to complete their new look. Some even make those changes so people will not know they have had a facelift, rather just new hair and makeup.
The results of the facelifting can last from ten years onwards depending on how good a lifestyle the patient has post-surgery. 60% of Dr Zoumaras’s facelifts are full facelifts including the neck being lifted and about 40% lift from the cheek to the neck depending very much on the patient’s actual needs. It is always, said Dr Zoumaras, about individualizing the result to give each patient the best result. It should never be about one procedure that fits all.
