Facelift Case Study - Procedures

CASE STUDY

Customized Facelift, Eyelid Surgery and Facial Contouring

Marcy DiMare, of Coral Springs, had been considering a facelift for several years, but when her son set a wedding date, she decided it was time to take action. "I didn't look as young as I felt," she recalls. "I have lots of energy but people were always telling me I looked tired. The upcoming wedding was the trigger I needed to take action."

With so many options available, Marcy wasn't certain exactly what she needed -full or partial facelift, laser, eyelids, brow lift, contouring?

"I wanted opinions from three different surgeons," she says. "One of the doctors recommended a long, aggressive list of procedures, whereas Dr. Levens suggested doing the minimum required to achieve my goals. I was more comfortable with that approach."

Choosing Procedures

Besides desiring a fresher, more youthful look, Marcy hoped for improvement in the shape of her upper lip, which did not produce an attractive smile. She also wanted to correct uneven skin on her chin.

Dr. Levens advised the best way to achieve her multiple goals would be a customized combination of facelift, eyelid surgery, a lifting and reshaping of the upper lip, and dermabrasion on the chin.

Recalls Dr. Levens: "We discussed brow lift but decided against it. I felt eyelid surgery would achieve her current goal. Also, Marcy was concerned a brow lift might accentuate her high forehead. If she decides later to have a brow lift I will not make incisions above the hairline, which is the traditional approach. I will make incisions right at the hairline, which will actually shorten the forehead slightly while achieving the lift."

The Surgery

Incisions for Marcy's facelift were located in front of the ear, under the earlobe and behind the ear in the hairline. Besides tightening the loose skin at the jaw line, Dr. Levens achieved the effect of a necklift by drawing and redraping excess neck skin without making another incision.

To lift and reduce volume in the upper eyelids, Dr. Levens removed fat and skin. He also tightened the ligaments which support the corners of the lower lids to smooth the under-eye area.

He chose dermabrasion over laser to smooth the skin on the chin. Both are good tools, he says, but dermabrasion was most appropriate in this case.

To reshape the upper lip, Dr. Levens made a tiny incision at the base of Marcy's nose, removed skin to draw the lip upwards, and used grafted tissue from the lip to enhance lip volume.

Post-Op

Marcy recalls there was some discomfort after the surgery but it was definitely manageable.

"Dr. Levens told me exactly what to expect and he prescribed pain medication. Initially, my husband hadn't loved the idea of cosmetic surgery because he was concerned about me being in pain. But after seeing how smoothly the post-op went, he's as pleased as I am."

The Results

"Ten days after my facelift, I went to the beauty shop and the pedicurist took one look at me and said, 'Okay, what did you have done?' Even though I wasn't fully recovered, the improvement was obvious. Others in the shop that day also came over and remarked how great my face looked.

"I've had nothing but positive comments - and people no longer tell me I look tired. I'm very happy with the results and glad I finally decided to have the procedures."

Dr. Levens has been providing facelift surgical procedures for patients in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Davie, Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Margate, Miami, North Lauderdale, Parkland, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Weston and throughout South Florida since 1989.