Facelift (Rhytidectomy)
Undo the effects of aging to achieve lasting, natural rejuvenation of the face.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
Over time, the skin and soft tissue layers of the face tend to stretch, shrink, and sink. This leads to sagging skin, wrinkles, and loss of volume in the mid to lower face. Similar age-related changes can affect the neck, as the skin and soft tissues lose elasticity and bulk as well as get pulled downward by gravity.
To address these concerns, Dr. Saba Ghorab frequently offers a Scottsdale SMAS or deep plane facelift. A facelift, or rhytidectomy, is often performed together with a deep plane neck lift and/or accompanied by a submental liposuction or platysmaplasty. The goal is to lift, tighten, and contour the skin and underlying soft tissues of the face and neck, creating a smoother and toned appearance for years to come.
What Can a Facelift Help With?
You could be a candidate for a facelift if you experience:
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- Aging face with loss of volume and loose skin, causing sagging and wrinkles
- Heavy nasolabial folds with deep smile lines
- Jowling with loose folds of skin along the lower cheeks and jawlines
- Marionette lines with deep vertical wrinkles between chin and corners of mouth
Facelift vs Neck Lift
A facelift addresses visible, moderate to severe signs of aging in the mid to lower face. This can include sagging skin, wrinkles, and overall loss of volume.
A neck lift addresses redundant, sagging skin that has developed a “turkey neck” look or excess fat deposits under the chin that cause a double chin or heavy neck.
Non-Surgical Facial Rejuvenation
For those with mild to moderate aging of the face and neck, there are non-surgical options that can achieve a more revitalized, rested appearance throughout the face and neck.
During an initial consultation, Dr. Ghorab provides expert recommendations to best achieve your aesthetic goals.
Non-surgical facial rejuvenation in Scottsdale typically involves a combination of skin resurfacing and cosmetic injectables such as botulinum toxin and dermal filler.
Give “UpTight” a Whole New Meaning
Schedule a consultation if you’d like turn back the clock for a lifted and toned face.
How is a Facelift Performed?
There are many surgical approaches and techniques for eliminating excess skin, tightening lax skin and muscles, and repositioning or contouring fat tissue around the mid to lower face, chin, and neck areas. To reverse signs of face and neck aging, Dr. Ghorab performs a combination of facelift, neck lift, submental liposuction, and/or platysmaplasty, based on individual needs.
These procedures are frequently accompanied by facial fat grafting, eyelid surgery, and/or earlobe repair. These treatment options provide a more complete and uniform revitalization of the eyes, face, and neck.
SMAS & Deep Plane Facelift
The SMAS or deep plane facelift incisions are designed and camouflaged along the hairlines and around the ears. Once incisions are made, the skin, underlying SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system) layer, and facial fat pads are lifted, tightened, and re-suspended along a more youthful distribution. This may involve removing excess skin and contouring facial fat for a toned and sculpted look.
A special biologic adhesive, called Tisseel®, is applied under the facial skin flaps to ensure good adherence, hemostasis, and healing. The incisions are closed with skin sutures and staples, followed by a compressive dressing for 24 hours.
A SMAS or deep plane facelift is typically accompanied by a neck lift, submental liposuction and/or platysmaplasty for robust, uniform lifting and tightening of the face and neck.
Submental Liposuction
Scottsdale submental liposuction is a minimally invasive surgery that addresses excess fat under the chin and anterior neck areas, eliminating the double chin or heavy neck appearance. It may be performed as a singular surgery or in combination with a platysmaplasty, facelift, and/or neck lift.
Submental liposuction is carried out using a small incision that is camouflaged along a natural crease under the chin area. A refined liposuction technique is used to remove excess fatty tissue for a crisp neck line. This process also has the added benefit of separating the skin from the underlying soft tissues, so that it’s nicely mobile for lifting and tightening as part of the facelift.
The chin incision is closed with absorbable sutures that dissolve on their own. The incision heals quite well, leaving a minimal or unnoticeable scar for most people.
Platysmaplasty
A platysmaplasty is a surgical procedure undertaken in select patients who suffer from the dreaded vertical muscle banding along the anterior neck, known as platysmal banding.
Platysmal banding is caused by separation, or dehiscence, of the platysma muscle.
A platysmaplasty is performed using the same under chin incision made for the submental liposuction. During a platysmaplasty, the separated fibers of the platysma muscle are repositioned, sculpted, and secured in place. These maneuvers minimize the appearance of platysmal banding for a more defined, crisp neck contour.
Put Your Best Face Forward
If you’re ready to rejuvenate your face for a naturally youthful look, we can help.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
What to Expect with a Facelift
A facelift is an elective, outpatient procedure performed in our Surgery Center which is conveniently in the same building as our Clinic. Our knowledgeable, caring, and licensed medical staff will be ensure you have a pleasant experience.
Consultation
During your 1:1 consultation, Dr. Ghorab will discuss the surgical techniques to best address your concerns. She will review what surgery entails, the postoperative recovery, and the results you can expect. This is a good time to ask questions and get clarification, so that you can make an informed decision.
Anesthesia
A facelift is performed under local and twilight anesthesia, with patients comfortably sedated while still breathing on their own. Since there is no need for a breathing tube or ventilator, the recovery is much more favorable.
Post-Anesthesia Recovery
After the procedure, patients are monitored in our cozy and relaxing recovery room. Once awake and doing well, patients are taken home by their designated caretaker. A custom aftercare plan is provided and follow-up scheduled.
Client Results
Take a look at before and after photos of facelift cases performed by Dr. Ghorab.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
Recovery After a Facelift
While these procedures do have some downtime, most patients are highly satisfied with their results and find that the benefits are well worth it!
Pain Control
Any postoperative discomfort is well-controlled with a combination of prescription and over-the-counter pain medications.
Swelling
It’s normal and expected for the face and neck to feel tender and swollen for the first 1 to 2 weeks postoperatively. However, this will improve quickly thereafter.
Bruising & Bleeding
Some bruising is expected, whereas serious bleeding and hematoma formation are rare. Arnica supplements will be used to help with bruising. Makeup may be used, starting one week after surgery, to camouflage any lingering bruises.
Dressing & Incision Care
A compressive “mummy” wrap, placed at the end of surgery, is removed the next day when the patient is seen in clinic. Sutures and staples are removed 7 to 10 days later.
Time Off
Following a facelift and neck lift, we recommend 1 to 2 weeks off to hunker down for R&R. Most patients feel comfortable going out or socializing about 10 days after surgery when all sutures and staples are removed.
Activity
Strenuous activities must be avoided for at least 2 weeks.
Low Mood
It is not uncommon to experience a low, depressed mood after surgery. This is typically temporary, resolving as healing takes place and results are appreciated.
Follow-Up
Routine follow-up appointments are scheduled, starting one day after surgery and for up to one full year, to monitor progress and ensure good healing.
Face Life with Confidence
If facial aging is affecting your self-confidence, lets discuss if a facelift is right for you.
FAQ: Facelift
Yes, but it would be more of a neck lift since younger patients are more likely to have a thicker neck or double chin due to excess adipose tissue or fat deposits. The surgical technique is catered to individual needs, with greater emphasis on submental liposuction for chin and neck contouring and more conservative skin flaps for lifting and tightening.
No, a facelift is not recommended for active tobacco smokers.
Nicotine in tobacco products causes vasoconstriction and poor blood flow, resulting in decreased delivery of vital nutrients and oxygen to the skin flaps used for lifting and tightening the face and neck. The nicotine-mediated tissue ischemia puts smokers at a higher risk for poor wound healing with possible skin necrosis or skin loss.
Tobacco users interested in undergoing a facelift must quit smoking prior to undergoing surgery. To ensure tobacco cessation is adequate, blood nicotine testing may performed preoperatively. It is also important to avoid smoking during the postoperative period until the face is well-healed.
The most common complication after a facelift is bleeding, especially within the first 24 hours after surgery. However, the risk is low when appropriate, evidence-based interventions are taken.
In her practice, Dr. Ghorab uses a tissue adhesive, called Tisseel®, during surgery as well as a compressive “mummy” wrap dressing after, with excellent control of bleeding in the postoperative period.
There are many proactive measures a well-trained facial plastic surgeon can take to decrease the risk of bleeding after a facelift.
During a facelift surgery, careful and skillful surgical techniques minimize tissue trauma and blood loss. Also, use of a biologic tissue adhesive, like Tisseel®, further decreases the risk of bleeding by helping tissues seal and heal. Though not routinely done by Dr. Ghorab, some surgeons may choose to place a drain at the end of the case. Lastly, a dressing wrap provides snug compression of the face and neck for 24 hours after surgery, both for hemostasis and support.
All these measures lead to safer and superior outcomes for patients after a facelift in Scottsdale.
It depends on your surgeon.
A drain may be placed after a facelift to provide a conduit for evacuating blood so it doesn’t collect at the surgical sites. This is particularly helpful in case of significant, large-volume postoperative bleeding.
At Saba Plastic Surgery in Scottsdale, Dr. Ghorab does not routinely use a drain after a facelift. Though a historically common practice, recent advances and innovations have made biologic tissue adhesives an effective and less invasive alternative option to drain placement.
A pixie ear deformity is distortion of the earlobe position and shape as a result of surgery, most commonly a facelift, and the healing that occurs thereafter.
To prevent a pixie ear deformity, good surgical technique must be used to secure the earlobe in its natural or an aesthetically pleasing position. By preserving the earlobe support and position, it is less likely to undergo downward traction or pulling while healing.
Individuals who are left with a pixie ear deformity from previous surgery may be a great candidate for earlobe repair.
The results of a facelift generally last for 10 to 15 years. Depending on individual anatomy, genetics, lifestyle, and aesthetic goals, results may last even longer or shorter than this.
While the aging process will inevitably continue, maintenance aesthetic care after a facelift allows patients to have a youthful and refreshed appearance for a longer period of time.
Some patients may choose to undergo additional facelifts in the future to maintain their results, while others may find that the effects of their initial procedure are sufficient to meet their aesthetic goals. In either case, these procedures are highly effective at rejuvenating the face and neck, providing patients with renewed vitality and confidence.
Undergoing a Scottsdale facelift is an investment. It’s important to maintain the restorative results with maintenance aesthetic care! The most popular and effective methods for delaying the appearance of new wrinkles, sagging skin, and volume loss include use of high-quality skin care products, botulinum toxin and dermal filler injections, and non-surgical skin rejuvenation.
At Saba Plastic Surgery, we are happy to provide a customized aesthetic plan to enhance and maintain your surgical results.
Facial Aesthetic Wellness at Saba Plastic Surgery
We are committed to delivering the naturally stunning results you desire. Our staff takes great care to ensure you receive the best facelift in Scottsdale and enjoy the process, too!
You Can Expect To:
Feel safe, supported, and pampered, with attention paid to all the details.
Be expertly guided through a transformational process that goes deeper than just the skin.
Face each new day with a renewed sense of vitality, confidence, and positive energy.
“My goal is to rejuvenate your face without compromising your authenticity, so you can stay true to yourself.”
— Dr. Ghorab
Why Choose Dr. Ghorab for a Facelift?
As a highly trained facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Scottsdale, Dr. Saba Ghorab brings robust knowledge and surgical skills, with a feminine touch, to address your facial aesthetic needs.
Her focused expertise in facial plastic surgery allows her to reverse signs of facial aging for a beautifully refreshed look. She prides herself in delivering lasting, natural results that help you look and feel your best.
Schedule a visit with Dr. Ghorab to discuss your facial aesthetic self care.