Face Lifts

Wrinkles, fine lines, jowls, loose and saggy skin, facial volume loss, thinning skin—no one wants them, but they come for us all, The good news is that, with the technology we have today, we can slow or even reverse them. At Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute, a facelift is one of the many things we offer to improve and reduce the visible signs of aging on the face and neck.

What Is a Facelift?

We’ve all heard the term, but not everyone understands exactly what facelift surgery entails. Even the idea can feel daunting! But don’t worry: this guide will explain the whole process. Simply put, a facelift (also known as a rhytidectomy or meloplasty), restores your facial features that have changed with time. For example:

1. Say goodbye to sagging and wrinkled skin!
2. Soften those nasolabial folds between the nose and cheek…
3. Smooth out jowl area bulges and folds along the jawline…
4. Add in some neck work and bid farewell to double chins, excess fat and loose skin.

Here’s how it works. During the procedure, your surgeon will precisely reposition your facial features. Then, they will, reshape, remove and contour any drooping facial fat and sagging facial skin. With these carefully planned steps, your facial features will be restored and rejuvenated to where they were years ago—making you look younger and healthier!

Customizing a Facelift for you

Since everyone’s face ages in a unique way, facelift surgery needs to be customized to produce beautiful, natural-looking results. That starts by choosing the best surgeon for you. Your surgeon should take the time to examine your face, neck and skin carefully then fully explain their plan and clearly answer any questions you might have. Dr. Stefan Szczerba (pronounced “Sherba”), MD at Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute and Medspa. is double board-certified, and is well known throughout the country to be an artistic, experienced and passionate surgeon focusing on obtaining excellent facelift results. He has been in practice for over 20 years and has worked with his experienced and talented team for years to consistently deliver natural, extraordinarily rejuvenated outcomes for facelift patients.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Facelift Surgery?

As we get older, we all see and feel the effects of aging on our faces. Facelift surgery corrects certain changes—so making sure you’re a good candidate is key! Many alternatives and options to facelift surgery exist, so we at CAS! always Start with a thorough exam and consultation.

Good facelift candidates have aging changes that can be corrected with surgery and return the face to more of a heart shape instead of a square or triangle.

These specific facial aging changes include the following:

• Deep creases of the cheek area by the nose, also called nasolabial folds;
• “Sad” appearance of the mouth area, with deep lines extending down to the jaw, which are called marionette lines;
• Sagging in the cheek area, making the face look square;
• Displaced and drooping fat deposits along the jawline, called jowls;
• A “double chin” with excess fat in the neck;
• Excess fat/loose skin under the jaw.

Ideal Chicago facelift candidates are men and women in good physical health who do not smoke (or who can quit smoking for several weeks before and after the procedure) and who do not have medical conditions that impair healing. As always, patients should have reasonable and realistic expectations of the surgery!

Is there a benefit from combining other facial procedures with a facelift?

During a facelift, adjunctive rejuvenating surgical procedures and treatments can be done at the same time. As multiple areas of concern are addressed simultaneously, a balanced and more comprehensive outcome can be achieved during the same surgery and same recovery period.

Adding procedures and treatments may extend the actual time of the surgery, so combining anesthesia and facility fees into one procedure may be more Common surgeries and treatments that are combined with a facelift include:

1. Browlift and upper eyelid rejuvenation;
2. Lower eyelid lift and cheek rejuvenation;
3. Fat grafting to temples, cheeks and hands;
4. Upper lip lift;
5. Ellacore treatment to lips and the area around the mouth;
6. Laser peel or Morpheus treatments before, during or after surgery;
7. Buccal fat pad reduction;
8. Rhinoplasty.

What Are the Benefits of a Facelift?

In one step, a facelift takes years off of your appearance! This helps you look as young on the outside as you feel on the inside.

As those small, little changes that give your age away are softened and smoothed as a result of your facelift, you can feel more vibrant in the workplace, more comfortable in social situations, and more confident in yourself overall.

A facelift will definitely give you a refreshed look and shape to your face. But here are some of the more specific changes facelift surgery includes:

• Smoothed and reduced wrinkles and lines of the face;
• Softened deep creases of the face;
• Nipped and tucked loose skin of the face and neck;
• Contoured jawline and jowls, under the chin and neck;
• Tightened face and neck muscles;
• Restored youthful curves and contours of the face, jawline and neck.

The overall look of youth is a “heart-shaped” face. As we age, our faces change into more triangular or squarer shape. Gravity takes effect, as do environmental factors like sun, pollution and lifestyle. The specific changes that a facelift can accomplish add up to recreating the “heart-shaped” face of youth!

It has been shown that a facelift takes off approximately 10 years off of your appearance and the results can be very long-lasting. With more advanced techniques, such as deep-plane facelifts, results can last 10 to 15 years. With mini-facelifts, the surgical focus is only on the facial area and those results can last 5-10 years. After a facelift, your younger look can be maintained over the years with small treatments such as injections, laser and skin-tightening treatments.

How Does Facelift Surgery Work?

Facelift surgery involves making a series of precise incisions that usually begin in discreet, well-hidden areas behind the temple hairlines and then continue, equally discreetly, around the ear before ending either behind the ear or (for combined necklift surgery) in the hairline of the area behind the ear. If needed, another incision can be made under the chin to improve specific signs of aging in the jowl and neck areas. Dr. Szczerba carefully customizes the exact position and extent of facelift incisions to each patient—from full, deep-plane facelifts and necklifts to minimal access deep plane facelifts. These minimal access facelifts use smaller incisions behind the ear and address specific early facial-aging issues with less focus on the neck area.

Once the incisions are made, Dr. Szczerba reshapes, tightens and lifts the underlying facial tissues, carefully restructuring them to more youthful positions. After the deeper layers are addressed, he then trims any excess sagging skin, and gently redrapes everything into its new position, to smooth the skin out.

The incisions are then carefully stitched up using both dissolvable stitches (absorbable sutures) and sutures that need to be removed by Dr. Szczerba. This cadence provides an important, staged approach to support the skin during the healing process. As the incision continues to heal, these discreet, carefully sutured incisions become even less visible to the eye. Done correctly, these facelift incisions heal so well that they are hard to find-even up close!

The Extended Deep-plane facelift

At Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute and Medspa, Dr. Stefan Szczerba uses the most advanced approach to obtain the most natural-looking, longest-lasting results for the face and neck area. This technique is called an extended deep-plane facelift. Why does Dr. Szcezerba choose the extended deep-plane facelift approach?

1. More natural, effective lift of the actual parts of the face that droop with age;
2. Better elevation of the cheek area;
3. Better rejuvenation of the neck area;
4. Better jawline rejuvenation;
5. Specific release of face and neck retaining structures—which allows a better lift of both the face and the neck;
6. Safer than other SMAS facelift techniques;
7. Lasts longer than other facelift techniques.

The deep-plane facelift is an advanced facelift technique used by Dr. Szczerba to precisely release the structures around which the face ages, allowing the deeper layers of the face to be repositioned to a more youthful orientation without putting tension on the skin. This combination of steps produces amazing yet natural and long-lasting results. Simply pulling skin tightly to the side of your face does NOT!

The deep-plane facelift reshapes and repositions the deeper tissues so that your “new face” looks natural. No one wants that traditional telltale “facelift appearance,” which results from traction deformities that come from pulling the face too tight. Equally, we all want to avoid the unnatural “windswept” appearance, from pulling the wrong facial structures during a facelift. A good deep-plane facelift avoids all of these unnatural-looking results.

Additionally, the results that you will see after a deep-plane facelift performed by Dr. Szczerba last significantly longer than other facelift techniques. Once you’ve had a deep-plane facelift, maintaining your more youthful appearance can be done with non-surgical treatments—making “aging gracefully” an easy experience!

Fat graft with Stem Cells during Facelift Surgery

At Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute and Medspa, we want your facelift to give you your best, youngest look, and that frequently includes adding volume back to your face. The great news is that we can do this—not with filler, which is very effective as a temporary fix—using your body’s own stem cells, during the facelift procedure.

Stem cells are a particular type of cell in our bodies that can develop into a wide range of different cells, with different functions, depending on how they are used. In a facelift, we can graft stem cells onto specific areas of your face to add volume, build structure and customize and enhance your result.

Fat is rich in stem cells. Adding fat-derived stem cells to a facelift involves using stem cells from unwanted fat, which we harvest through liposuction of the abdomen or thigh areas and then inject into the face. At this point, we can let your body do the work to not only add volume, but also to stimulate collagen and elastin production. The deeper layer of the skin, called the dermis, thickens after stem cells from fat graft are injected.

The overall effects of adding fat-graft stem cells to the face are:

1. Rejuvenated skin quality by improving skin texture and tone;
2. Restoration of volume to the aging face;
3. Tightened and filled skin by increasing volume to the face;
4. Stimulated collagen and elastin to tighten the skin;
5. Rebuilt and thickened of the deeper layer of the skin, called the dermis;
6. Naturally restored facial volume in multiple areas;
7. Naturally built symmetry and youthful contours to the face.

Here’s what Dr. Stefan Szczerba had to say about the procedure:

“During the process of liposuction, we save the fat, take the fat and prepare it for grafting by removing the fluid. The stem cells, along with other grafted fat cells, are then injected into the face,” he says. “You can actually see the surface of the skin change — similar to something that a chemical peel or a laser peel could accomplish, and you’ll actually see the change in your cheek area.”

Understanding the Facelift Procedure: Step by Step

The facelift procedure can take anywhere from one to five hours, depending on the extent of the surgery. For example, a mini facelift is usually completed in 1-2 hours, while a traditional facelift takes 2-5 hours. It’s almost always performed on an outpatient basis, meaning it can be done in the comfort of our Chicago office, a more relaxed and calm environment than a hospital setting.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what patients can expect from the procedure:

Before Your Procedure

An in-person consultation with Dr. Szczerba and his team is the best way to start the process. A picture of yourself at a time that you liked the way you looked can be very helpful, so feel free to bring that with you. If you live out of the area, we can always arrange a virtual consultation.

The consultation starts with a thorough review of your medical history. Then, we can get started and focus on your facial-aging concerns. To get a clear understanding, Dr. Szczerba will then review your photos and summarize what you have brought up. Once you’ve had a chance to discuss your facial-aging changes, he will then perform a careful examination of your facial features. The exam is usually done in front of a mirror and focuses on assessing your specific aging changes of your eyes and eyebrows, cheeks, face and neck. To make sure you get your best outcome, skin changes and skin quality are also carefully examined.

With your concerns as a priority, we create and customize a treatment plan that is specifically designed to get you the best outcome. Our office is there to guide you through this. Feel free to ask questions and come in again to discuss and review the plan until you are totally comfortable with the planned procedures and treatments.

Once the plan is finalized, Dr. Szczerba and his team will then run you through the process to ensure there are no surprises when the day finally comes.

In the weeks leading up to the procedure, we will give you a list of detailed pre-op instructions that may include getting a medical examination, bloodwork and clearance for surgery from your primary physician, scheduling your preoperative and postoperative visits in our office, quitting smoking, eating a well-balanced diet, staying hydrated, limiting alcohol consumption, stopping certain medications and making arrangements {time off work, someone to drive you home, etc.). Any temporary health conditions (cold, flu, illness) could delay the beginning of the procedure.

During the Procedure

On the day of your facelift surgery, Dr. Szczerba will sit with you and a mirror to mark the surgical sites and carefully review the plan with you and his surgical team. Photos are then taken of your marks, after which the anesthesia team will come in.

Days before surgery, the anesthesia team is busy reviewing your medical history. They will call you to review the anesthesia plan, review the instructions and to answer any questions. Dr. Szczerba works with a very carefully chosen anesthesia team of board-certified anesthesiologists or nurse anesthetists to administer sedation or general anesthesia to eliminate any pain or discomfort during the surgery.

The surgery starts with anesthesia keeping you comfortable while Dr. Szczerba injects numbing medication into the face and neck. He then makes careful incisions along the marks he made with you before surgery. Small, specific regions of the face and neck skin are then elevated, giving Dr. Szczerba access to deeper structures. The deeper layer of the face is called the superficial musculoaponeurotic system, or “SMAS.” It is a network of connective tissue that holds the facial muscles, ligaments and nerves that control facial expressions. This SMAS layer is what is actually lifted and repositioned; it is where all the action and strength are for a deep-plane facelift. When Dr. Szczerba lifts the SMAS layer, he is carefully releasing a set of specific ligaments that anchor the structures of the face. Once these specific ligaments are released and the SMAS layer is lifted, the SMAS layer can then be easily repositioned in a more youthful position creating a dramatic yet natural improvement of the face.

After he has repositioned the SMAS layer and secured it with sutures, Dr. Szczerba can assess the neck. Typically, the neck area is also refreshed during a deep-plane facelift, but of course this is customized to address your specific needs. Once all the deeper tissues are addressed, the excess skin gets a nip and tuck along the carefully planned marks, smoothing sagging skin and restoring balance to both your deeper facial layers, your facial skin and your overall appearace.

Additional procedures, such as fat grafting to restore volume, browlifts, eyelid lifts, upper-lip lifts, or nose reshaping are frequently requested during a facelift to balance the treated facelift area. Treatments such as laser, Morpheus or Ellacor treatments can also be added to rejuvenate your skin and soften wrinkles in areas that facelifts cannot reach.

Once complete, the face and neck are cleansed and covered with loosely applied bandages to protect them during the healing process.

After the Procedure

The recovery process will vary from patient to patient, but most patients should expect to take one to two weeks off from work to allow the incisions to heal and the effects of the lift to settle properly.

Bruising and swelling are normal after a facelift procedure. Dr. Szczerba will provide pain medications and support garments you’ll need to relieve any excess discomfort and to allow your new facial contours to settle properly. The healing process of the body takes approximately six (6) weeks. However, it is typical (and expected!) that several months may pass before your face feels completely back to “normal.”

We advise our patients to rest and relax as much as possible post-surgery and to avoid any strenuous activity or exercise during the recovery process. You’ll be able to begin incorporating activity back into your routine and return to the regular day-to-day regimen when your surgeon gives the green light to do so.

Why Choose Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute?

Anyone who is interested in undergoing facelift surgery should double-check that their surgeon is not only board-certified, but also that they have an extensive amount of experience performing facelift surgeries. Here at Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute, patients can rest easy knowing that our surgeon, Dr. Stefan Szczerba, has been in practice for over 20 years!

Dr. Szczerba is not only a board-certified plastic surgeon, but he also underwent additional fellowship training in facelift surgery at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. He completed General Surgery residency at Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois and a Plastic Surgery fellowship at the prestigious plastic-surgery training program in Atlanta, Georgia. He completed double board-certification and maintains membership in not only the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) but also the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS).

At the Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute, we have an amazing team with extensive experience in facelift surgery and other rejuvenating treatments and procedures.

We value open and honest patient-doctor communication, and take the time, energy, and effort to not only understand our patient’s needs, but also to ensure you’re receiving the best care possible. Our facility is designed with patient safety and comfort in mind, and is officially accredited by The Joint Commission. You can have confidence that Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute is the best place to get a facelift in the country.

Before & After Gallery

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Schedule Your Initial Consultation With CASI Today!

If you would like to schedule a consultation with our team to discuss facelift surgery or other facial rejuvenation options, call the Chicago Aesthetic Surgery Institute and Dayspa today at (847) 853-9900 or click_ here to book online.

During your appointment, our highly experienced surgeon, nurses and assistants can also evaluate you for facelift surgery and various other procedures, such as eyelid surgery, brow lift, neck lift, or rhinoplasty in Chicago. They can also inform you about some of our minimally invasive treatments, such as Laser, Morpheus and Ellacor to create a dramatic yet natural improvement of the face.

As always, we can’t wait to meet you and are excited to show you the breadth of what we do here at the Chicago Aesthetic Institute!

What are the Risks of a Facelift?

Risks of facelift surgery include the standard risks of any surgery, such as bleeding, infection and scarring, along with anesthesia-related complications. Overall, the surgery is low risk and the scars heal very, very well—but each patient is different, so choosing your surgeon is critical! Our highly skilled, trained and experienced surgeon, Dr. Stefan Szczerba pays very close attention to ensure a safe and natural result.

A general list of risks of facelift surgery, also known as a rhytidectomy or meloplasty include the following:

• Anesthesia reaction: There is a risk of reaction to the anesthesia, as with any surgery. For the appropriate patient, the type of anesthetic can be adjusted.
• Bleeding and bruising: As with any surgery, some bleeding and bruising is expected.
• Hematoma: Bleeding that collects under the skin despite use of drains is called a hematoma. Occasionally, a hematoma requires removal with the surgeon.
• Slower healing: Healing time varies by person and can be affected by age, genetics, skin type, overall health, and the type of procedure. Smokers may experience delayed healing. Chronic steroid use and diabetes patients may experience delayed healing.
• Nerve injury: Numbness in the area of surgery is normal and expected for any surgery. This typically lasts a few months. Loss of sensation to particular areas of the face, neck and ears is always a risk—however, that risk is uncommon and can be minimized. The nerves to the muscles of the face, known as motor nerves, are nearby during any facelift technique. A surgeon performing a deep-plane facelift makes adjustments during the surgery to minimize temporary or permanent nerve disruption and focused facial muscle paralysis.
• Infection: although infection is a risk with any surgery. Surgical site infections can happen with facelifts but that is very rare. Signs of infection include redness (erythema), drainage, facial swelling, fever, chills.
• Scarring: Most facelift incisions heal very well and the scars are hard to find. However, some scars may be more visible, thick, and may require further treatment.
• Skin loss: Loss of skin can occur due to impaired blood supply. Patients who smoke or use nicotine in another form, or who have had prior skin-tightening, energy-based treatments such as Ultherapy, Morpheus or Facetight are at higher risk. Diabetic patients also have higher risk.
• Hair loss: Facelift incisions are carefully planned to hide by the hairline and typically there is little risk to hair. However, temporary or permanent hair loss around the incision sites can happen.
• Skin color irregularities: There may be skin-color irregularities, particularly in patients with thin skin or who have had prior treatments like liposuction.
• Asymmetrical features: A normal amount of asymmetry exists between the right and left side of the face and neck. Before surgery, the face is evaluated and assessed. Because every patient has some facial asymmetry, asymmetry after surgery can be expected and may be more noticeable to you as you assess your healing process.
• Seroma: An accumulation of swelling fluid under your skin. This can usually be treated with a small needle to aspirate the fluid.
• Allergic reactions: sutures, dressings and antiseptic solutions.

How to minimize the risks of a Facelift?

Overall, the surgery is low risk and the scars heal very, very well—but each patient is different, so choosing your surgeon is critical! Our highly skilled, trained and experienced surgeon, Dr. Stefan Szczerba pays very close attention to ensure a safe and natural result.