Are You a Good Candidate for Facelift Surgery?

These days, more and more people are remaining healthy and active well into middle age and beyond. No longer does entering one’s 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s mean that one has to settle down and act one’s age. In fact, growing older offers more advantages than ever before.

Unfortunately, signs of aging continue to appear on the face even as people are feeling more vital, youthful, and energetic, regardless of the passage of time. Thankfully, plastic surgery offers a potentially ideal solution in the form of facelift surgery.

At the plastic surgery practice of Kimberly Henry, M.D., in San Francisco, facelift candidates can expect exquisite, natural-looking results that are customized to their unique needs and goals. To help ensure these high-quality results, Dr. Henry carefully evaluates each patient to assess his or her candidacy. If you are dissatisfied with the visible signs of aging on your face, the good news is that you are most likely a candidate for facelift surgery. The only way to know for certain, however, is to meet with Dr. Henry in a confidential, one-on-one consultation.

One Facelift Does Not Fit All

Part of determining your candidacy for facelift surgery is determining your needs and goals. The facelift procedure can be modified to address specific areas of your face where the signs of aging are most evident. While some patients are good candidates for full facelift surgery, many others do not yet require such an extensive procedure. Therefore, not all patients are good candidates for all available facelift techniques. The trick is finding the right technique for the right candidate.

General Criteria for Facelift Candidacy

There is no such thing as a perfect candidate for any plastic surgery procedure; however, Dr. Henry has unrivaled talent for matching the right procedure with the right person and customizing it to produce the best possible results. That said, there are traits that every facelift candidate should have, including:

• Realistic expectations: Facelift surgery can typically turn back the clock five to ten years. Patients in their 40s who expect to reclaim the look they had at 21, for example, will almost certainly be disappointed in their results.
• Good psychological health: Most patients who undergo facelift surgery experience a boost in their confidence and an improvement in their overall self-image. Patients hoping to counter the effects of deep depression or radically change their lives may not be good candidates for facelift.
• Sufficient skin elasticity: Good candidates for facelift will have facial skin that has retained at least some of its original elasticity and suppleness.
• Good general health: Facelift is a serious surgical procedure. As with all surgical procedures, facelift requires patients to be in good enough overall health to undergo an invasive procedure under anesthesia and to heal properly.
• Healthy habits: The best candidates for facelift will be non-smokers who drink alcohol in moderation or not at all and have healthy eating and exercise habits. All of these traits will assist in proper post-surgical healing. Patients who do smoke should be willing to quit, at least in the weeks leading up to and following surgery.
• Willingness to follow Dr. Henry’s pre- and post-surgical instructions: The results of facelift surgery depend heavily on the patient’s willingness and ability to follow Dr. Henry’s pre- and post-surgical instructions precisely.

For further information, or to schedule a consultation to determine whether you are a suitable candidate for facelift surgery, please contact the plastic surgery practice of Dr. Kimberly Henry today.