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When undergoing facial rejuvenation surgery,
the recommendations by your surgeon will depend a lot on your age. In
the past it was thought the same approach could be taken for each age
group, just by adding more of the same. In fact, the reality is that
the focus needs to be completely different to gain the best most natural
result.
Sydney cosmetic plastic surgeon Dr Darryl Hodgkinson explains: "There’s
a different emphasis with each age group. You can’t do the same
procedures for every age group and expect a good result."
40's
In the 40s the skin will start to give way to gravity and the jowls
will become apparent, the brow may droop and the skin around the eyes
may become looser. However, because the muscle and skin tone is still
quite elastic, patients in their 40s usually only want a few little
rejuvenating techniques. "For a 40 year old the amount of incisions
must be minimised," says Dr Hodgkinson. "We try to reduce
the surgical incisions and that’s where endoscopic surgery and
the limited incision surgeries such as the S-lift come into play. Usually
just some tightening up of tissue underneath is enough."
50's
"By the time you get to 50 there are also problems associated
with the quality of the skin. Many women are going through menopause,
they have sun-damaged skin and may require more than just tightening
of the underlying tissues, they may want a resurfacing technique like
laser," explains Dr Hodgkinson. The focus in this age group is
not only tightening of the underlying tissue but also rejuvenating skin
texture, smoothing fine lines and wrinkles and treating pigmentation.
Fat accumulation or loss in the face may need to be addressed.
The whole idea of waiting until aged 60 to have the one-off facelift
is gone. "Patients are starting younger so that they will have
less procedures, whole maintenance procedures and more natural rather
than more radical procedures," explains Dr Hodgkinson. "There
are so many wrinkles by age 60 that the distribution of wrinkles after
the facelift make it look operated on." Patients rightly fear being
over-tightened.
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BEFORE and AFTER facial surgery performed by Dr
Hodgkinson
 
BEFORE and AFTER facial surgery performed by Dr
Hodgkinson
60's
To gain a natural appearance, an unoperated on appearance, by this
age group the focus is completely different. "What happens in the
60s is that the bones are degenerating and the midface is getting smaller,"
explains Dr Hodgkinson. "Unless you concentrate on the volume,
a natural result cannot be achieved and will look artificial. It is
imperative to concentrate on bony shape and volume."
The skin also becomes very lax in the 60s so longer scars are usually
needed to remove redundant skin. However, while dealing with extra skin
is part of the process, the focus should be on the bony structures.
Dr Hodgkinson explains "It’s better to put tone back in their
face. I make a 60 year old look natural by concentrating not only on
the skin and muscles, but also on the shape of the face. The young face
has a more inverted cone like appearance. The older face has a longer
oblong appearance. I concentrate on re-establishing the cheek projection
and jaw line and I often put more in than I take out."
This is where volume enhancement procedures such as cheek implants
and fat transfer are often used to help rejuvenate the shape of the
face.
Focusing on minimal incisions for aged 40, skin rejuvenation for age
50 and volume and bony structure for age 60 will rejuvenate the face
more naturally. |
