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Introduction to Facelift

The older we get, the more complicated it can be to retain our youthful appearance – the days of using make-up and BOTOX or Dermal Fillers just don’t produce the same effects as they used to. This is when many patients opt for a full facial rejuvenation with a Facelift in Miami, FL. Dr. Michael Keyes of Celebrity Plastics targets each section of the face individually to create an overall look that is beautiful and refreshed.

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What is a Facelift?

Facelift surgery, medically known as a Rhytidectomy, is a very popular facial rejuvenation surgical procedure that lifts your facial muscles to reduce drooping facial skin, removing extra skin for a tighter, younger countenance. Almost entirely muscular, this Facelift procedure suspends the platysma muscle to redefine the jawline and neck. A perfect solution for sagging jowls and a hanging neck, this surgical procedure gives patients a visual appearance that is vibrant, youthful, and restored.

A Facelift is performed to create an appearance that is smooth, soft, and defined. Committed to natural, long-lasting results, Dr. Keyes improves the visual appearance of the face with a complete platysma muscle suspension beneath the skin to camouflage evidence of surgery.

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Facelift techniques

Standard Facelift

The standard Facelift is what most people are familiar with when it comes to a Rhytidectomy. It is usually reserved for younger patients who lack skin laxity. Superficial Musculo-Aponeurotic System (SMAS)

The incisions usually begin above the hairline at the temples, extend in a natural line in front of the ear and just inside the cartilage at the front of the ear, and then continue behind the earlobe to the hairline behind the ear. If the neck needs work, a small incision may also be made under the chin.

The standard Facelift can be performed in two ways:

  1. Skin Only: A “Skin Only” Facelift, also referred to as a cutaneous facelift, is simple to perform and involves minimal downtime, however, they are typically less satisfactory for patients due to their short lifespan and limited effect on the appearance of the face, which is partly due to the nature of the skin. Dr. Keyes removes any excess and loose skin to create a tightened look. The remaining skin is then repositioned to lift sagging cheeks and jowls, and can also improve the profile along the jawline. When skin is used as the means of tightening the face, the skin responds by relaxing significantly around 6 months after the procedure. Skin only facelifts typically last for 2 to 5 years.
  2. SMASectomy: While the principles of surgery remain the same, this approach involves the excision of the redundant Superficial Musculo-Aponeurotic System (SMAS). SMAS procedures provided a significant lift by making incisions at the temples above the hairline, so they’re concealed. A SMASectomy targets drooping soft tissue throughout your face and repositions them to improve the appearance of your cheek, midface, and jawline and will last approximately 10 years,

Most standard Facelifts will take between three and four hours.

Mini-Facelift

The Mini-Facelift is a slightly modified version of a traditional facelift and helps minimize loose skin around the lower portion of your face. Most plastic surgeons consider mini-facelifts to be less invasive and require less excessive skin removal than other facial surgeries.

Dr. Keyes will make discreet incisions behind your ears that are easily hidden once healed. Using the incision, your skin and facial muscles are carefully tightened, with any excess tissue being removed. Your incisions are then closed with a precision suturing technique that reduces tension on your skin and minimizes visible scarring.

This surgery usually lasts less than two hours. You can expect to experience some mild swelling and bruising, but a mini-lift has a much less intense recovery when compared to traditional full-facelift surgery.

Deep Plane Facelift

A Deep Plane Facelift in Miami can produce the longest-lasting results, with a lot of patients seeing results lasting up to 15 years. While both standard and deep plane facelifts are performed under general anesthesia, the key difference between a standard facelift and a deep plane lift is that during a standard, the SMAS tissue layer and skin are lifted separately. In comparison, with deep plane lift, the skin, muscles, and SMAS are all pulled up together. Separately adjusting your skin and SMAS gives Dr. Keyes more control and allows him to tighten these two layers in different directions for a smoother appearance.

Another important difference between the two types of facelifts is that in a deep plane technique, Dr. Keyes goes beyond your SMAS layer and targets the deeper muscles. By releasing or tightening the muscles of facial impression, Dr. Keyes can reduce the tension on your skin, smoothing out any irregularities. Going deep also means that more overall lifting can be achieved. Simply put, the Standard facelift is less invasive and a more superficial lift as compared to a deep plane lift – but both lead to optimal outcomes.

Dr. Keyes will often recommend patients undergo a combination of procedures such as Brow Lift, Eyelid Surgery, Facial Fat Grafting, Lip Lift, Neck Lift, and Laser Resurfacing to compliment their Deep Plane Facelift.

What Are The Benefits Of A Facelift?

Our patients looking to address age-related sagging facial skin have seen huge benefits from their Facelift in Miami, FL.

  • Targets multiple signs of aging in one step: A facelift is an excellent way to treat fine lines, wrinkles, a sagging brow, and many more of those pesky signs of getting older.
  • Eliminates a double chin: By pulling back and trimming your loose skin, Dr. Keyes can potentially eliminate the appearance of a double chin.
  • It gets rid of jowls: When you look at someone’s face and they remind you of a bulldog, this is an example of “jowling.” By lifting your skin, these jowls often disappear.
  • Tightens saggy facial skin: The most common concern with aging. A facelift will smoothen your skin by removing fine lines and wrinkles.
  • Natural-looking results: Many people are concerned with an “unnatural appearance” after facelift surgery. With his experience and artistic eye, Dr. Keyes can ensure you will still look like you, just a little younger!
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Non-surgical Facelift

Also referred to as a Liquid Facelift, this approach uses dermal fillers to artfully sculpt your face by replacing lost volume. A Non-Surgical Facelift is often used to diminish or correct such problems as drooping eyebrows, dark under-eye circles, sunken areas from under the eyes to the cheek, frown lines, flat cheeks, weak chin, jowls, jawline hollows, and scars.

During your treatment, a topical anesthetic will be applied to the targeted areas to numb your face during the treatment, and Dr. Keyes will plot out the points with tiny marks where he is planning to make the injections. Once the two of you are ready, the specific dermal filler decided upon during your consultation will be used to enhance your target areas.

After the filler is injected, the filler will be gently massaged so it’s evenly distributed, which will then be assessed, and more filler will be added if necessary. Once you are finished, your face will be gently cleaned off and any markings will be removed. You may also receive an ice pack to lightly apply to your face to minimize any excessive swelling or bruising.

The results are practically immediate, revealing themselves within a day or so, and can last up to two years in some patients!

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Who Are The Best Candidates For A Facelift?

The best Miami, FL Facelift candidates at Celebrity Plastics should have some of the following characteristics:

  • Have sagging facial tissues (i.e. deep wrinkles, jowls, double chin)
  • Dissatisfied with their facial appearance
  • Understand the procedure, recovery time, and risks
  • No serious underlying medical conditions
  • Non-smoker
  • Be at or close to their desired target weight
  • Committed to good skincare
  • Maintain realistic expectations
  • Keep a positive attitude throughout the process

What’s the First Step?

The first step in getting a Facelift in Miami, FL with Dr Michael Keyes is to meet with our Patient Care Coordinator who will listen to your goals and help you determine if you are a good candidate for this procedure. Once it is determined that you can move forward, we will schedule your consultation. On the day of your appointment, Dr. Keyes will evaluate your unique needs, cosmetic goals, and your facial structure and features, including skin quality, skin laxity, soft tissue, sagging jowls, and neck muscles. He may also recommend other procedures such as Brow Lift, Eyelid Surgery, Facial Fat Grafting, Lip Lift, Neck Lift, and Laser Resurfacing to address all of your concerns simultaneously. He will review your medical history to ensure you are a good candidate for facial surgery.

Dr. Michael Keyes will discuss what a surgical facelift involves, the pros and cons of the latest surgical techniques available, and which method would be best for you. He will also show you where the various incisions will be placed and what you can expect from scarring.

Once you and Dr. Keyes are satisfied with the direction of your procedure, he will create your custom procedure plan. Our Patient Coordinator will help schedule your surgical date and provide you with detailed instructions on how to prepare for your surgery.

What to Expect on the Day of Facelift Surgery

On the day of your Facelift surgery, you will meet with Dr. Michael Keyes once more to review your procedure one more time. He will make the necessary marks that will help guide him throughout your surgery, as well as give you a better idea of what your results will look like. You will also meet with our Anesthesiologist who will administer your anesthesia so your surgery is more tolerable. When you are comfortable and ready to go, you will be administered “Twilight anesthesia”, also known as conscious sedation, to minimize the risk of complications.

Once you are sedated, Dr. Keyes will make an incision in front of your ear near your temples, continuing it under the earlobe towards the back of your ear, allowing it to blend in with your hairline. He will then gently lift the skin to tighten the underlying muscle and tissue, removing excess skin and fat along the way.

The incisions will be placed in a natural skin fold to minimize any appearance of scars post-healing. He will take your gender, ethnicity, and physical anatomy into consideration as he shapes your face. Once the excess skin and fat are extracted, Dr. Keyes will close the incisions with sutures to create minimal scar tissue.

After your surgery, a compression dressing will be gently applied to protect the incisions and prevent any collections of fluid. You may also have one to two surgical drains to promote the removal of excess fluid.

Depending on the complexity of the surgery and the number of additional procedures, the process can take four to six hours.

Deep Plane Facelift

After you’ve been administered intravenous sedation with local anesthesia, Dr. Keyes will mark the locations on your skin where he intends to make the incisions around the hairline and ears. He will then tighten and secure the layer of connective tissue and underlying muscle beneath your skin, releasing strategic ligaments at a deeper level to lift and rejuvenate your appearance, as well as repositioning the underlying layer of muscle and tissue. Once finished, Dr. Keyes will carefully close the incisions.

During the initial three weeks of your recovery, there will be significant bruising, swelling, and discomfort. You will need to continuously wear a compression garment and neck support during the first few weeks, or until they are removed by Dr. Keyes.

You will need to avoid working for the first two weeks so you can recover comfortably, and avoid any strenuous activity for six weeks. It is not uncommon to see ongoing swelling or bruising for longer than a year, but if you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.

Procedure timeline

Contact

The first step to getting your Facelift is to contact Celebrity Plastics and schedule a consultation. Before you consult with Dr. Keyes, you will need to meet our Patient Care Coordinator to discuss your aesthetic goals and eligibility.

Consultation

When you come to Celebrity Plastics for your consultation, Dr. Keyes will evaluate your health, your unique facial structure and features, discuss your cosmetic goals, and talk about the different facelift approaches and what he recommends for you. Once your surgical plan is created by Dr. Keyes you will talk to our Patient Care Coordinator who will pick a surgery date with you after an initial deposit.

Pre-operative preparation

Before your Facelift surgery, you will be required to get some labwork performed, such as a blood test and an EKG, to ensure that there are no underlying health issues that create unnecessary risks. We do offer these tests at our facility for a small fee. You should also supplement your diet with high-protein shakes in the days leading up to your procedure. You are also strongly encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which includes quitting smoking and consuming alcohol. You will also need to have your prescriptions filled before your surgical day and bring them in with you.

Surgery

Dr. Keyes will perform your Facelift under conscious sedation so you are more comfortable, and to reduce complications. He will make discreet incisions to help tighten your face and remove any excess fat or loose skin before stitching you up. Depending on the complexity of the surgery and the number of additional procedures, the process can take up to six hours.

Recovery

The recovery period for a Facelift can vary depending on the extent and depth of the procedure. Immediately after your procedure, you’ll need to rest and allow your body to heal. You may be sent home with drains that will come out within 1-2 days. The drains are meant to prevent fluid buildup immediately after surgery. Patients will be able to go back to work after a few weeks. Final results usually are seen in a few months after surgery. Dr. Keyes will prescribe the right pain medications to help keep you comfortable.

Post-operative appointments

Dr. Keyes will want to see you for your first post-operative a day or two after surgery to remove the drains and any dressing and observe your initial recovery, followed by another visit approximately one week after facelift surgery to remove the sutures. You will then need to follow-up up to one month after surgery and usually every three to six months for the first year after your surgery to monitor your healing and satisfaction with the results.

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Facelift Recovery

The recovery period for a facelift can vary depending on the extent and depth of the procedure. Immediately post-procedure, you’ll need to rest and allow your body to heal. You may be sent home with two or more drains, which are necessary for the facelift procedure to minimize swelling and bruising that will come out within 1-2 days. The drains are meant to prevent fluid buildup immediately after surgery.

During facelift recovery, you can expect swelling, bruising, and discomfort in the first few days after the procedure. Dr. Keyes will provide detailed instructions on caring for the treated area, which includes keeping your head elevated as you sleep to reduce swelling and keep stitches secure, as well as following the ERAS Protocol to achieve the best possible outcome.

Avoid strenuous activity and exercise for a few weeks. This allows your body to heal fully.

The time it takes to return to work after a facelift surgery depends on the extent of the procedure and your healing journey. Most patients expect to take at least two off work to recover from the procedure. For more complex facelift procedures or patients with physically demanding jobs, it may be necessary to take additional time off.

Visit Celebrity Plastics E-Store to view recommended Facelift recovery products.

How Much Does Facelift Cost In Miami, FL

The cost of a Facelift in Miami, FL is widely determined by the facial rejuvenation techniques that Dr. Keyes uses and the degree and number of procedures necessary to meet your aesthetic goals. Further, it depends on anesthesia fees, surgeon’s fees, and a few other factors. The best way to find out how much it will cost for you is to come in for your initial consultation and let Dr. Keyes create your surgical plan. Once made, our Patient Coordinator will be able to show you the price breakdown for your procedure.

Why Choose Dr. Keyes?

Michael Keyes, M.D. is a board-eligible plastic surgeon and the founder of Celebrity Plastics, with a combined following of over 370K+. He has been featured in various media publications such as Vogue, Marie Claire, New York Times, USA Today, Vox.com, and many more. Dr. Keyes is a member of the Social Media Subcommittee for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and has spoken about social media & plastic surgery at national meetings around the USA.

Dr. Keyes specializes in facial aesthetic procedures including Chin Implants, Facelifts, Eyelid Surgery, Brow Lifts, and non-invasive procedures such as BOTOX and Dermal Fillers.

What sets Dr. Keyes and his brand apart from the numerous other plastic surgeons out there is the commitment to personalized care. Every procedure is meticulously tailored to fit the individual needs and goals of his patients. He believes in quality over quantity, therefore, he dedicates the time necessary to ensure the best possible outcome for each and every patient. He takes pride in the high standards he has of himself, his team, and the patients who place their trust in him.

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8585 Sunset Dr., Suite #107
Miami, Florida 33143
(305) 564-7007

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