Fat grafting is a remarkable procedure performed to rejuvenate the face. As we age, we lose volume in the form of muscle, bone and fat from the face. The distribution of this fat loss will vary from person to person. The art of the facial plastic surgeon comes in when deciding where and how to place the fat.

Without question fat grafting is becoming exceedingly more popular. The effects of fat grafting are seen immediately and for years after the procedure. Since fat has a very abundant supply of stem cells within it, some people are calling the fat grafting procedure a stem cell face lift. This might make sense considering that we are injecting stem cells into the face along with the fat, however until I see definitive evidence that the stem cells play any roll in this, I will not tout it in that fashion. What I will say is that fat grafting works well, very well. As the word is getting out about this no incision procedure, more and more people are turning to it.

That being said, the most common question I get is…”How long does it last?” Fat grafting is a permanent procedure. Live fat cells are removed from the body, purified in my lab, and the transferred to the face (all at the same time). The key is making sure that the fat cells survive the sometimes traumatic process of moving it around. Harvesting, processing, and finally injecting the fat in the proper manner will ensure the longevity of this procedure. So bottom line is that the technique is crucial to the outcome and longevity of the procedure, and you must choose a surgeon very experienced in fat grafting to get the best results.

The photo above is of a patient of mine who is 1 year and 2 months after full face fat grafting. The area I want you to pay attention to is that of her cheeks. Although the entire face was injected, we will use the cheeks to demonstrate that after 14 months the cheeks are still full, and even fuller then they were at 2 months. At this point there is no question that the fat has taken and is now a part of her face.

The advent and popularization of the fractional CO2 laser has been a big step forward in reduced downtime laser peels that actually work. Since purchasing the latest, Premium model of the fractional eCO2 laser, we have amassed a significant clinical experience with the laser.

As with any tool, the CO2 laser can be used in many different ways. This is akin to giving a surgeon a scalpel. A facelift can be performed with this tool, as much as a rhinoplasty or a removal of an appendix. The laser is no different as there are multiple combinations of energy, density, and methods of delievery of the pulses.

This being said, over the past year we have used this laser with remarkable results and only 4-5 days of downtime. However, some of our patients could not even afford that kind of recovery due to there busy schedules. This has led us to develop a protocol for a no downtime fractional CO2 laser peel that works! The laser settings that we have developed allow the procedure to be performed with none of the downtime of the already low down time fractional peel.

The Express CO2 Peel is performed over a course of 3 treatments. These treatments are performed 3 weeks apart. The settings are tweaked with each treatment in order to provide the best results with no downtime. The procedure takes a total of 20 minutes to perform each time. Thus far, every patient that had this peel performed has referred friends in for the remarkable results.

Before undertaking any cosmetic procedure you must first understand what the goals of that procedure are. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we put together this video of the Deep Plane Facelift complete with before and after photos. It explains the results of the surgery with commentary on the before and after photographs. To see videos about facelift surgery and the recovery involved. Please visit the facelift video page.

This is Part 3 of the video journey series. This video consists of the post operative interview along with an in depth, side by side review of the deep plane facelift results.

In order to give you the best possible viewing experience, this is documented in high definition. If the video is slow on your internet connection please click here.

Click to learn more about deep plane facelift surgery.

This is Part 2 of the video journey series. In this video you will experience the day of surgery with an interview immediately prior to the procedure. I review the incisions used for a deep plane facelift, and you will have the opportunity to see an interview with her the day following the surgery. Stay tuned for Part 3!!!!

In order to give you the best possible viewing experience, this is documented in high definition. If the video is slow on your internet connection please click here.

Click to learn more about facelift surgery.

The decision to have cosmetic surgery is a very personal decision. Understanding exactly what is involved is not only important for making a wise decision, but also makes you more comfortable throughout the process. What people are most apprehensive about is the prospect of the unknown. Today I am introducing a new feature to the website that will allow others to better understand the entire process from start to finish.  These video journeys will document my patient’s experience in the preoperative, intra-operative, and postoperative time periods. I would like to thank my patients who have allowed me to document their experience and share it with others. It will be of large benefit to others.

Below is the first part of this particular video journey. Part 1 documents a patient 5 days prior to a deep plane facelift procedure. Tomorrow I will post the second part of this video journey series, which will document the day of surgery and the day after surgery.

In order to give you the best possible viewing experience, this is documented in high definition. If the video is slow on your internet connection please click here.

Click to learn more about facelift surgery.