An Uplifting Story

It used to be clear what a facelift was: a surgical operation under anaesthesia that made incisions near the hairline, then pulled back and excised loose skin to take ten years off your face.

- Verne Maree

Most of all, a facelift was something I would never, ever think of doing. And then I met DR WONG CHIN HO of W Aesthetics in Singapore, who told me about deep-plane facelift; he made me think again. Dr Wong did his fellowship in face-lifting, and he lifts a lot of faces. Some years ago, he skilfully excised three small growths from my face (the legacy of sun damage in my foolish youth), so I’ve had personal experience of his incredibly fine stitching technique. He discusses his work in more detail here.

What can a patient expect from a facelift?

The decision to have a facelift might be one of the most significant decisions that you will make, and many patients instinctively know when the time has come for them.

I like to put things into perspective and to be clear about what is possible in terms of the degree of improvement that can be achieved, given his or her individual skin quality, skeletal structure and the severity of ageing-related changes.

I would also show before and after photographs of previous cases to give patients a better idea of the results they can expect.

Who is a good candidate for a facelift?

Someone who is looking for a profound rejuvenation. But if you’re not keen on surgery and will be satisfied with a very subtle result, non-invasive techniques involving high-tech radiofrequency and ultrasound can tighten and rejuvenate the skin to some extent.

Non-invasive methods don’t work for the jowls, as you can see by manually lifting your own cheeks: there’s excess skin above it, and that needs to be removed.