Renowned for his highly precise, hyper-personalized approach, Sam Rizk, MD, is the expert at the forefront of the deep plane facelift. The New York City-based, double-board certified facial plastic surgeon developed a technique that lifts and tightens the face while repositioning loose jowls and fully restoring cheek volume, all while preserving blood supply to the skin (as opposed to older SMAS techniques that disrupt supply). Even better, Dr. Rizk’s technique eliminates the need for messy drains and fast-tracks the healing process, ensuring his patients are back to work and camera-ready in just two weeks. Are you considering the popular procedure for yourself? Read on to learn more.
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Who’s The Ideal Candidate?
A consultation with a board-certified facial plastic surgeon is essential to determine individual candidacy for a facelift, but there are several general factors to consider. First, patients need to have signs of facial aging; without that, there’s simply nothing to lift. Medically speaking, Dr. Rizk won’t perform surgery on someone who has a serious condition that could impact healing, like uncontrolled diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Smokers should be willing to quit for a significant period of time before and after surgery, as smoking can weaken the immune system and slow the healing process. Finally, patients must have realistic expectations, not only about the outcome but also the limitations of the procedure.
Does Age Matter?
Yes—and no. We used to think of the facelift as a way to turn back the clock, but today, it is truly a preventative procedure. In the last five years alone, the average age of Dr. Rizk’s facelift patients has dipped from the 50s to 40s, and most of it comes down to filler fatigue—they’ve simply had enough of repeated cosmetic tweaks. Ultimately, it comes down to facial anatomy. If a patient has long-term sun exposure, a history of smoking, a genetic predisposition to earlier aging, or—a more recent addition to the list—has taken GLP-1 and GLP-1/GIP weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, which can result in a significant amount of facial laxity, they will reach that sweet spot earlier. So, while it’s true that the deep plane facelift allows patients as young as 40 to get ahead of the aging process, age is truly only part of it. Ultimately, if a patient has signs of facial aging, like wrinkles, sagging, and skin laxity, they’re a candidate for a preventative facelift—regardless of age.
What’s The Longevity Of A Lift?
Results of a deep plane facelift can last ten years or more, depending, of course, on those aforementioned factors: genetics, lifestyle, and skin quality. While the procedure offers lasting improvements, it’s important to note that it doesn’t stop the aging process entirely. For this reason, a younger patient will typically enjoy longer-lasting results than an older patient—however, both can expect more subtle and graceful aging over time.
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