WNBC Today In New York
Short scar mid facelift
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Dr. IAN SMITH reporting: And in
the next installment of our plastic surgery series
-- facelifts. But not the kind that pulls your face
back and makes you look like you're stuck in a wind
tunnel -- this surgery hides the scars. And, it
gives the face a more natural appearance.
(Visual of doctor examining patient)
Final examinations of Nancy, before she undergoes
her facelift.
NANCY (Patient): I want my chinline,
here, to look better. Hopefully to smooth out the
skin, and also the neck is very important, as you
get older. I want the puckers here to go away.
SMITH: New York plastic surgeon
Dr. Darrick Antell says these are
the two most common areas of concern, with people
contemplating a facelift. And one of the hottest
trends in fixing these problem areas, is something
called the short
scar facelift.
Dr. DARRICK ANTELL (Plastic Surgeon):
Well, the shorter incision is a real plus for the
patient. It's much less visible, it's very ponytail-friendly,
if they like to wear their hair back. It minimizes
any incision behind the ear, sometimes completely
eliminating the incision altogether.
SMITH: In the older facelift,
the incision typically ran down the hairline, underneath
and then behind the ear, stretching back behind
the head. But now doctors eliminate the extended
cut behind the ear, either keeping it mostly along
the front hairline, or even extending it up in front,
depending on the shape of the hairline. But in both
cases, eliminating that behind-the-ear scar. And
doctors can deliver a more natural result.
Dr. ANTELL: In the early operations,
people just tended to pull the skin back, and it
tended to give them that wind-tunnel look. By working
on the deeper layers, you can reposition the underlying
fat, and the actual muscles, so that everything
comes up and looks much more natural. And it takes
tension off of the skin.
SMITH: Like many other procedures,
the short-scar surgery can be performed right in
the doctor's office. Same sterilization techniques,
same safety precautions of bigger hospital operating
rooms. Many patients in fact, feel more comfortable
and can be monitored more closely without distractions.
The key, says Nancy, is doing your homework first,
to find the best doctor.
NANCY: You want to go to the
best possible one you can. You have only one face.
You can scrimp on other things, you know, go to
thrift shops. But not this doctor.
SMITH: Now, Nancy's surgery lasted
no more than a couple of hours. After these procedures,
the face will be swollen and a little bruised. But
within about 10 to 14 days, most people will start
to show off their new look. And remember, these
cosmetic procedures are rarely, if ever, covered
by health insurance. So make sure you save up, before
signing up. Of course, for more information on our
series, just log on to www.wnbc.com/tiny,
for TODAY IN NEW YORK.
JANE HANSON, co-anchor: So it's
two weeks, 10 to 14 days, versus the regular facelift
is, what, a month or more?
SMITH: Well, it's about three
weeks. It's a little faster, because you're doing
less. But the real beauty of this is that it actually
works underneath the layers of the skin. So the
wind-tunnel we talk about, people are like, ahh!
(Demonstrates, holding skin back on his face) So
if you take the inner layer, it all goes up very
nicely.
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