Facelift in Tampa, FL

Want a facelift in Tampa? If you don’t look as young as you feel, facelift surgery could be the answer. Dr. Temmen can provide you with a consultation to determine how to make you look as good as you possibly can with plastic surgery.

In modern society, people are living longer, working longer, and remaining active well into their sixties, seventies, eighties, and beyond. With so much life to live, no one wants to look old before their time. With current advances in facelift techniques, now everyone can look the age they feel on the inside!

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Interviewer: A facelift…is that a common procedure?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Yes, absolutely, and it’s getting more and more common. Patients that come in requesting facelifts are getting younger and younger, and they’re requesting all kinds of facelifts including the mini facelift, liquid facelift, and the standard facelift.

Interviewer: Who’s a good candidate for a facelift?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Like I said, the average patient seeking a facelift is getting younger and younger. Several years ago, the standard woman considering a facelift was probably 65 years old. Now, patients are usually in their 50’s and even early 50’s. But like all of our surgeries, the best candidate for a facelift is a patient that is healthy with no serious medical problems such as heart disease, lung disease, or clotting disorders. Chronic medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, must be under strict control.

Interviewer: What types of facelifts are there?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Let’s start with the least invasive and work our way up. A liquid facelift is a generic term that surgeons use to describe the use of fillers or a patient’s own fat to fill in areas of hollowness or wrinkling on the face. A liquid facelift can be performed with fillers to fill in areas around the lips, the smile lines (also called the nasolabial folds), and the under eye hollows. What’s becoming more and more popular, especially here at Temmen Plastic Surgery, is to use the patient’s own fat that is liposuctioned from the body to fill in these areas. And that’s a permanent solution, whereas fillers may only last six months to two years. Going up the ladder, a mini facelift is performed through an incision placed just in front of the ear and is generally a skin-only facelift. A skin-only facelift means that the skin is the only soft tissue structure of the face that is addressed; the underlying muscles and fascia are not addressed. A mini facelift is used to treat minor areas of sagging along the jaw line and the lower nasolabial folds. A full facelift treats the midface, the nasolabial folds, jowling, and marionette lines. At our office, a facelift usually includes a neck lift also, especially for female patients. A full facelift scar is a scar placed in front of the ear, extends behind the ear around the earlobe, and into the hairline.

Interviewer: Is there an age limit?

Dr. Traci Temmen: No, there isn’t an age limit for facelifts. Occasionally, there are very young patients who have lost a lot of weight and because of that, their face may look haggard or aged. Those patients may actually be a good candidate for a facelift. Conversely, there is no upper age limit for a facelift, either. The patient must simply be healthy enough to tolerate surgery without a major medical problem.

Interviewer: What type of anesthesia is involved?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Years ago, most facelifts were performed under general anesthesia. However, here at Temmen Plastic Surgery, Dr. Jaime Perez and I do most of our facelifts under local anesthesia or local anesthesia with IV sedation. This decreases the major risks of facelift surgery including a blood clot to the lungs or legs.

Interviewer: A full facelift…how long does that surgery take?

Dr. Traci Temmen: The facelift that I perform is seldom done by itself. When I do a facelift, I often also perform a neck lift, eyelid lift, fat transfer to the face, and maybe a procedure to lift the forehead and brows as well. All those surgeries combined can take two to three hours and longer.

Interviewer: Is there an average age for a client coming in to see you for this procedure:

Dr. Traci Temmen: The average age of a patient undergoing a facelift is the mid to latter 50’s. After a facelift, most patients say they believe they look seven to 10 years younger. What we’re going for is a very natural looking facelift, where the patient can go out in public and their friends say, “Oh, my gosh! You look amazing! Did you just get back from vacation?”

Interviewer: What’s the recovery like from a full facelift?

Dr. Traci Temmen: The recovery time from a full facelift, like many of our surgeries, involves some discomfort for the first day or two. If patients are working, they’re generally able to go back to work after a week to ten days if they’re feeling up to it. But generally, we say that our patients are “public ready” by two to three weeks. The swelling and bruising can be significant for the first couple weeks.

Interviewer: Does your office offer financing for patients?

Dr. Traci Temmen: Yes, we use a company called CareCredit. It’s similar to a credit card that offers financing for cosmetic surgery. They have fairly good rates and repayment plans.

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Why Choose Dr. Temmen?

Dr. Traci Temmen offers the most up-to-date facelift and facial rejuvenation techniques available. She specializes in endoscopic facelifts, short scar face lifts, mini facelifts, and nonsurgical facelifts for those needing minimal downtime and a fast recovery. Dr. Temmen is a cosmetic surgeon in Tampa with a perfectionist nature, elegant surgical skill, and warm bedside manner. Dr. Temmen caters to patients with discerning tastes and high standards in the luxury of her boutique cosmetic surgery office and surgical suite. If you’re finally ready to get the refreshed, youthful face that matches how you feel on the inside, call Dr. Traci Temmen for a free facelift consultation today.

Your Results May Vary

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Facelift and Facial Rejuvenation Procedure benefits

Facelift surgery is a plastic surgery procedure that elevates the soft tissues of the face while at the same time tightening and removing excess facial skin, leaving patients with a fuller, firmer, and more refreshed appearance. A facelift can improve the “parenthesis lines” that extend from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth, and eliminate “marionette lines” that travel from the corner of the mouth to the chin. A facelift can also tighten the jaw line and neck by correcting lower face jowls and the dreaded “turkey neck.”

Dr. Traci Temmen performs every variant of facelift surgery from nonsurgical facelifts, to liquid facelifts, mini facelifts, and full facelifts depending on the patient’s needs and desires. Dr. Temmen is not a cookie cutter surgeon: she does not perform the same surgery the same way on every patient. Dr. Temmen carefully examines each patient and has a long discussion to determine their exact goals; she then tailor makes a facelift surgery to exactly fit their individual anatomy and specific needs. Dr. Temmen’s facelift patients enjoying natural looking results that leave them refreshed and rejuvenated, not windblown, pulled too tight, or operated.

Who is a Candidate for a Facelift?

Any patient distressed by signs of facial aging may be a candidate for a facelift. Most facelift patients, male or female, are in their fifties or beyond and are interested in “turning back the clock” 10 or 15 years. Facelift patients generally desire fuller, elevated cheeks, a tighter jaw line, a reduction in facial wrinkles, and tighter, firmer facial skin. Dr. Temmen’s facelift patients must have realistic goals and be appropriate surgical candidates.

To guarantee each patient the best results and safest facelift surgery possible, Dr. Traci Temmen performs a thorough history and physical examination on every patient considering facial rejuvenation procedures. During each facelift or nonsurgical facelift consultation, Dr. Temmen and her staff take the time to explain the surgery in detail, describe expected results, and answer every possible question. Dr. Temmen wants every facelift patient to be well informed, comfortable, and secure when choosing his or her cosmetic surgery needs.

Who is Not a Candidate for a Facelift?

To ensure the safest and best results possible, Dr. Temmen’s facelift patients must have any medical problems fully addressed and appropriately managed before proceeding with surgery. Patients with uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, or bleeding and/or blood clotting disorders are not a candidate for facelift surgery. Additionally, to decrease the risk of scarring, skin loss, and wound breakdown, Dr. Traci Temmen insists that patients stop smoking for at least one year before and after any facelift or facial rejuvenation surgery.

Facelift Scars

Every patient considering a facelift is concerned about the resultant scar. You can rest assured, however, that Dr. Traci Temmen performs each facelift through the smallest scar possible to allow the most effective results.

Nonsurgical Facelift Scar– As the name implies, a nonsurgical facelift is a method of facial rejuvenation that does not actually remove excess facial skin or tighten the underlying soft tissues, and is thus not as powerful as more traditional facelift methods. A nonsurgical facelift uses dermal fillers, or sometimes the patient’s own fat, to inject and fill in hollows, plump up the cheeks or lips, and cover under eye circles. Because small needles or cannulas are all that are used to perform a nonsurgical facelift, nonsurgical facelift scars are virtually nonexistent. The only nonsurgical facelift scar is a small puncture site that usually heals without a trace.

Mini Facelift Scar– A mini facelift, often called a lifestyle lift or short scar facelift, is capable of tightening a small area of facial skin on the outer cheeks and jaw. During a mini facelift, the underlying facial soft tissues, fat, and muscle are not fully addressed, and thus the results are generally fairly short lived, generally lasting one to two years. A mini facelift is performed through an approximately three inch scar in the crease in front of the ear. A mini facelift is often used as a secondary or touch up procedure years after a full facelift surgery.

Full Facelift Scar– A standard facelift not only removes and tightens excess facial skin, but it also elevates and firms the underlying facial muscles and fatty pockets to give a long lasting, natural, and dramatically youthful result. Dr. Temmen performs a full face lift through a scar placed in front of and behind the ear. Depending on the amount of facial skin laxity, the full facelift scar may also extend a short distance into the hair-baring scalp and/or hairline on the back of the neck.

Facelift Recovery

Dr. Traci Temmen performs her cosmetic facelift and facial rejuvenation surgeries in an accredited, private surgical suite, custom-made for plastic surgeons, at Temmen Plastic Surgery. To ensure the utmost in patient safety and decrease the risk of major complications, Dr. Temmen performs most facelift procedures under local anesthesia (i.e. the patient is given oral medications to help relax and given local anesthesia to eliminate pain, but awake and breathing on their own). A nonsurgical facelift may take as little as fifteen minutes if dermal fillers are used, while a mini facelift generally lasts one to two hours. A standard facelift under local anesthesia will take approximately three to four hours to perform, depending on complexity and any additional procedures. Patients recover in the luxury of a private recovery suite with a recovery room nurse dedicated solely to them and their comfort.

Dr. Temmen’s facelift patients usually have drains placed in the lower face to help speed recovery and decrease postoperative complications. The drains are generally removed on the day after surgery during the first postoperative visit. A bulky dressing is worn for about a week due to the significant amount of swelling and bruising that is expected. Patients are often able to return to work after one week, drive when they are no longer taking narcotic pain medications, and return to full exercise by six weeks.

Facelift Cost

It goes without saying, but don’t trust your face to just anyone! When choosing a facelift surgeon, cost should not be the determining factor. Because of the high level of skill required to perform this surgery well, only plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery should be considered. Dr. Temmen is proud to be one of the few female board certified plastic surgeons to offer advanced and minimally invasive facelift surgery, as well as liquid facelift and nonsurgical facelift techniques to her patients.

The cost of a facelift varies by plastic surgeon and by region of the country. In the Tampa Bay area of Florida, the average price of a standard facelift starts at around $19,900 including surgeon fees, anesthesia fees, and facility fees. The cost of a facelift increases with the number of necessary procedures, revisionary surgery, complexity, and increases in planned surgical time. A mini facelift will generally cost a little less, while a nonsurgical facelift using fillers may have a price starting at $800 to $1000.

Dr. Temmen offers convenient payment options for facelift surgery and all other cosmetic surgery of the face. They accept check, credit, card, and CareCredit, a credit card that offers special financing and low monthly payments for cosmetic surgery procedures.

Facelift Risks and Possible Complications

Even with proper patient selection and standard precautions, not all facelift risks and complications can be eliminated. The most common side effects of a facelift are prolonged swelling and bruising that resolve over a period of time.

A more serious facelift complication is a collection of blood under the skin, or hematoma, that requires surgical drainage to correct. The risk of bleeding following a facelift is increased in male patient, those with poorly controlled, elevated blood pressure, and patients with bleeding problems or those with a history of blood thinner medications.

Other serious, but fortunately less common, risks of facelift surgery include wound breakdown and/or skin loss, infection, and facial nerve injury resulting in facial weakness and asymmetry. Wound breakdown and facial nerve injury following a facelift are usually self-limited and heal on their own with conservative management. Infections may be superficial and treated with oral antibiotics, or rarely, require drainage and intravenous antibiotics.

Because Dr. Traci Temmen usually performs facelifts under local anesthesia, the life threatening complications of a facelift associated with general anesthesia such as blood clots in the legs or lungs are virtually eliminated. Plastic surgeons like Dr. Traci Temmen, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, are trained not only in facelift and facial rejuvenation surgery, but also in diagnosing and appropriately treating the complications and risks associated with cosmetic facial rejuvenation procedures.

Facelift Before and After Photos

Whether you’re interested in a facelift, mini facelift, liquid facelift, or nonsurgical facelift, Dr. Traci Temmen has a wide array of before and after facelift photos for you to review. Not all of the patients who have facelift surgery wish to have their before and after facelift photos on the Internet. If you don’t see the before and after facelift photos you’re looking for in the Gallery section of Dr. Temmen’s website, there are many more before and after facelift pictures available for viewing during a consultation at her practice.

For more information on Dr. Traci Temmen, facelift surgery, and all other cosmetic facial rejuvenation procedures offered at Temmen Plastic Surgery, please contact us at (813) 771-6393.