How long will a facelift last?

Having facelift surgery is a daunting procedure for the uninitiated. There’s a consultation period, which will involve you sitting down with someone you don’t know and talking about things you essentially don’t like about yourself, while that person points out what can be done about those self-perceived flaws.

Then there’s the actual procedure itself. Then there’s a period of recovery. Finally, there’s the period of self-adjustment – both for you and the people around you.

Obviously, this isn’t something you want to be doing on a regular basis. But then you look in the newspaper and see that a certain celebrity has had their umpteenth treatment, and start to wonder: if they’ve had their face done and they’re still not happy, how long will it be before I’ll have go through the whole thing again?

For some people, the question ‘how long will a facelift last?’ can be right up there with ‘how long is a piece of string?’ The answer depends on many factors: the type ofprocedure you’ve decided to undergo, the skill of the surgeon you’re paying to undertake that procedure, and – most importantly – your mindset as a client.

The bare-faced truth

Let’s look at the root cause of why people want to undergo a facelift: with a few exceptions, clients usually have them because want to look younger.

Predicting how long the anti-ageing effects of a facelift will last is difficult, mainly because of the myriad treatments available, differences in what clients deem to be a ‘younger appearance’ in the first place, and what the client is prepared to do to maintain their appearance afterwards.

A skin-only facelift (where the facial skin is lifted and tightened above and behind the ears) can give a good result – but the fact that the muscles underneath are left untreated mean that its optimal effect lasts for three to six years on average.

The Superficial Musculo-Aponeurotic System facelift (better known as a SMAS facelift), which tightens the facial muscles as well as the skin, naturally lasts longer: an estimated five to eight years, on average.

And a deep SMAS facelift will last even longer. However, combine that with volume restoration (with fillers in areas such as the brow, lips and neck) and you’re looking at eight to twelve years on average.

Time marches on

Please be aware that when we talk about the ‘lasting’ abilities of these procedures, we’re not implying that everything will suddenly sag after a certain amount of time: if a facelift makes you look 35 when you’re 43, you’ll still look 43 when you’re 50.

But a facelift can’t throw the ageing process back to your late teens, and if you’re still indulging in the habits that made your skin age a little bit faster before your treatment, the clock is going to start catching up on your face before too long.

Achieve party perfection this festive season

It’s getting close to that time of year again, and you’re primed and ready for it. You’ve put in the time at the gym, you’ve reined in on your diet, and you’re geared up for Party Season.

But you’ve auditioned your wardrobe and found one or two things that are still amiss: an unsightly bit of underarm chub in your on-trend strapless dress, one curve too many in your figure-hugging outfit, or you’re looking for eyes to be directed towards your face instead of your body.

No matter how good you’ve been in the gym or at the dining table this year, we could all do with a finishing touch to help us look our absolute best during the wave of Christmas and New Year dos – and while you have next to no time to undergo a more dramatic procedure, there are plenty of things we can do to help you look the way you want to with minimal (or no) downtime…

Body contouring

If you want to reduce fat in parts of the body that exercise and dieting can’t reach – under the arms, or neck fat, or muffin tops, or anywhere that’s bothering you – this is an absolute boon.

Using ultrasound with radio frequency current, body contouring breaks down fat and tightens the skin at the same time. You’ll need four half-hour sessions to achieve the maximum effect, but there is no downtime and the results come fast. For more information, consult our Treatments page.

Wrinkles and Crow’s Feet

The festive period is supposed to be a time to relax – so why not give your face a chance to do that too? Certain facial wrinkles appear due to repeated muscular activity, such as frowning, smiling and squinting. As we mature, and the natural production of collagen and elastin starts to recede, those lines become permanent.

However, a treatment of Botulinum Toxin can reduce these wrinkles, leaving you with a smooth, line-free countenance for all those festive parties.

Fillers

If you’re expecting a lot of time under the mistletoe this December, there’s still time to plump up your pout with a timely dermal filler session.

All our cosmetic staff are fully qualified in this practice, and we only use fillers that have been approved by the FDA – and not only is there zero downtime, but the results will last well into the New Year.

Skin Care

If you want to look as fresh as possible this Party Season – or are planning to startthe post-Christmas period on the right foot – we have some very special products that can help.

Obagi skin care systems are some of the most effective anti-ageing and hydrating treatments on the market, geared towards improving the appearance of dark spots, sun damage, wrinkles and other signs of ageing.

Mr Jan Stanek welcomes the new Breast Implant Registry

The NHS launched its Breast and Cosmetic Implant Registry last month, and the only negative thing to say about that is that it’s been a long time coming.

The purpose of the new scheme is simple enough: from now on, it will collect and record the details of any individual who has had breast implant surgery, so that if a product used in their surgery has been recalled due to safety fears they can be traced, notified, and advised.

Not only that, it will also act as an organic and constantly-updated survey of trends in the implant world and any complications that stem from new advances.

Finally, something good from the PIP scandal

This long-awaited development stems directly from the PIP scandal earlier this decade, when the French company Poly Implant Prothèsewere found to be creating implants made from industrial grade silicone instead of the industry-approved medical grade material that has passed safety tests.

The poorer-quality implants were banned across the world in 2010, and a 2012 report from the UK discovered that they had double the rupture rate of other implants.

The repercussions of this included the owner of the company being imprisoned for four years, and the German firm responsible for granting European safety certificates for the implants being forced to pay compensation to hundreds of French women.

It’s been estimated that approximately 47,000 women in the UK had the implants, but the jury is still out on how unsafe they actually are. The French, German and Czech authorities advise they be replaced: the UK decided they weren’t a risk to health.

Whether they are or aren’t, it’s indisputable that a lot of implant clients have been forced to undergo a lot of stress and anxiety – especially when they don’t know if they’ve had PIP implants or not (there’s a full breakdown of the PIP situation on the BBC website).

What happens now?

The first thing you need to know is that the Registry will not be back-dated: as of now, all providers of breast implant surgery will be expected to participate, and all new clients – to both private clinics and the NHS – will be invited to sign a consent form before a procedure, giving their permission to have their details logged on the Registry.

You will be entirely within your rights to refuse, but you are strongly advised to do this: if your implant is later discovered to be of insufficient standard, you will be much easier to find and be notified about it. And if the clinic you’re thinking of approaching is not participating in this, you are just as strongly advised not to put your business there.

At the moment, this scheme is restricted to breast surgery, but will soon be expanding to procedures in other areas, such as calf and buttock implant surgery.

With cosmetic enhancement becoming more commonplace and less of a luxury item, it’s vital that the industry is regulated to filter out poor practice and substandard items: here at Surgical Aesthetics, we welcome any moves to keep our industry as safe and trustworthy as possible

BAAPS Scientific Meeting 2016

October 12, 2016

Having been invited to the annual BAAPS Scientific Meeting I delivered a presentation of my experience with endoscopic browlifting since 1994. The results of 817 cases had been published in 2014 in JPRAS.

It was an excellent meeting on 6 & 7 October at the London Olympia with many international speakers. Many different topics on facial, breast and body cosmetic surgery were discussed. There was a lot of discussion about fatgrafting/transfer and chemical skin peeling, something this Practice has been doing for the last 25 years with great success.

Next meeting is in Ghent in December.

Jan Stanek

PIP Silicone Breast Implants - JPRAS

Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery

Dear Sir

We read the Quabas paper reporting their experience of PIP breast implant management with great interest. The authors had an enviably high follow up and should be congratulated on providing such robust data at a time of renewed uncertainty as to the long-term safety of PIP's mammary devices.

They kindly reference our preliminary study and draw attention to the low (9.3%) explantation figure, which initially provoked criticism of our reported rupture rate. The authors will not have been aware of our recently accepted update, but we are pleased that another large series has drawn similar conclusions about the PIP implant. Whilst a summary comparison (table 1) evidences our improved re call and confirmation, we remain an order of magnitude in arrears. Their very high recall, perhaps reflecting the benefits of a large company, in this case Spire Healthcare, that both proactively sought patients and underwrote all costs.

There are several noteworthy observations: the first that there are now three sizeable studies, with slightly different methodologies, yielding similar rupture prevalences. The Quabas explanation, our own intention-to-treat and Maijers et al.'s MRI study. The second being the quantum improvement in the accuracy of ultrasound scan (USS) lately. Whilst we have all expreienced examples of catastrophic PIP elastomer disintegration, and concur that such ruptures are easy to spot sonographically, it is not our experience that this is universal so USS appears to a recommendable first line investigation. Thirdly, although the trial is in progress in Marseille at the the time of writing, the alleged perpetrators have yet to assist with any detailed information so it is reassuring that our original finding of reducing implant durability with time has been corroborated. As with Quaba, prostheses implanted in the year 2000 fared no differently to their contemporaries, however, by 2005 median time-to-rupture had almost halved from 10.5 to 5.8 years. Finally, despite the huge amount of negative media coverage over the past 3 years, a...

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PIP Mammary Prothesis - Product Recall - JPRAS

Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery
 
Summary
 
Introduction: Concerns about the durability of silicone breast implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) have been expressed for several years prior to their formal withdrawal from the market in March 2010....
 
Results: 453 consecutive patients with PIP devices were identitfied. Of this number 30 had already undergone implant exchange for a variety of reasons. 180 (39.7%) could not be contacted and 19 had undergone explanation elsewhere, including the NHS. Of those who could be contacted, 47 declined consultation as they had no concerns. 97 had neither clinical signs not radiographic evidence of implant rupture and elected to remain under regular review....
 
Discussion: Long-term studies such as this are difficult to undertake for a number of reasons as they place a significant additional burden of resources on a practice. They are, however, essential from an industry perspective both for the provision of information and supporting audit and professional standing..

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Endoscopic - assisted brow lift - JPRAS

Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery
 
There are four key evolutionary phases of browlifting. the first, characterised by some form of direct excision, sequed into the understanding that muscle modification was critial to longevity. Phase III contributed the importance of adquate ligamentous release, further enhanced by the limited scars of today's endoscopic era, the improved vascularity of which permits synchronous resurfacing.
 
Over an 18-year period (1994-2012) the senior author (JJS) performed 810 consecutive endoscopic-assisted browlifts (EABL). Whilst subject to some procedural evolutions surgical technique remained relatively unchanged in its fundamentals:
 

• Three optical cavities (two temporal and one frontal):
• Arcus marginalis and lateral orbital ligamentous attachment release to enabled cephalad brow repositioning;
• Controlled posterior subperiosteal dissection;
• Attenuation of glabellar complex muscles proportionate to their degree of hyperactitvity.

EABL commences with local anaesthetic at incision sites and the glabella musculature....

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Jan Stanek in TV show 10 Years Younger ( Terri Wardner )

Jan Stanek in TV show 10 Years Younger ( Selena Newport )

Jan Stanek in TV show 10 Years Younger ( Carole Ward )

Jan Stanek in TV show 10 Years Younger transforms Laura Hammond