The saying goes, “All is fair in love and war,” but I would include surgery in that quote. I have learned over the years that for each operation we do as Plastic Surgeons, some patient anatomy responds better than others. This is true for all parts of the body, but especially the face.
The nasolabial folds and marionette lines do not improve much with a standard facelift. Fat grafting is a “trick” to fill in these areas and is now commonly being done at the same time as a facelift. In fact, some surgeons report that they add fat to almost every case they do.
Another relatively older trick is adding a chin implant via the incision under the chin during a facelift. This helps the profile in general when someone has a small chin, but also effectively takes up the slack in a baggy neck after optimal surgical tightening is done. The chin implant is a nice addition in nose surgery as well.
The patient featured in the Case of the Month nicely demonstrates fat grafting and chin implant added to a facelift.
Mark D. Wigod, MD, FACS, providing cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery to Boise, Meridian, Treasure Valley and Southeastern Idaho.
