SmartLift Facelift

“Hey, yo, registered nurse at the Cosmetic Surgery Center. Today we’re going to be going over a facelift surgery, or what we like to call here, a Smart Lift. There are some preoperative treatments that you can get with our great aesthetician, Crystal, if you’re interested. These treatments will get your skin in the best condition for surgery and are available for $50, or you can get $100 off our signature HydraFacial. You’ll love those treatments, guys!

Before we get started, I do want to remind you all to definitely go and watch the general surgery information video if you haven’t already seen it. Then come back and watch this. So, we’ll go ahead and get started with the items you’ll need for your surgery.

At home, you’re going to need your prescription medications that you’ll get here at the office with us. You’ll also need some hydrogen peroxide, distilled water, and Q-tips to clean your incision sites at home. Before the procedure, we already kind of go over some of this stuff in the general surgery information video, but be sure to wear a button-up or zip-up top so we’re not pulling anything over your head. You’re going to have a little cotton fluff on your head that looks like a turban, so we won’t be able to get anything over your head. Also, shampoo and condition—or just shampoo, whatever you normally do—the night before surgery and the morning of, so your hair is nice and clean because we are going to be working in that area. Don’t use any hair gel or hairspray. Come with a clean face, no moisturizer. This is a procedure where you’re not allowed to smoke six weeks before and six weeks after your surgery, and you will get a nicotine test, so just know that.

Let’s go ahead and start with the post-operative care—how to take care of yourself after surgery. If any sudden profuse bleeding occurs in any of your incision sites, remain calm, as panic will increase your blood pressure and make the bleeding worse. Give us a call, and we’ll get that taken care of. A little bit of oozing on your incision lines is normal, so don’t worry—just nothing too crazy.

We do want you to restart your antibiotic and Arnica medication that you learned about at your pre-op. The night before your surgery, you’ll start that, and then continue those medications when you get home after surgery with a light meal. You will sleep in a semi-sitting position for two weeks after surgery, which means being propped up in pillows in bed (like two to three pillows) or sleeping in a recliner. If your bed elevates, that’s also going to help with swelling. You do want to try to suppress any forceful coughing or sneezing for at least 7 to 10 days after surgery, so you don’t hurt any of those incision sites or break any of them with the excessive force of coughing or sneezing. You might have a little bit of bruising in your surgical area; if it does develop, it should be gone within one to two weeks, and the Arnica will help with that.

A low-grade fever is not abnormal after surgery, so if you notice you’re running hot, take your temperature, take some Tylenol, and increase your fluid intake. If it doesn’t go below 101.5°F, then give us a call. Like I said, you’ll have a large bulky turban-style dressing on after surgery. You’re not going to remove or loosen any of that the night after your surgery—don’t mess with it. We’ll take care of that the next morning when you come back to see us. We’ll take it off, look at it, and make sure everything’s looking good. After that, you can resume showering and washing your hair again—just be very delicate and mindful of those incision areas.

If you are a man, you can resume shaving with an electric razor about the fourth day after surgery. If you are a woman, or a man who gets their hair chemically or color-treated, you’ll want to wait four weeks after surgery. So, if you want to get that done or need it done, I would do it about two weeks before surgery so you don’t have any residual hair color or anything getting inside your incisions.

As far as eating after surgery, you want to stick to a soft diet for the first 30 days—no hard foods that are difficult to chew, candy, gum, anything like that. You can begin using makeup and cover-up about a week after surgery. Just apply very carefully and avoid any tugging, rubbing, or pushing of the skin. Even though your incisions are going to be pretty well hidden—Dr. Branman does a really good job of that—you’ll want to avoid the sun, as it can cause darkening of scars and can also cause some swelling. So whenever you go out in the sun, wear a hat or sunscreen with SPF 45 or higher. Obviously, don’t drive while taking your pain medication.

You can shower and wash your hair after the first post-op appointment, like I already mentioned. When we see you that next day, you will be given a chin strap. This is really important—you need to wear this at all times for the first week after surgery. You’re going to sleep in it unless you are cleaning it up with some dish soap or whatever in the sink and drying it. You should be wearing it at all times. Of course, you don’t have to wear it in the shower—just put it back on afterward. Then, the next week, you’ll only wear it while you’re at home, or if you don’t care, you can wear it out to the grocery store—wearing it more is better.

Now, we’re going to talk about caring for your incision areas. After we remove that dressing the next day, you’re going to start cleaning those incision areas gently, two to four times daily. Use a mixture of 50% hydrogen peroxide and distilled water with Q-tips, and use a new solution each time. Be sure to pay good attention behind your earlobes because those are kind of hard to see. You might need assistance—have somebody help you—or use a mirror so you can see the back.

As for post-op appointments, like I said, you’re going to come back and see us the next day, and then you’ll come back around a week later to get your sutures removed. Then, about two weeks later, you’ll have your staples removed if those were used. Dr. Branman will schedule you for any follow-up visits he thinks you need.

That’s really it. We can’t wait to see you at your pre-op appointment. Have a great day!”

Here’s the edited version of the text:

“And welcome back, everybody, to Good Morning Arkansas. You know this doctor, Dr. Rhys Branman, is here to talk more about cosmetic surgery and some of the things you may want to try.

That’s right. Yeah, absolutely. We’re going to talk about facelifts, and I made sure to mention that this is like the first cosmetic surgery we ever heard about. I know it’s really a pretty advanced surgery now. We have really perfected the surgery so that people can come in, get a facelift, and within 10 days, they can be out running around and looking pretty good. Recovery time used to be a lot longer—about three to four weeks, maybe six weeks—so now we really can get people out and about and back to their busy lives.

Okay, we’re going to talk about the questions you get asked a lot. I know you’ve said before, everybody comes in and says, ‘I want a facelift that doesn’t look like I got a facelift,’ right?

Right, and you know, with the Smart Lift, which is what we do at the Cosmetic Surgery Center, we don’t pull people too tight. We don’t give them that wind-swept look. And also, nowadays, we’re not just pulling on skin—we’re actually remodeling the deeper tissues so that you have a more natural look. So, it’s not just about pulling everything tight. You don’t get that sort of ‘Joan Rivers’ look. We’ve seen some of those, even in Hollywood, where you just think, ‘I don’t want to look like that.’

That’s good to know. You brought some pictures along.

We did. We’re going to show those as we talk about some of the questions. This is someone who had the surgery. This patient had surgery, and you can see how the neck area was very full before, on the left-hand side. She had a lot of fullness in her cheeks and a lot of just sort of sagging. What we did was a Smart Lift facelift, and she also had a little bit of upper eyelid work too. You can see that it’s just a refreshed, nicer look. It’s not something where you’d say, ‘This woman had a facelift.’ You wouldn’t even notice that. And you can see, even with her hair pulled back, none of the incision sites are visible, and she just has a very natural look about her. I think the procedure is just wonderful.

It looks like maybe she lost weight, you know what I mean?

She looks like she lost weight, and she looks a lot younger too.

Yeah, she does. So, it can tighten the neck or even take some of that fat from your face.

Yes, it really sets to tighten the neck. That is the whole defining part of this procedure—it really gets this neck area and the jowl area right here, brings it all up and back, and really tightens that whole area. It’s really good for that.

Here’s another picture.

You can notice that she’s got a little less fullness at her lower neck area, underneath her chin. You can see that fullness she had there is now all gone, and she just has a more refreshed look. You can see how her neckline is now much more defined, and that’s really the nice thing about this procedure.

You can see her jawline now.

Yes, now she has a jawline. Many people come in and say, ‘I just want my jawline back.’

You mentioned the incisions. We can’t see them. Where are they?

The incisions are in front of the ear, they go inside the ear, and then they go back behind the ear and into the hairline. Most of the incisions are hidden in the ear, which is why people can go back to work pretty quickly. If they wear their hair down, they cover all the incisions, and the bruising is usually pretty minimal. Any small amount of bruising you might get can be covered up with some makeup.

Okay, very good. Did you want to mention this patient?

Yes, she also had a Smart Lift procedure, and you can see how well-defined that neckline is. It really makes a huge difference in people’s lives and their outlook on things.

How long do the results last?

They last about seven to ten years. It depends—everybody’s a little bit different. Some people are a little stretchier than others, so they might stretch out faster. It also has to do with smoking, weight gain, lifestyle—those all make a big difference in how long your Smart Lift is going to last.

But after those seven to ten years, is it okay to have another one?

Yes, it is okay. We don’t advocate going in there and doing it every couple of years—that’s not appropriate. There’s a limit to the number of times you can really do a procedure like that.

Here’s another one. We notice the neck now, right?

Right, you can see the jowl line and just behind the neck. You can see how that fullness is now gone. That’s usually a combination of a little bit of liposuction of the neck and also tightening of the neck.

So sometimes you do suggest combining some procedures?

Yes, sometimes we do. It’s sort of like decorating your house—you replace the couch, and now the drapes don’t look right. So, a lot of times, many of these things work together. We might do upper eyelids and a forehead lift with the neck tightening in the Smart Lift procedure. It all kind of works together.

What about the follow-up visit? You said you’re back to work in 10 days?

Yes, we like to see people within the first 24 hours, just to make sure everything’s doing okay. Then we see them about a week later, and then a week after that. So within two weeks to ten days, people are really out and about doing what they want to do.

Especially if they have a little bit longer hair.

Yes, they can cover all the incisions very easily. It works really well.

During that time at home, are you bandaged or strapped?

Sometimes we’ll put a little head strap on for the first week, but they can take it off if they need to go out and about after that.

Okay, it’s just kind of up to you, what you’re comfortable with?

Yes, it is up to them, what they’re comfortable with.

Okay, I think we covered a lot of it.

I think we did, too. The pictures are really great.

Thank you. It’s been great information, of course. That was Dr. Rhys Branman and the Cosmetic Surgery Center on Executive Center Drive, right off Shackleford. If you have any more questions, just give them a call—they’re so nice. Don’t you have Melinda there?

We do, she’s wonderful.

Oh my gosh, we love Melinda!

Yes, I love her too—she’s very sweet. It’s good to have you again.

Good to see you, too. You should give them a call if you need to and talk to Melinda.

Alright, coming up next, we’ll be back in just a little bit—over into the kitchen with Don Bingham from UCA. He’s got a plan to get us ready for Thanksgiving today with company carrots.”