Face Lift Plastic Surgery Information Resource for Southern California including Los Angeles, Orange County, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, and San Diego.
Facial Rejuvenation
CUSTOM LIFT®
PROCEDURES IN DETAIL
Upper Face Rejuvenation
Approach to the problem areas of the Upper Face.
The six most common concerns regarding the upper face are listed below. Remember, the entire concept of CustomLift® is to identify which of these problems are of concern to you AND the relative importance of each concern. With this information you can intelligently outline which procedures are best suited for you. Unfortunately, with time everyone will experience aging to ALL six areas but this does not mean that each area must be addressed at the same time.
1. Upper Eyelid.
The most common concern with the upper eyelid is excess skin. Fat excess is rarely a problem except in the Asian population. In fact, the upper eyelid region LOSSES fat with age and becomes hollow and gaunt. Sometimes, there is a little bulging fat pad right next to the nose. Aside from this all fat in the eyelids is precious and should be preserved. If this fat pad is present, it is located just above the corner of the eye near the bridge of the nose. This should be removed at the time of upper blepharoplasty surgery.
Animated Upper Eyelid Surgery
Scroll over the image to see the effects
of a skin removal from the upper eyelid.
Notice how the crease is more defined
and the eyes look more rested.
What does the Upper Blepharoplasty do?
CustomLift®'s approach to upper blepharoplasty is to remove the redundant skin to define the upper eyelid and give it a youthful appearance. In women, this creates an elegant, defined upper eyelid, which allows makeup to go on easily without smudging. The size of the upper eyelid is decided by the patient. Men, on the other hand, are usually looking for a less dramatic result. They do not tolerate an "operated-on" appearance.
How do I know if an Upper Blepharoplasty is right for me?
If your upper eyelid skin is loose and sagging you would most likely benefit from an upper blepharoplasty. Typically, this redundant skin can be easily pinched and feels "paper" thin.
Patient with significant excess skin and hollowing of the upper eyelid. Notice how rejuvenated the post-operative picture looks, without an "operated" appearance. |
 |
2. Temple Region, Outside Corner of the Eye and Crow's Feet
This is the area of the upper face that typically ages the quickest. Yet, it is often not addressed by the majority of plastic surgeons. The temple region is the outer part of the eyebrow and the outer corner of the eye. Elevating this area with a Temple Lift creates dramatic improvement in appearance. The nice thing about this procedure is that it can easily be done under local anesthesia with or without a blepharoplasty.
Animated Temple Lift
Scroll over the image to see the effects of
a temple lift. Notice rejuventaion of outer brow,
outer corner of the eye and crow's feet.
 |
Notice tired and hooded appearance of outer part of the eye and eyebrow. Notice the bright and elegant appearance after temple lift and upper blepharoplasty. |
What does the Temple Lift do?
The temple lift does several key things in terms of rejuvenating the upper face. It lifts the outer corner of the eye. This dramatically improves the lateral hooding of the eye that often makes you look sad even when you are not. It raises the outside part of the eye brow creating a very elegant look. In fact, it usually replaces a brow lift completely. It's effect is not to raise the central eyebrow, which can oftern can make you look older and surprised, but rather improve the shape.
| Correction of crow's feet with upper eyelid surgery and temple lift. |  |
How do I know if a Temple Lift is right for me?
In keeping with the CustomLift® approach, Dr. Cruise routinely performs both an upper blepharoplasty and a temple lift at the same time. This rejuvenates the entire upper facial region. Best of all, both can be easily done under local anesthesia without discomfort.
3. Brow
With aging and loss of facial volume, the brow routinely deflates and drops down. Sagging of the eyebrows is never uniform. The outer part of the brow almost always drops more than the inner part. Look in the mirror and see if this applies to you. If only the outer part of the eye brow has fallen then a temple lift is the best choice for correction.
If the entire brow has dropped, then a brow lift may be necessary. The word "may" is used because the CustomLift® approach prefers to correct the problem at its cause. Often the brow falls because the upper eyelid/brow area has lost significant fat.
 |
Example of one sided brow sag. Right brow corrected with brow lift. |
The loss of fat volume causes the brow to descend not because there is an excess of skin. It also causes the upper eye to look hollow. The best way to correct these problems is to perform a temple lift to raise the outer brow. Then, to replenish the lost volume with either fat or a soft tissue filler.
By correcting the cause of the problem, facial rejuvenation looks much more natural.
What does a Brow Lift do?
A traditional brow lift elevates both the inner and outer part of the brow. The temple lift, however, elevates only the outer part of the brow.
How do I know if a Brow Lift is right for me?
It is far more likely that you will need a temple lift before you need a brow lift. Remember, the goal is to make the brow look more youthful not just higher. The real question in the CustomLift® approach is whether or not you need a brow lift in addition to the temple lift. You can check this by first imitating a temple lift as described in the picture above. If the central part of the brow still seems low than a brow lift may be necessary.
Caution: A traditonal brow lift without a temple lift will create an older, hollow, surprised look.
Surprised Look.
As you can tell, I am much more enthusiastic about the temple lift than I am about the brow lift. This goes back to the CustomLift® principles which demand that the cause of the problem needs to be corrected. The temple area and outer brow fall much earlier and more significantly than the central and nasal part of the brow. Therefore, this is the area that should be addressed primarily. There are too many people walking around with an unnatural "surprised" look to their brow because their problem was not addressed at its root.
By correcting the cause of the problem, facial rejuvenation looks much more natural.
4. Hollow, Sunken Appearance of the Upper Eyelid
This topic is a perfect continuation of the brow area. As mentioned above, the brow often falls because the brow region and upper eyelid losses fat with age. Not only does this cause the brow to drop but it causes the upper eyelid to appear sunken and hollow.
Animated Fat Transfer to Upper Eyelid
Scroll over the image to see the effects of a fat
transfer
to upper eyelid.
Notice how the fat
replenishes
lost volume necessary for a
youthful appearance.
 |
Soft Tissue Filler correcting hollow upper eyelid. Notice the dramatic natural rejuvenation. |
Traditional cosmetic surgery principles would treat this problem with a tight upper blepharoplasty and a brow lift. This often leads to a hollow, surprised appearance that actually looks older. The CustomLift® approach treats this problem by replacing the lost volume with a soft tissue filler or fat which, after all, is the root cause. Excess skin is removed as necessary.
Young hollow looking eyelids that would benefit from extra volume.
The same eyes as above but filled in with soft tissue filler to give it more youthful, fuller look.
What are soft tissue fillers?
Soft tissue fillers are a myriad of injectable products that add volume. 
There are two distinctly different types to choose from. One type comes packaged and ready to inject. You most likely have heard of them by name, i.e. Restylane®, Juvéderm™ , Radiesse, etc. These last anywhere from 6 to 24 months. The other type is your own fat. Obviously, this fat needs to be removed from other parts of your body, purified, and then re-injected. The clear advantage of the packaged soft tissue filler is that it does not require a donor site and, therefore, is much simpler with less down time. The advantage of fat is that it lasts forever.
How do I know if I need a soft tissue filler for the upper eyelid?
This can be done by first simulating a temple lift with your index, middle and ring fingers. Now, look at your upper eye lid. Is it hollow? Does it look sunken? If so, a soft tissue filler will help tremendously. The good news is that it is relatively quick with minimal to no down time. A huge advantage of the packaged soft tissue fillers for the upper eye lid is that they last much longer here than they do in the lips or naso-labial folds. They can often last up to two years.
 |
 |
Soft Tissue Filler to the Upper Eyelid Region. |
|
5. Crow's Feet and Forehead Wrinkles
Wrinkles that are caused by facial animation are best corrected with Botox®. As mentioned earlier, crow's feet that are caused by excess skin can be removed by performing a temple lift. Crow's feet that only occur during smiling require Botox®.
 |
Static Crow's Feet corrected with Temple Lift |
Animated Wrinkles
Example of face at rest and dynamic wrinkles.
Those can be best addressed with BOTOX®
The results from Botox® often are amazing. It has essentially no down time. The obvious draw back is that it lasts only 4 to 5 months.
Putting it all together: How to decide which procedures are best for you.
Remember, the entire concept of the CustomLift® is to clearly define the problem areas and to prioritize what needs to be done. This is where your plastic surgeon's experience is absolutely critical.
The most common surgical combination I do for the upper face is the upper blepharoplasty combined with temple lift. These two go hand in hand especially for people in their forties and above. The nice thing about this combination is that it can easily be done under local anesthesia with minimal down time and predictable results.
Testimonial
Face Lift, Neck Lift,
Chin Implant, Eyelid
Surgery Video
I chose Dr. Cruise after 10 years of research... Dr. Cruise runs a very good office and people who work with him are very knowledgeable and helpful... I'm very very happy with the results. I should have done it 10 years ago.
Leah, 52
Facial Rejuvenation
Mid Face Rejuvenation>> |
|
Face Lift Cosmetic Surgery Information Resource for Southern California including Newport Beach, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Beverly Hills.