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Endoscopic Facelifts

When you picture plastic surgery, do you think about all the images from television shows? The bloody cut open bodies, the faces with bandages? Well, the newest technologies that surgeons are working on hope to eliminate some of that blood and guts imagery with fewer cuts and less blood loss.

One of the types of surgery that is often a bit gory is the facelift. In a traditional facelift the surgeon actually has to pull skin off of the patient’s face, in order to get to the tissues that are underneath the skin. These tissues must then be manipulated, all through a large incision along the patient’s hairline.

More recent techniques have allowed surgeons to perform facelifts in steps - requiring less dramatic cuts, and also less scarring and recovery time. There are also different types of facelifts available these days - lifts that center on specific parts of the face and working on specific wrinkled areas.

All of these facelifts, however, do require extensive cutting and removal of tissues, as well as large scale manipulation of tissue and possibly loss of blood. While this in itself is not necessarily dangerous or bad, there are other ways to perform facelifts that are being developed.

The endoscopic facelift is being developed as we speak, so that doctors can perform both full facelifts and mini facelifts without the extensive cutting required today. This facelift is not like facelifts performed today in that it uses instruments that are placed under the skin through tiny cuts.

These instruments, along with a camera so that the doctor can see what he or she is doing, perform the work that would normally be done during a facelift. They manipulate and cut the underlying tissues, suturing them in place. Less blood can be lost, and less scarring takes place due to smaller cuts.

While this may seem like a perfect way to get a facelift, it is far from it, at least for now. Not every patient is a candidate for endoscopic facelift, and not every surgeon is trained in performing endoscopic facelifts. You will probably have to hunt around a bit before you find a surgeon who is.

You will also have to be prepared for the fact that your surgeon may need to cut you open and switch to a regular facelift in the middle of the procedure - endoscopic facelifts are far from perfect, and sometimes the tools do not work and you will need to have a regular facelift to assure success.

In all, endoscopic facelifts are still being perfected. They are a good alternative if you have other health issues that might make having a regular facelift a problem - such as a bleeding issue, or if you have problems with scarring. In any case, be sure to talk to your plastic surgeon about this option.

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• Getting a Mini Facelift

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