Skincare-News Experts Explain: Dr. Novick on Skin Care and Non-Surgical Facelifts

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) March 18, 2008 -- For anybody who is interested in the benefits of a facelift but doesn't want to go under the knife, there are other options. Skincare-News.com's latest article, "Non-Surgical Rejuvenation: Dr. Novick on Non-Surgical Nose Jobs (Part 2)" provides a detailed look at the non-surgical facelift. Dr. Nelson Lee Novick talks about the pros and cons of traditional facelifts and how the advent of the newest form of facelifiting--the "liquid facelift"--is minimizing risk and making the obvious signs of a facelift obsolete. http://www.skincare-news.com/experts.php?ExpID=10

SKN: Do you think traditional facelifts are a thing of the past that shouldn't be performed at all?

Dr. Novick: I'm not asserting that there's no place anymore for aggressive, surgical facelifting, technically known as "rhytidectomy" or "rhytidoplasty." For extreme cases of large jowls, excessively sagging and redundant skin (or too much skin) and deep furrows, the facelift remains an appropriate therapeutic option. But we now have the tools to parallel many of the benefits of facelifting without ever touching a scalpel to the face. We can even improve appearance in many ways that traditional surgery couldn't.

SKN: What kind of non-surgical technology has occurred in the last five years?

Dr. Novick: We've witnessed a literal explosion in the number of FDA-approved, injectable filling and volumizing agents in the U.S. - fillers for fine and moderate wrinkles and volumizers for correcting sunken areas, recontouring surface irregularities and restoring fullness to the skin. Along with Botox Cosmetic (not technically a filling agent, but certainly a premier injectable for improving all kinds of expression line, movement-related wrinkling), which received its FDA-approval in 2002, many non-collagen fillers and volumizers were introduced.

SKN: What kinds of fillers and volumizers?

Dr. Novick: These include hyaluronic acid products, such as Juvederm, Restylane, Hylaform, Captique and Elevess and volumizers, such as Radiesse and Sculptra. Unlike collagen, these substances, largely synthetically produced (with the exception of Hylaform which is derived from the cockscomb of roosters), didn't require any prior allergy testing. This meant a person could literally walk in off the street and be treated the same day. What's more, results lasted far longer, especially for the volumizers, whose benefits may persist between 12 to 24 months or even longer. For that reason, these substances are labeled as semi-permanent, rather than temporary filling materials.

SKN: Many women still opt for traditional facelifting. Do facelifts fix the aging concerns you mentioned?

Dr. Novick: A traditional surgical facelift, by simply pulling taut the skin may soften the lines around the nose and mouth and lift the jowls, but it does nothing to address the underlying volume loss and displacement. In fact, we so often saw people appearing "skeletonized" by the operation. They were left with unnaturally tight-looking skin that was a sure sign of "Oh, she's had a facelift."

Of course it goes without saying that true, surgical facelifts are real surgery entailing the risks of general or intravenous anesthesia, significant post-operative pain, bruising and swelling, prolonged recuperation times (two weeks out of work and several months before all swelling finally goes away), scarring and a considerable financial outlay. Contrary to popular belief, the benefits of facelift surgery aren't permanent. The surgery may be repeated only once or twice in a lifetime.

SKN: How does the procedure work exactly?

Dr. Novick: To minimize discomfort, the designated areas are "frozen" beforehand with a small amount of local anesthetic, usually lidocaine, a faster acting anesthetic than Novocaine traditionally used by dentists. Although I personally find it unnecessary, some doctors choose to employ a nerve block to anesthetize the larger branches of the nerves that supply the face, to supplement the local anesthetic.

Once the treatment area is numb, the volumizer or filler is injected and then molded like clay into place to correct the deformity or irregularity. The whole procedure usually takes only about thirty minutes to complete, and to the delight of the patient, in most cases, the results are immediate.

Afterward, you may experience some redness, mild swelling and tenderness, which may last one to three days. Occasionally, you may develop some bruising that can take several days to fade, but is easily covered with proper masking makeup.

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