COSMETIC FACIAL SURGERY
Whether your surgery is to cosmetically enhance the shape of your face, improve a gummy smile, or remove unwanted fat around your chin and neck, why trust anyone but an expert surgeon.
Cosmetic Facial Surgery
The skin over the face is analogous to a drape. The shape of the face is determined by the underlying skeletal framework. This framework is less pronounced in some individuals, giving them the appearance of a flattened face or a small, retruded chin. Dr. Hardy and Dr. Andelin are able to add facial implants to the facial skeleton to accentuate the areas of the cheekbone, chin, nose, and angle of the lower jaw. By performing these skeletal augmentations, they are able to redrape and tighten the skin of the face. This provides a more healthy and youthful appearance without the need for a more extensive face lift surgery. The surgery is performed from within the mouth with no visual scars. Immediate results are evident.
Orthognathic surgery—surgery that involves manipulation of facial structures to reposition the jaw—requires intimate knowledge of facial anatomy. This surgery corrects and balances the face, for example to correct a chin that is weak or prominent, or improve a gummy smile. Because it involves moving the facial skeleton from small incisions inside the mouth, the expertise that a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon brings benefits our patients when treating them for cosmetic needs. Orthognathic surgery is considered major surgery and generally requires one night in the hospital and 2–4 weeks of healing and recovery before returning to work.
Facial Liposuction
Some individuals find that no matter how much they exercise or diet, they cannot get rid of the fat underneath the chin and neck. In young individuals, we have found that liposuction can safely and effectively eliminate these reservoirs of fat. The procedure is performed in the office with sedation or general anesthesia. Slight bruising and swelling of the area should be anticipated, which can last for a week or longer. In more mature patients, liposuction, along with a modified neck lift or chin implant, can restore the healthy and youthful look without the need for more extensive face lift surgery. All patients are evaluated prior to surgery and computer-assisted digital imaging is used to simulate after-surgical results.