In 2001, 117,034 facelifts were performed on patients seeking a more youthful appearance. Men and women alike spend tens of thousands of dollars to reverse the ravages of time. Where facelifts do produce a younger look, in most cases scars both in front and behind the ears leave very prominent telltale signs of plastic surgery. Facelift scars have always been a dead giveaway for facial rejuvenation. Finally a solution is upon us. In June 2002, at the annual meeting of the California Society of Plastic Surgery, Dr. Renato Calabria, a Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon, presented a new procedure developed to drastically reduce facelift scarring.

According to Dr. Calabria, "Prior scarring may be genetic, yet it also occurs when an excessive amount of tension is placed on the scar." When a facelift is completed, the extra skin is pulled tight and cut off and the skin is sewn up in front or behind the ears. All of the tension is on that line of stitches leaving a thick ugly scar to form. With Dr. Calabria's Laserclosure procedure, instead of cutting off the excess skin at the closure line, he uses that piece to absorb all of the tension that would usually be placed on the scar, hence minimizing it greatly.

Dr. Calabria begins the procedure by marking off the excess skin behind the ear near the hairline. He then uses a CO2 Laser to excise the epidermis or top layer of skin, leaving the dermis fully intact. He uses that piece as a "handle" and buries it in a small pocket he makes underneath the skin. The pocket that holds this "handle" is invisible to the eye and carries all of the tension that would normally be placed on the apartine . "Consequently, tension is shifted away from the scar, leaving it to heal favorably. While a very light incision is visible, this procedure minimizes keloid and hypertropic scars from forming," explains Dr. Calabria.

Lately, many people have been shying away from facial rejuvenation for fear of scarring that may be worse then how he or she looked before surgery. Large thick scars can be unattractive as well as embarrassing for those who would like to keep their surgery a secret and count Mother Nature as blessing them with great genes. With Dr. Calabris's new "Laserclosure," scars may certainly improve.