"Volume Restoration" Plastic Surgery & The New, Lighter Procedures

In the face, the aging process causes atrophy of the skin and underlying layers while the effects of gravity cause the facial tissues to droop in a vertical direction creating redundant skin and "jowls". The end result is an absolute loss of volume to the face and a relative shift of volume from certain areas of the face to other, less desirable areas such as the jaw line and the areas under the eyes. Traditional facelifts do not address the volume issue and, on the contrary, do exactly the opposite by taking tissue out. An example of this is seen in the usual lower eyelid procedures where, to improve the so called "bags" under the eyes, fat is removed. This approach may provide an initially improved look, but inevitably will deteriorate as time goes by into a hollow, skeletonized look as the patient ages and loses additional facial fat. Traditional facelift attempts to correct this problem by pulling the skin in a lateral direction produce the so called "swept back" look that is so obvious.

Basically, aging causes volume loss and the ultimate goal of facial rejuvenation should be to restore the lost volume. That is why the face of a pregnant woman looks so beautiful, it's the volume! That is also why older people who are slightly overweight look younger than a very thin person of the same age. (In this case at least, fat is good.)

To avoid the problem of too obvious cosmetic surgery, several new procedures have been developed: The AMR (fat pad release) for the lower eyelid allows the doctor to redrape the lower lid fat and stitch in place instead of removing the fat, creating a more harmonious look and avoiding that "hollow" that follows conventional eyelid surgery.

The Vertical Lift, by restoring volume in the upper face and reshaping the deeper facial tissues in a vertical direction offers a much more natural result. The procedure also eliminates any visible scars and offers significantly shorter recovery times, an important advantage for women and men who heed to get on with their busy schedules.

Dermal and fat grafting complement these procedures by adding volume in areas in need. "Volume Restoration" and the vertical lift are the new techniques that allow the physician to rejuvenate the face in a more natural way.