Don’t worry. It took us plastic surgeons decades to understand what makes us look old and tired. For years, we thought it was only gravity, but we soon realised that facelifts, which pull skin and soft tissues upwards, didn’t always make our patients look younger – just tight and pulled.
Then in the early 1990s, we realised the key element was deflation or volume loss. From our mid-20s, we begin to lose bone from our facial skeleton, especially around the eye sockets, the side of the nose and the cheekbones.
In our 30s and 40s, the soft tissue also begins to diminish and slacken, causing certain supporting muscles to become more active (thus creating wrinkles).
In our 50s to 70s, these factors gather momentum resulting in the typical features of the older (shrunken) face.
“I am 33, single and lead a fast-paced life. Recently my friends say my face looks tired and haggard. I have been staring at the mirror but can’t actually figure out what is making me look older.”
Take the original Charlie’s Angels, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd. They all looked gorgeous when young. Now 20 years on, Jaclyn and Cheryl still look great, but Farrah has aged considerably. The reason – cheekbones! Farrah never had big cheekbones to start with and as she aged, this accentuated the natural deflation of her soft tissues. The high cheekbones of the other two allowed them to age more gracefully.
Young faces have a smooth convex contour from the lower eyelash margin over the cheekbones and down to the upper lip. As we age and deflate, this contour breaks up into a series of unflattering bulges and hollows. The earliest sign of ageing is a thumb sized depression just under the eyes. It gives us a pinched, tired, washed-out look, and draws attention to the eyebags, another marker of early ageing.
Thankfully, there are various treatment options which help fix problems easily.
The simplest technique of injecting a Hyaluronic Acid (HA) filler directly into the depressed area, plumping it up and restoring the youthful convexity of the cheeks and mid face. The results are temporary. Fat injections: Fat is harvested from another part of the body, processed and then injected into the hollows. It can last longer than synthetic fillers, but the results are unpredictable and annoying lumping and clumping of the fat may occur.
The fat of eyebags is surgically pushed downwards to fill out the mid-face hollow. A great deal of skill and experience is required of your surgeon as complications can occur. In the right patient, the results are lovely.
A superb technique for permanently restoring the fullness of the cheekbones and mid face. However, it is an operation with downtime and bruising, and implants come in fixed sizes so there is less flexibility.
Anti-PTOSis (“against gravity”) is the latest rejuvenation technique. Under local anaesthesia, a long needle is pushed into the face area and a specially-designed thread with small barbs is passed through into the tissues. The needle is removed, the thread tightened, lifting the sagging tissues. It takes 30 minutes, swelling is minimal, and patients are back to work within 48 hours. It is ideal for younger patients who want to look fresher, but are not ready for a full facelift.
“I hate the way my face is so saggy, my jawline looks bad and my neck hangs down with extra folds. I feel so old. What procedure can help me?”
Whilst non surgical techniques such as BOTOX and FILLERS have improved tremendously oer the last 20 years, such that we can slow down the signs of aging, there comes a time when the effects of aging are too severe and we have to resort to a traditional surgical facelift to achieve the desired result.
Most people as they age want to look fresh, vibrant and sharp looking. Above all they want a tight, lifted midface and a smooth youthful jawline and neck, without jowling. In such cases a surgical Facelift may be the correct procedure that will give the results you are looking for and that will last up to 7-10 years.
First and foremost is the assessment. If the facial skin has lost its tone, volume and elasticity and the neck is hanging down in unsightly folds, BOTOX, FILLERS AND THREADLIFTS will not help anymore. We need to lift things back into their original position and to hold it there. This means cutting off excess skin and soft tissue.
There are many different styles and variations of a facelift. You will hear of terms like SMAS facelift, High Lateral SMAS Lift, Deep Plane lift, Subperiosteal Lift, Endoscopic Lift, Short scar Lift, Long scar Lift, Concentric Lift etc. Don’t get confused. Let your surgeon guide you through these different techniques. There is no “one size that fits all”. Each of us is specialised in our own way.
My favorite procedure is the High Lateral SMAS Lift with either a Short or a Long scar depending on how much skin you have. In my hands I have better control and predictability using this technique as I have been performing it since the early 90’s.
A short scar technique refers to a very short scar made just in front of and slightly behind the ear in order to perform the facelift. This is useful for younger patients who have some sagging but not a lot of excess skin.
A long scar technique is one where the incision for the facelift may extend from above the sideburns down to and around the ear and then for a certain length into the posterior hairline. So it is much longer. We will only do what is necessary.
Although in private practice for 20 years, Dr Wu retains his passion for cleft lip and palate surgery and continues to operate on primary and secondary cases. He specialises in performing Rhinoplasties and Lip revisions in patients with residual deformities or asymmetries who have now achieved adulthood.
He has performed and demonstrated cleft lip surgery operations in Indonesia, Timor, Myanmar and China.
He is currently the Honorary Head of the Dept of Plastic Surgery at the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital in Hangzhou, China and volunteers his time to the annual
Think of plastic surgery in Asia and one name immediately springs to mind – Dr Woffles Wu!
This innovative and exciting plastic surgeon from Singapore has for years been the name on the lips of men and women seeking aesthetic perfection. Armed with an impeccable eye for beauty, balance and harmony Dr Wu, dubbed Asia’s Beauty Guru by the Hongkong press has reinvented and promoted the concept of Non Surgical Facial Rejuvenation (NSFR). He is today one of the most sought after speakers around the world on this topic demonstrating his combination of Injectables, Fillers, IPL Photorejuvenation and his invention, the WOFFLES LIFT to achieve facial rejuvenation without downtime.
Our friendly team is looking forward to serving you. For urgent enquiries and appointment requests, please call the clinic directly.
