Category: Facelifts

You’re Never Too Old for Plastic Surgery

Are you considering plastic surgery? If you’re in your 40s or 50s, you may wonder if you’re too old to undergo a procedure like a facelift or liposuction. While most plastic surgery procedures are performed on patients under 70 years of age, the patient’s overall health and medical conditions will ultimately determine if an individual is suited for plastic surgery.

In fact, a 73-year-old woman from England recently underwent a facelift, neck lift, and a breast augmentation to improve the attractiveness of her face and body.

“I have friends my age who dress much more conservatively than me who say, ‘I wish I could wear what you do.’ There’s nothing stopping them though – it’s just all in their head. Just because I’m in my eighth decade, I don’t see why I should fade into the background.”

The retired secretary also joined the dating site, Match.com. Receiving several inquiries from men in their 30s and 40s (she’s respectfully turned them down), she felt very flattered that her new appearance was able to attract younger men. Aside from loving the way she looks physically, she says:

“There is nothing wrong with a little bit of nip and tuck to keep myself looking as young as I feel.”

Ms. Pesch proves that if your health is good and you’re free of any serious medical conditions, age plays a smaller role than once thought.

If you desire to undergo surgery and want to know if you’re a candidate, we encourage you to contact our Orange County practice by calling (888) 401-2806 or by filling out our online contact form. As a board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Robert Wald looks forward to helping you achieve your aesthetic goals.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2015 at 12:14 am and is filed under Body Procedures, Breast Enhancement, Facelifts, Liposuction.

Erasing Lines around Mouth and Eyes with Minimal Redness

Every day patients come into my office complaining of wrinkles around their mouth and eyelids. Most of these patients have tried numerous creams and ointments without success and have spent hundreds of dollars for these products.  Certainly, these people have bought these products because of good advertisement.

Over the years, I have tried a number of techniques to improve these wrinkles.  This has included dermabrasion, laser therapy and fillers.  While all these modalities work, there are downsides to  each of these therapies.  With fillers, they are only temporary.  With dermabrasion and CO2 lasers, there is prolonged redness and long healing.

Recently, I have been working with the Sciton Erbium laser.  I have found this laser to be extremely effective with minimal redness and fast healing.  This laser can reverse the effects of sun damage that cause wrinkling, sun spots and tired appearing skin.  With this laser, physicians  can control the ablation and coagulation depth for either light or deep peels and restore a healthy look to the skin.

There are 2 approaches to resurfacing: Full field and fractional.  In full field resurfacing, the entire surface areas of the skin is treated. A laser beam is scanned over the treated area and precisely removes a layer of skin.  The body will eventually replace the old, damaged skin that was removed, with a fresh, healthy layer.  Treatments can range from shallow to deep depending on the patients extent of wrinkling and texture problems.

In fractional resurfacing, the laser removes pinpoint columns of skin, leaving the surrounding tissue intact.  This approach allows the laser to penetrate very deeply for effective collagen remodeling, while the surrounding and intact tissue promotes rapid healing.

By combining these two modalities, the results in my patients are greatly improved.  Depending on the patients desires, 1 day or a week of redness is involved to achieve the desired results.

Please contact our office with any questions or concerns, or to schedule a complimentary consultation, 714-738-4282.

Robert M. Wald, Jr., MD
The Aesthetic Institute

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2012 at 10:41 pm and is filed under Facelifts, Skin Care, Wrinkle Reduction.

Minimal Scar Facelift Under Local Anesthesia

Over the last 2 years, I have been performing a minimal scar facelift under local anesthesia.  Prior to this time, I had performed this surgery under general anesthesia or heavy intravenous sedation.  I started performing this surgery  in this manner after a number of my patients were requesting less anesthesia.  The patient is given Valium by mouth 1 hour prior to surgery.  Even though the patient is awake, I have found that the patient experiences minimal discomfort.

Following surgery, there is some bruising and swelling.  Most of my patients can return to work in 1 week.  The pain following this surgery is minimal since the sensory nerves of the face are bruised and don’t return for several weeks.  The patient must sleep upright with the head elevated for 1 week.  No heavy exercise can be done for  3 weeks following the surgery.

Unfortunately, none of us are getting younger.  While fillers and Botox are good temporary ways to enhance our appearance, nothing works better for facial rejuvenation then surgery.  When considering the excellent results and the minimal downtime with this procedure, I highly suggest to patients that they consider this type of surgery under local anesthetic.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 6th, 2012 at 7:09 pm and is filed under Facelifts.

Non Surgical Facial Rejuvenation

Lasers generate a concentrated stream of bright, pulsed light that can be used to help correct a variety of skin conditions. While some laser treatments result in complete skin resurfacing, others only help diminish fine wrinkles and discoloration. Lasers can penetrate deeply into the skin and promote reorganization of collagen, which helps diminish wrinkles and improve skin tone. They also have somewhat of a tightening effect, which can aid skin tone and appearance.
Although lasers are an effective method of facial rejuvenation, laser treatments are not a substitute for surgical procedures such as a facelift.  Laser peels can provide significant and long lasting improvement of sun damaged, unevenly pigmented or coarsely wrinkled facial skin. Peels can be performed with superficial or deep lasers. They may be used on the entire face or on a limited area, such as the vertical wrinkles around the mouth. Carbon dioxide lasers are generally the strongest and may be recommended for fair skin, severe sun damage, and deep wrinkles.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 21st, 2012 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Facelifts, Skin Care.

Non-Surgical Facelift Using Fillers and Botox

When a woman does not want to undergo surgery, fillers (Restylane, Juvaderm, fat) and Botox in combination can produce a youthful improvement to the face. Fillers can be used to add volume to the periorbital area, temporal area,  nasolabial folds, and jawline. Botox is used to remove the wrinkles in the forehead, upper nose and eyelid By combining these products at one time, a distinctive improvement in facial appearance occurs. A patient must realize these effects are not permanent and re-injections will be required every six to twelve months depending on the product used.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012 at 7:22 pm and is filed under BOTOX® Cosmetic, Facelifts, Wrinkle Reduction.