Many prospective patients express reluctance to undergo facial plastic surgery because they are afraid of looking “scary” or “operated.”
For me, the most important goals with any cosmetic surgery are to create a youthful and rested look, and “turn back the clock,” while avoiding any telltale signs of surgery.
What are the telltale signs of surgery? Here are the most common:
1. On males, removing too much skin in upper eyelid surgery. This creates a “feminization” of the upper lids, something of which we’ve seen many examples. I take care to plan upper lid skin excision in men so as to create a natural un-operated look.
2. Poor planning of face lift incisions. It is important to preserve the hair in front of the ear in women, to place the scar behind the tragal cartilage of the ear, and to avoid lifting the earlobe so as to avoid a tethered “pixie ear” deformity after closure. I want my patients to be able to put their hair back and no one know that they have had surgery. Careful planning and closure of incisions make this possible.
3. In rhinoplasty surgery, most people want to achieve a natural looking nose. It is important to make changes so that the nose is improved but not appear “operated.” When reducing the bridge of the nose, I often point out to patients that we have to move the tip closer to the face to match the new bridge and avoid a “ski slope” shape. The tip can be refined with improved definition but it cannot look pinched or overly narrowed, as this is a giveaway that someone has had surgery.
