oPiNioN | fACIAL rejuveNATIoN |


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celebrities such as Madonna, demi Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, Liz hurley and


STEVEN B. HOPPING is Past President of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and Director of the Center for Cosmetic Surgery in Washington, DC email: hoppingmd@msn.com


Naomi Campbell have in common? they have all undergone facial rejuvenation with lifting and plumping using their own fat cells. No longer are facelifts focused on just lifting, but the new approach is ‘less lifting and more filling’. this results in a more natural, more youthful, and longer-lasting rejuvenation. The much better facelift results are directly related to this new concept of


Figure 1 Less aggressive skin incision needed when filling, but more natural results can be achieved 56 ❚ October 2011 | prime-journal.com the new Soft and Safe


Steven Hopping believes that the ‘Soft Lift’ offers a novel approach to rival traditional facelift procedures


‘soft filling’. We now fill the volume in our faces that have been lost through the ageing process with stem cell-enriched fat or implants, and then do a more conservative lifting procedure (Figure 1). After a Soft Lift, patients look fresher,


and they look younger. They do not look ‘done’; cosmetic surgery should ‘whisper, not scream’. Most patients are looking for enhancements rather than extreme makeovers. In Washington D.C., facelifts have increased 14% this year and much of this popularity is because of the more natural result that we are able to achieve with the ‘Soft Lift’ techniques (Figure 2). The midface, and particularly the area


from the corners of the mouth to the corners of the eye, is the focus of most of the filling since this is the area that we first begin to lose youthfulness in our faces. These procedures can be done as an outpatient, under local or sedation anaesthesia, and recovery is usually between 7 and 10 days. Not only are the results better and recovery faster, but the risks are significantly less.


The procedure Many patients are concerned about the risks of general anaesthesia and wonder whether the procedure can be performed under local or with sedation anaesthesia. Most patients will choose sedation


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