Rejuvenating the Aged Face

ABSTRACT

Nearly all of our procedures in cosmetic surgery have been developed for the aging face not for the aged one. For the aged, our standard techniques have their place, but by themselves are often insufficient. The aged face must be thought of differently from the aging face, as the anatomy is different, the motivation of the patient is different, and the results are different. Our goals and techniques must also be different.

We will present our combined experience of 50 years in rejuvenating the aging face, but will focus on those patients who have reached the end-stage of aging-when their face is as old as it is going to get. We will present our distinctions of the aged face (Fig. 1) and its anatomy. We will present what we have learned about the motivation of the old and the techniques that we have found most useful; being candid about what has worked and what has not.

From studying the extremes, we can learn much about the middle. Most of our patients are aging, not aged. Yet many times, there are extreme elements on aging faces that can be distinguished as aged. Many of the clinical examples shown here fall into this category. We hope that from among these distinctions at the aged extreme, individual surgeons will find useful additions to their surgical armamentaria.

Keywords

Aged face - facial rejuvenation - facelift