How are male facelifts different?

How are male facelifts different than female facelifts?

To start, male facelifts involve dealing with the male facial hair.  The incisions for a male facelift must be made taking into account the movement of the hairbearing skin area.  The area in front of the ear must be carefully planned to maintain the sideburns while avoiding hairbearing skin be placed directly in front of the ear.  This involved changing the incision planning as well as removing the hair follicles in the areas directly in front of the ears.

Another important difference with male facelifts is the higher risk of bleeding.  This may be due to higher overall blood pressure or the tendency for male tissues to bleed more.  We account for this higher risk by taking a number of additional steps in male patients undergoing a facelift procedure:

1.  Preoperative Clonidine - Clonidine is an oral medication which controls blood pressure.  Taking this medication before the surgery decreases the male patient's blood pressure resulting in a lower risk for bleeding and hematomas.

2.  Tranexamic Acid (TXA) in the tumescent solution.  Tumescent solution is the fluid that is injected into the face at the time of a facelift to allow for less blood loss and pain control.  Adding TXA to the solution decreases the bleeding in the operative site at the time of surgery and thereafter.

3.  Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) - PRP is separated from the patient's blood before the surgery after a blood draw and is used to inject into the operative site at the time of surgery to decrease bleeding and enhance overall recovery.

Male patients often have aesthetic goals which are different than female patients.  Their main concerns often involve the neck contour and jawline with less concerns over cheek volume.  This means less fat grafting to the cheeks and more liposuction of the neck and jawline.  

Lastly, male patients often do better with facelift procedures under general anesthesia.  This puts them at less risk for elevated blood pressure and gives them a more comfortable overall experience.  Although we still offer male patients the option of doing the procedure under local anesthesia, we recommend general anesthesia for most patients.