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Facial Rejuvenation-Surgical and Non-Surgical Options

TexomaCare-ENT and Cosmetic Surgery offers comprehensive care for a variety of conditions. Some ENT physicians are also trained in facial cosmetic surgery and perform a wide variety of cosmetic procedures to correct the effects of aging, sun damage and wrinkles.

If you are considering cosmetic surgery to repair skin damage due to aging, sun exposure or any other reason, you might want to explore all your options before deciding on an option for facial rejuvenation. 

Listen as Terry Yeung, DO discusses your surgical and non-surgical options for Facial Rejuvenation.
Facial Rejuvenation-Surgical and Non-Surgical Options
Featured Speaker:
Terry Yeung, DO
Dr. Terry Yeung is with TexomaCare-ENT and Cosmetic Surgery. He is fellowship trained in Full-Body Cosmetic Surgery and is Board Certified in Otolaryngology (ENT) and Head and Neck Surgery.


Transcription:
Facial Rejuvenation-Surgical and Non-Surgical Options

Melanie Cole (Host): Our face is one of the most distinguishing features on our entire body, however as we grow older, fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, and other signs of aging appear. Facial rejuvenation can mean different things to different people. My guest today is Dr. Terry Yeung. He’s board certified in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery and he’s a member of the medical staff at Texoma Medical Center. Welcome to the show, Dr. Yeung. I’d like to start by asking you what happens to facial bones and skin as we age?

Dr. Terry Yeung (Guest): Hi Melanie, thanks for having me. Well, as we age, the skin becomes thinner and with the effects of gravity, it descends. There are certain fat pads on the face, such as below your eyelids, and also in your cheek region, which sit nice and high in younger patients. However, with time they begin to sag as well, so what we’re seeing with age is a volume loss, a skin laxity and a descent of facial tissue.

Melanie: Then let’s start with some nonsurgical options for facial rejuvenation. What are some of the things that can be done? We all see those little wrinkles -- laugh lines, worry lines, whatever you’d like to call them -- what’s the first, best line of defense?

Dr. Yeung: Yeah, absolutely. There’s multiple areas where wrinkles tend to occur on the face, most commonly on the forehead, which are the horizontal lines. We also get the frowny lines right between your eyebrows, which are either horizontal or the vertical elevens. And the ones like you were alluding to -- the laughing lines, which are the crows feet -- which are to the side of the eyes when people smile or laugh. And then lines along the nose and the lips as well. What can be done? Well, Botulinum toxin, commonly known as BOTOX, is a neurotoxin that temporarily deactivates the facial muscles responsible for facial expression. Over time, as we age, overuse of these muscles to animate our faces leads to these wrinkles. Injecting BOTOX into specifically targeted muscles of the forehead, frown lines, around the eyes, kind of like I was discussing, will temporarily weaken those muscles and ultimately remove the wrinkles.

Melanie: How long does something like that generally last?

Dr. Yeung: Effects are typically three to four months. However, there are patients that will have longer lasting effects. It very much has to do with ones’ metabolism and can change from individual to individual.

Melanie: So, BOTOX would be something that people can start with. What else can be done to add volume to that aging face?

Dr. Yeung: The most commonly used dermal filler is composed of Hyaluronic Acid. Many different companies produce this. It’s actually a naturally occurring substance in the skin. It naturally produces nutrients, helps the skin retain moisture and softness, and ultimately, for our purposes restores volume. Injections are performed in the cheek area or the nasolabial folds area to help restore age-related volume loss. It can also correct the deeper moderate to severe facial wrinkles and injection around the lips, or the perioral area can also augment the lips or correct perioral lines.

Melanie: Dr. Yeung, as people are looking at this minimally invasive or nonsurgical options for facial rejuvenation, what about some surgical options? What are some signs that facial aging that might require a surgical intervention?

Dr. Yeung: That’s a good question. Excessive bulging, or laxity of the upper eyelid, can cause a very noticeable hooding of the upper eyelid, or actually can be severe enough to cause a loss of peripheral vision. That would be an indication for a surgical procedure to be done because there’s nothing in terms of a BOTOX or a filler that I could do to help that. In terms of other things, prominent nasolabial folds, which are the folds that run from your nose to the corner of your lip -- the sagging of your jaw or a droopy jaw line -- those are things that can be corrected mainly by surgery as well.

Melanie: And Dr. Yeung, what is a facelift? People hear about it. They see stars and people in the media having had them. What is an actual face-lift?

Dr. Yeung: A face-lift is a surgery performed on patients who have the complaint of a prominent nasolabial fold or sagging of the lower neck -- or sorry, the lower face or the upper neck or chin area. It is performed with an incision, which hides along the front and back of the ear on both sides and while excess skin is excised, the muscle layer beneath the skin is also tightened. This ultimately creates a smooth, youthful facial contour, which helps the overall facial complexion.

Melanie: Are there some circumstances when you would tell somebody, “No, I don’t think you should have a face-lift?”

Dr. Yeung: Certainly patients who are young, patients who have a significant amount of fine wrinkles, those are things that could be addressed by noninvasive procedures, but the prominent nasolabial fold and the sagging jaw line, those you’re not going to be able to fix with injectible fillers.

Melanie: And what about the chin and neck? People get worried as they get older, the wrinkles, or turkey neck or they get a double chin. Are there any surgical or nonsurgical procedures that can correct areas of the chin and neck?

Dr. Yeung: Absolutely. There’s actually a fairly new product on the market, which is composed of deoxycholic acid, which is actually a naturally occurring molecule in the body. This aids in the breakdown and absorption of dietary fat. This is a new FDA-Approved injection treatment that destroys fat cells under the chin to improve one’s profile. The result is a fairly noticeable reduction in chin fullness and ultimately it improves the profile of the chin.

Melanie: In just the last few minutes, Dr. Yeung, what should people that are considering facial rejuvenation think about when seeking care? What is the most important bits of information you like them to have before they consider these types of procedures?

Dr. Yeung: Well, I think one of the most important things is, to be honest with yourself, have realistic expectations. We all look at ourselves in the mirror every day and a lot of times our impression of ourselves may not be how we actually appear. Really isolating the areas that patients require treatment is good because that communicates with the physician the areas that should be a targeted. Also, for patients that spend a lot of time outdoors, I can’t stress this enough, sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen should be worn at all times and, once again a realistic expectation and a positive outlook is probably the most important advice I can give.

Melanie: And why should they come to Texoma Medical Center for their care?

Dr. Yeung: Well, we have a great staff. We have an excellent operating room facility, state-of-the-art, very advanced, very new, and we have a great staff. Everybody seems to have a great time and we work very well as a team so I would certainly give it a shot if I was a patient.

Melanie: Thank you, so much for being with us today. It’s really great information. You’re listening to “TMC Health Talk” with Texoma Medical Center. For more information, you can go to TexomaMedicalCenter.net, that’s TexomaMedicalCenter.net. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Texoma Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. Individual results may vary. There are risks associated with any surgical procedure. Talk with your Doctor about these risks to find out if cosmetic surgery is right for you. This is Melanie Cole, thanks, so much for listening.