March 17, 2025 | Facelift
5 minute read
The last thing you want after investing in facial rejuvenation is for everyone to notice your surgery rather than your refreshed appearance. That’s why choosing a facial plastic surgeon experienced in advanced techniques like the Extended Deep Plane Facelift is so critical to achieving natural-looking, “undetectable” results.
In this blog, we’ll look at how the Extended Deep Plane Facelift works and what you can realistically expect in terms of recovery and results.
Benefits of an Extended Deep Plane Facelift
How do Extended Deep Plane Facelifts stand apart from traditional facelifts? Well, traditional facelifts mainly tighten your skin and pull on the muscles in the superficial muscular aponeurotic system (SMAS) layer.
Dr. Sean Delaney’s Extended Deep Plane Facelift, however, achieves comprehensive rejuvenation by accessing a deeper tissue level and skillfully releasing facial retaining ligaments. This advanced technique creates a more dramatic lift without the telltale tension and noticeable pull of traditional facelift results.
This advanced approach offers several advantages:
- Natural appearance: The Extended Deep Plane Facelift repositions the underlying SMAS rather than simply stretching skin, which creates a more natural look that friends and family can’t easily spot.
- Same recovery time: You’ll heal and be back to your regular routine in about three weeks—identical to traditional methods but with better, longer-lasting outcomes.
- Less visible scarring: Since this method releases facial ligaments instead of pulling the skin tight, your incisions have less tension and often heal with barely noticeable marks. Platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) is also incorporated to enhance healing.
- Lasting results: You’ll notice restored volume and rejuvenation across your cheeks and jawline, with results that last at least ten years, if not longer, with proper care.
Patients find the investment in this specialized facial procedure worthwhile, as the results are long-lasting and deeply rejuvenating.
Is There Scarring When You Get a Facelift?
Yes, all facelift procedures leave some scars because surgeons need to make incisions to access facial tissues. But don’t worry; these marks can be very subtle when a qualified facial plastic surgeon like Dr. Delaney or Dr. Kridel performs your procedure. Dr. Delaney and Dr. Kridel have published in scientific medical journals their “hidden incision” technique that results in virtually undetectable incision sites.
Extended Deep Plane Facelifts take an innovative approach to incision sites. During the procedure, incisions are made in natural creases of the face, in the hairline, and behind the ears. By releasing facial ligaments instead of stretching skin, there’s less tension on your incision sites after they are closed. This enhances healing and helps scars blend into the surrounding skin over time.
How to Reduce Facelift Scars
There are several approaches to minimize facelift scarring, but Dr. Delaney and Dr. Kridel are particularly proud of FPSA’s advanced PRP treatment. It has become such a game-changer for most patients—for good reason.
Powerful growth factors are derived from a small amount of the patient’s own blood. The PRP is then carefully injected into the incision areas before they are closed. With PRP therapy, most FPSA facelift patients experience less swelling and thinner scars that heal and fade quickly, making their results more natural-looking and subtle.
Recovery Is Key
The visibility of scars isn’t solely up to your surgeon. You play an important role in minimizing these marks. Here’s how what you can do to minimize facelift scars:
- Follow aftercare instructions: Clean and dress your incisions exactly as directed, and follow all other post-op guidelines as closely as possible to promote ideal healing.
- Avoid sun exposure: UV rays can darken healing tissue. Keep scars out of sunlight for at least a year and wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30.
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water to support skin regeneration and elasticity.
- Don’t smoke: Smoking restricts blood flow and slows healing, leading to worse scarring.
- Apply recommended products: Use prescribed ointments and silicone gel and/or sheets to flatten and fade scars.
If you notice unusual redness, increasing pain, or opening of your incisions, call Dr. Delaney or Dr. Kridel right away.
Why Your Choice of Surgeon Matters
Picking the right surgeon directly affects your facelift results. Dr. Delaney and Dr. Kridel are both facial plastic surgeons who understand facial anatomy at a deeper level. Their specialized knowledge, depth of training, and experience allow them to place incisions more precisely, preserve delicate nerve structures, and create tension in the right tissue layers.
Unlike general plastic surgeons, they focus exclusively on facial procedures, performing hundreds of facelifts yearly. This experience translates to more natural-looking results, faster healing, and less visible scarring.
Interested in Getting an Undetectable Facelift in Houston, TX?
Over the years, we’ve helped countless Houston patients turn back the clock without the obvious signs of surgery. With years of experience and technical skills, Dr. Sean Delaney and Dr. Russell Kridel create subtle changes that add up to remarkable and natural-looking results.
Want to find out what we can do for you? Give us a call at (713) 526-5665 or complete our online form to request a consultation.
