Facial Contouring

A chiselled face is the cynosure of all eyes, a desire everyone nurtures. But the unrelenting stamp of time wipes off these desires. With the advent of modern plastic surgical techniques, the inexorable march of time can be halted or even reversed, at least temporarily. This is because plastic surgeons have carefully studied the 'why and how' of age-related changes in the human face and crafted ideas and operations to counter these processes.

Gravity causes a lot of damage by gradually pulling down eyelids and cheeks. Loss of fat pads under the cheeks causes drooping with age. Loss of muscle tone and skin elasticity leads to wrinkles. Sun and weather changes cause damage to the skin. For each of these, there are various measures available to help them treat the problem. Surgical correction of baggy eyelids with blepharoplasty, fat grafting to restore a youthful appearance, facelift, mid facelift are some of the procedures used for face contouring. Correction of thick lips by lip reduction and creation of permanent pout with an operation under local anaesthesia, a chin implant to improve jaw contour, and genioplasty to reduce excessively projecting chin are some examples of facial contouring procedures.

For those who are wary of going under the knife, many options are available, including fillers, contouring with neurotoxins, HIFU, and radiofrequency for tightening of the loose skin. A thread lift is a semi-operative procedure performed in operation theatre through tiny holes and cuts. It can give good results that last for a reasonable length of time.

Semi-invasive techniques can also result in stunning differences for anywhere between 6 months to one year; many prefer to go for these semi-invasive or non-invasive treatments on their D-day like daughter's wedding or their own anniversary other important occasions where they want to look their best. These procedures' safety has increased over the years provided when these surgeries are undertaken by a qualified plastic surgeon or a skin specialist.

Newer techniques used to transfer patients' own fat for filling in areas of the face that have deflated due to aging are very promising; they avert the need for repeated treatments by injectables.

The options for facial contouring were never so abundantly plentiful.

One can choose as per their need, as long as a qualified plastic surgeon performs the procedure after a detailed discussion about each procedure's positive and negative aspects to suit the expectations and the needs of the patient.