Facelift Masterclass
Well what an amazing Masterclass it was in Weybridge, Surrey! There really was one of the best collection of Plastic Surgeons who were all experts in their chosen fields in and around Manchester, London and abroad so we covered a great deal of ground. The meeting was held in the beautiful Brooklands Spa hotel on the site of the former racetrack and we were lucky enough to visit the Mercedes museum and also race on the Mercedes test track with the racing experts. All good to get the pulse racing, the oxygen circulating and to set me up for learning new techniques!
Focus on Necks
The meeting was focused on dealing with the neck area and how the solution to a difficult neck issue is not always what you would think. The team demonstrated by using 3D modelling techniques that instead of needing to remove excess skin from the neck when it looks sagging and loose, it is actually sometimes necessary to have more skin in order to create a pleasing and tucked in appearance and it is by manipulating the tissues beneath the neck that add volume to the area. There is often excessive fatty tissue and a gland in the neck that drop down which all add to a fullness around that area which often gives a hanging and aged appearance. The good news is that by correcting these problems the neck can be vastly improved.
Upper and Lower Eyelifts
Dr Joshi is an Eye Surgeon based in London who gave a very clear and focused talk on how to perform the perfect upper and lower eyelift surgery (sometimes known as a Blepharoplasty). He demonstrated small and subtle tricks that can really improve the end result of this type of eye surgery and also supplied videos which showed how he approaches lower eye bags for lower eyelifts and how to raise the brow for upper eyelifts as well.
There was also an expert plastic surgeon from South America who was talking about how to use non surgical methods to produce enhancements in conjunction with cosmetic surgery. She demonstrated the use of Botox and fillers as well as chemical peels to produce modest enhancements in those patients who were unfit or not willing to undergo a full operation with a cosmetic surgeon and she pointed out subtle touches that can add to the look achieved after cosmetic surgery.
Niall Kirkpatrick is a craniofacial surgeon who presented some fascinating work on very complex cases that required extensive surgery to the bones of the face. This is sometimes necessary in congenital cases or in very severe complications. He also discussed the superiority of using fat transfer compared with fillers to plump up and rejuvenate the face area.
Eyebrow Lifts
The meeting ended with a look at cosmetic surgery of the brow area. This is a tricky area and there are many different approaches to lifting the brows. The most simple way is the use of Botox and then after that using the same incision as an upper blepharoplasty (upper eyelift) a lift can be achieved using endocrine hooks. These are fixed to the skull and then the brow is lifted in position. The most simple way to lift the brow is by performing a direct lift ie placing a scar above the brow and excising (removing) a small amount of skin. This gives the greatest control but can sometimes leave a scar that is visible but does seem to settle very well in the majority of cases.
New Cosmetic Surgery Techniques
Overall it was a first class meeting with a great faculty and I was fired up to use my new updated cosmetic surgery skills on my new patients so that they could achieve the subtly enhanced facial aesthetic improvements they were hoping to achieve.