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Excellence and Experience, Working Together

Facelift surgery is the crown jewel of plastic surgery, consisting of procedures that require extensive experience, artistic vision and planning, and meticulous attention to detail. There are numerous tip-offs to facelift surgery, including but not restricted to, the obvious pulled “too tight” and “scary” appearance. After a properly performed facelift, a person should be able to sit comfortably next to someone with no discernable clue that surgery has been performed.

Dr. Shapiro, having been nationally recognized for his ability to consistently create naturalistic results, is honored to be included in Newsweek Magazine’s annual poll of the Top 100 Plastic Surgeons in the country. When you visit Shapiro Plastic Surgery, in other words, you’ll experience a level of care that comes with a well-earned reputation for excellence.

Dr. Shapiro - One of America's Best Plastic Surgeons 2022

Dr. Shapiro is proud to be ranked among Newsweek’s 2022 lineup of America’s Best Plastic Surgeons. Newsweek partnered with Statistic Inc., surveying over 2,000 healthcare professionals to discover the best plastic surgeons in the business. Dr. Shapiro was recognized for delivering among the most exquisite facelifts in the country, further adding to his robust credentials across the full spectrum of plastic surgery procedures.

Newsweek Award
Ear

Creating Your Ideal Results

Other tip-offs are avoidable alterations in the hairline, distortions of normal anatomy of the ear, and a “wind-swept” appearance to the cheeks. Current up-to-date facelift techniques no longer rely upon simply pulling the skin to achieve marvelous results, though many surgeons still use dated facelift techniques because they are quicker and easier to perform. In my opinion, however, they yield unsatisfactory results. You should hold your surgeon to the highest standard to spend the necessary time and effort with attention to detail to give you the best and most natural result possible. To evaluate facelifts, one must understand unaltered facial anatomy. Dr. Shapiro brings technical expertise, extensive training, and a deep aesthetic understanding of facial harmony to each and every facelift procedure.

The Natural Ear and Hairline

The first photograph is of a woman’s unaltered ear. Notice the subtle curves of the ear cartilage, the natural depression in front of the tragus and subsequent shadow, and the shape and angle of the earlobe. Also, notice the position of the temporal hairline in front of the ear and the post-auricular hairline behind the ear.

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Dr. Shapiro Showing Patient Their Results

Why Choose Shapiro Plastic Surgery?

Few plastic surgeons can offer the combination of extensive skill and national recognition the way Dr. Shapiro can. Having been recognized by Newsweek Magazine in their poll of the nation’s Top 100 Plastic Surgeons for the Facelift and Rhinoplasty procedures, Dr. Shapiro provides his patients with truly incredible results, dedicating the time it takes to deliver the full breadth of his mastery of plastic surgery. With a compassionate and empathetic approach to his work, Dr. Shapiro works closely alongside his patients to attain a deep understanding of their cosmetic aspirations, so that he might make them a reality.

Enhance Your Natural Beauty


Request a Consultation Before & After Photos
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Poor Surgical Results

Poor planning and execution of facelift surgery often distort normal anatomy leaving patients self-conscious and sorry about their choice of surgeons. Commonly visible scars, pulled earlobes, altered hairlines, and visibly unnatural directions of pull can be avoided with careful planning and execution in the operating room with strict utilization of techniques that avoid excessive tension on the skin.

I think it is of critical importance to be extremely precise and focused with regard to the details of facelift surgery, and subsequent results should speak for themselves. The photograph on the left labeled “Poor Surgical Result”, is of a patient referred to me after previous facelift surgery with many of the stigmata of poorly planned and performed facelift surgery.

Ear Infographic

Ear Infographic

Bad Surgical Results

The photograph on the left is of another facelift patient that was referred to me for evaluation after having facelift surgery in another state. She was unhappy with her result and very self-conscious about the appearance of her ears. She had to change her hairstyle to accommodate the shifts in her hairline and constantly monitored social situations to avoid embarrassment. These post-operative changes are the result of poorly designed and executed facelift techniques that rely upon undue tension on the skin and produce unsatisfactory results. Although it saves time for the surgeon, it is difficult to conceal these errors, leading to anxiety and humiliation for the patient.

Bad Facelift Results with Loss of Normal Hairline

With the ear pulled slightly forward, the same patient illustrates the loss of posterior hairline and very visible scars. Such results are due to a lack of meticulous detail that is mandatory in face lift surgery. Incisions should always be planned with a consideration of hairstyles and patient lifestyle in mind. The direction of incision placement should respect hair follicle growth. Dated techniques that rely solely upon pulling the skin to produce a surgical result will consistently produce inadequate surgical scars. These factors should be kept in mind when evaluating surgeons to perform your face lift surgery.

Neck Behind the Air

Inadequate Facelift Results

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The photograph on the left is of a woman who was referred to me for evaluation a few years after a very disappointing experience with a surgeon who performed a “conservative” facelift. She was told that the surgery would be comprehensive and performed rapidly and that she would look younger and more attractive. She liked her appearance initially after surgery but found as the swelling resolved over the next three to six months, that her eyes looked sad and hollow, and that her jowls and poorly defined jawline had already begun to return.

These changes seemed to be accentuated by the strange vertical lines of the pull of her neck that were more obvious when she tilted her head down. Now conscious of these changes, she noticed that some of her friends had the same characteristics in their facelifts. Distressed, she asked me why she looked the way she did after so little time after her original facelift surgery. I answered that an outdated “conservative” facelift technique was the source of her dissatisfaction.

Revising Inadequate Results on Facelifts

The photograph on the left is the same patient after I performed revisional facelift surgery. Her previous facelift surgeon simply took out fat where “needed” as in the eyes and possibly the jowls and neck, and pulled her skin to achieve a “tight” result. This technique, though still common, is simply outdated and achieves suboptimal results. The facelift that I subsequently performed elevated crucial facial fat to its intended position (to provide the voluptuousness of a youthful face), and kept it there by using the facial SMAS (the layer with the facial muscles and fat) for suspension. No tension was applied to the facial skin for tightness, hence these results are long-lasting, and in fact, look softer and more natural over time. By me doing more at the time of surgery, my patients look very natural, and much less like they have had surgery in the first place. This, to me, is the magic of facelift surgery. This patient was delighted with her results.

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Blending Post-Surgical Scars

Ears

The next group of photographs are of patients that I personally performed face lift surgery on. The scars blend with the normal anatomy of the ear and hairline, without tension or distortion. This enables any hairstyle to be worn, and allows patients to interact in social situations with ease and peace of mind. These details are time consuming, but to me, well worth the effort. I feel that this attention to detail is what helps achieve superlative results, and separates my face lifts from those performed by others. I consider it a true privilege to perform such surgery, and feel it is my responsibility to strive for the highest level of excellence in each patient.The photograph on the left is of a patient who I performed face lift surgery on approximately 10 months previously. She was very concerned before her surgery about being able to continue short hairstyles, and did not want family or friends to be aware, in any way, that she had undergone facial cosmetic surgery. The surgery still remains her secret.

This final photograph is of my surgical nurse Pat. She had undergone face lift surgery performed by me, and continues to be able to wear any hairstyle, with the confidence that no one can decipher that facial surgery has been performed. She travels throughout the country serving as an instructor in advanced injection techniques. Others assume that she is 15 years younger than her true age, and I believe this has given her a competitive advantage in that her youthful enthusiasm and disposition is matched by her external appearance. I believe that this confluence of youthfulness, beauty, maturity, and wisdom is the wonder of modern plastic surgery. For more before and afters, visit our gallery.

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