15 Facts about Facial Plastic Surgery

Trevor Noah, host of TV’s The Daily Show, hosts a regular segment entitled “Ain’t No One Got Time for That.” Acknowledging how busy his audience is, he pares down news stories to their comedic essentials.

The concept inspired us to do take a similar approach for a discussion of facial plastic surgery, though without the comedy (ok, maybe a little).

3 Factoids about Plastic Surgery History

• It is generally agreed that physicians in India were the first to employ skin grafts to perform reconstructive surgery around 800 B.C.
• Plastic surgery doesn’t get its name from the use of plastic material. It comes to use from the Greek word plastikos,” says Dr George Marcells. “It means to mould or form.”
• The Queen Mary Hospital opened in 1917 in Australia. It was a six hundred bed hospital dedicated exclusively to plastic surgery, particularly facial plastic surgery for veterans injured in WWI.

8 Facial Rejuvenation Definitions

When people talk about facial plastic surgery, they may actually be talking about one of a variety of procedures:

• Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Surgery) – procedure to remove excess fat, skin, and muscle for the upper and/or lower eyelids

• Implant Surgery – placement of implants in the chin, cheeks, or jaw to improve prominence and or symmetry
• Lipoplasty – the removal of fat deposits using a cannula and suction
• Necklift – surgery to tighten muscles, remove excess fat, and re-drape neck skin
• Mentoplasty – surgery to enhance or reduce chin size
• Otoplasty (Ear Surgery) – procedure to correct the irregular shape, position, and/or size of ears
• Rhinoplasty – surgery on the nose for cosmetic or therapeutic reasons
• Rhytidectomy – facelift surgery to correct sagging skin, loss of tone, and wrinkles. “The deep plane face lift is considered the most advanced and difficult rhytidectomy,” reports Dr Marcells. “It is also considered the most beneficial.”

4 Important Facts about Facial Plastic Surgeons

The cosmetic industry in Australia “has been only lightly regulated,” reports The Guardian in its story Cosmetic Surgery Regulations Still Permit GPs to Perform Invasive Procedures. Therefore, when selecting a surgeon for facial plastic surgery, you should look for someone who (according to the Australasian Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery) has the following credentials:

• Trained in the specialties of ENT, head and neck surgery, or plastic surgery
• Is a fellow the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (or equivalent)
• Registered (or eligible to register) with the MBA (Medical Board of Australia)
• Have completed an AAFPS fellowships in the area of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

This last requirement brings up an important point. “Facial plastic surgeons need to be technically skilled, but also aesthetically astute,” says Dr Marcells. “One without the other is insufficient to achieve true success in facial rejuvenation.”

When You’re Ready for Facial Plastic Surgery, Take It Slow

Fast facts are one thing, but “No patient should ever rush into facial plastic surgery,” says Dr Marcells. “During a consultation, I take the time to get to know each patient, his/her unique physiology, and their goals.” If you’d like to learn more about surgical (or non-surgical) facial rejuvenation, we invite you to take the next step: schedule a consultation with Dr Marcells.