Westborough, MA facial plastic surgeon Min S. Ahn, MD specializes in rhinoplasties, facelifts, minilifts and necklifts, and this past year all four have been especially popular. Here’s what he’s seen, what’s shifted and what to consider before choosing any cosmetic surgery.
What is the most common demographic coming in for these procedures?
For rhinoplasty. the patients are young women and men between 16–35. For patients with concerns about their eyes, lower face and neck, the age range is 40–70. Most of these patients are still women, although more men are seeking to look fresher through surgery.
How do you see the past 18 months playing out in terms of popularity for interest in these procedures?
There has been a confluence of forces that make cosmetic surgery more popular. With the pandemic, people found it easier to recover because they were working from home and were wearing a mask. Also, people were seeing themselves more on video calls and, all of a sudden, didn’t like what they saw. In addition, they were not spending on other luxuries such as travel, dinner and entertainment, so they had more disposable income.
During the past year, have you seen a shift in more patients coming in wanting a facelift-necklift?
This has definitely become a more popular surgery! It’s more popular partly because the procedure is more effective and refined. The extended deep-plane facelift and plastysmaplasty for the neck create the most natural, beautiful results—without any of the telltale signs of plastic surgery.
How do these procedures work in conjunction (i.e., do you usually only perform a necklift with a facelift)?
It’s very uncommon to need just a necklift without a jowl lift (facelift) and vice versa. There are some patients who have always had that “family neck” or the “family jowls” who may only need a minilift or isolated neck lift, but it’s not common.
What is your number-one piece of advice you’d give to a prospective patient considering any of these procedures?
Have two-to-three consultations with surgeons who specialize in what you’re seeking, who do a lot of those procedures and who have been doing so for at least 10 –15 years. And make sure they do the deep-plane facelift!
