Concerns about secondary facelifts not being as effective as primary ones can be put to rest thanks to the results of a new study. The research, published in a recent issue of medical journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, confirms that taking another pass over the same territory will produce the same lasting results and low complication rates as the one that preceded it.
The retrospective study, undertaken by Dallas plastic surgeon, Dr. Rod J. Rohrich, reviewed facelifts performed on people between 1990 and 2010. The average age of the patients at the time of their primary procedures was 51.4 years; their average age at the time of their secondary procedures was 60.5.
It concluded that there is virtually no difference in the longevity or efficacy of primary and secondary facelifts.
The paper, entitled “A 20-Year Experience with Secondary Rhytidectomy: A Review of Technique, Longevity and Outcomes,” was designed to identify whether secondary facelift patients faced any conditions that are unique to their secondary procedures, and to evaluate the outcomes of both primary and secondary facelift surgeries.
In it, Rohrich defended the practice of secondary (and tertiary) rhytidectomies, pointing out that medical technology has advanced meaningfully in the last few decades. Patients who had their procedures performed prior to these developments, he contends, should be able to benefit from them, too. What’s more, he says, secondary facelifts — which he describes as more about “volumizing” than “lifting” — can correct the shortcomings of facelifts that employed older methods.