By Dr. Philip Solomon & Nancie Heiber
Aesthetic medicine is always evolving; trends come, some stay, and some go. To discuss the most recent shift, we checked in with Dr. Philip Solomon, MD, FRCSC, Otolaryngologist Head and Neck Surgeon, practising in Facial Plastic Surgery. More people are opting for facelift surgery in lieu of non-surgical treatments such as filler, Botox and energy devices to reverse or mitigate decades of aging.
These “anti-aging” treatments are used in hopes of delaying surgical intervention. “While they can help slow down the aging process or lessen the appearance of aging, nothing comes close to replacing the facelift,” says Dr. Solomon.
He points out that facelift surgery used to be considered exclusive to an older demographic or was assumed to be available only to the upper echelon of society, associated with movie stars or the very wealthy of a certain age. “Today, facelifts are sought out by people from a larger demographic and socioeconomic background, many of whom are younger, in the early stages of aging,” Dr. Solomon says. “While we see a broad range of both men and women ranging in age from their mid-40s to mid-70s, a significant portion of my practice is in their late 40s to early 50s and simply want to look their best without skipping a beat.”
Patients have also become aware that while filler is a great tool, its results are more limited and can distort the face, causing a “pillow face” effect when overused. Facelift surgery allows patients to restore their youthful appearance without the yo-yo effect, where one ages over the course of decades, then radically improves their appearance with facelift surgery, and returns to looking youthful.
“Facelift surgery is without a doubt the most transformative anti-aging procedure available,” says Dr. Solomon. “Facelifts have been around for decades. However, previously, this surgery may have left tell-tale signs of an ‘overdone or operated’ appearance that may have turned people off. Nowadays, and depending on the expertise of the surgeon, more advanced techniques can achieve more natural and quite outstanding results.”
Dr. Solomon says his job is to execute a facelift that eliminates the obvious signs of aging—including drooping jowls, lack of neck definition, and a deflated mid-face—that can make a person look older. “We aren’t changing one’s looks; we are reversing what has transpired as a result of the natural aging process. We are enhancing one’s natural beauty, reflective of how they looked 10 to 20 years ago.”
Dr. Solomon specializes in the deep plane facelift at his uptown private surgical facility, The Solomon Nasal and Facial Plastic Surgery Centre. “I have found that since I have added the deep plane facelift technique in the last decade of my practice, my patients’ results are better than ever. It is rare that I will perform a facelift now without performing a deep plane technique. We also offer a mini deep plane facelift to address our younger demographic who want to address the mid-face and jawline and don’t need as much work on the neck.”
According to Dr. Solomon, a facelift is the gold standard of treatment for the aging face. “That being said, it doesn’t fix everything and non-surgical treatments still have a place in cosmetic medicine to soften wrinkles, volumize the face and improve skin quality. Many of our patients include laser resurfacing to address skin tone and texture, facial fat grafting or filler to address volume loss and further enhance the facelift outcome,” he says.
Dr. Solomon’s theory is that one plus one plus one equals 10, meaning one procedure alone will not be the only solution. “By combining multiple modalities, we can often reach a 10.” It’s a formula. And it’s a formula that Dr. Solomon knows well.