Facelift advice passes between friends, coworkers and neighbors, and some of it holds up better than the rest. For Friendswood residents starting to read about facial surgery, the published guidance of a Houston-area plastic surgery practice offers a useful way to test the common beliefs against what surgeons describe.
Leo Lapuerta, MD, FACS, a triple board-certified plastic surgeon with more than 30 years of experience, publishes a detailed guide to facelift surgery for Friendswood patients. Four familiar beliefs follow, each checked against his practice’s guidance.
Myth: a facelift fixes the whole face
A facelift, or rhytidectomy, works on the lower face and neck. It lifts deeper tissues, tightens the support layer beneath the skin and removes excess skin. The practice lists sagging along the jawline, jowls, loose skin in the lower cheeks, deep nasolabial folds and excess skin under the chin among the concerns it treats.
The forehead and the eyes sit outside that zone. Dr. Lapuerta’s practice lists brow lift, neck lift, lip lift and rhinoplasty as separate procedures, and names eyelid surgery and fat transfer as common facelift companions. A facelift also does not erase sun pigment, etched lines or volume loss on its own.
Myth: a tighter pull gives a better result
The practice describes the logic of the operation in plain terms: support what has dropped, remove what is excessive and preserve what still looks like the patient. After the deeper support is restored, the surgeon removes excess skin so the remaining skin can drape over it. The practice’s own wording is direct: the point is not to pull hard.
Techniques differ in how deep they go. A SMAS facelift addresses the support layer beneath the skin, which helps avoid a surface-pulled look. A deep plane facelift releases and repositions deeper tissues as a unit. The right depth depends on the anatomy, and a deeper method suits some faces and not others.
Myth: there is a right age for a facelift
The practice’s answer is that no ideal age exists. Timing depends on the visible signs of aging, skin elasticity, facial structure and the degree of correction needed. Some patients with early jowling may suit a mini facelift, which the practice describes as best for earlier facial aging and unsuited to significant excess skin.
Candidacy has other conditions. The practice looks for realistic expectations about scars, downtime and recovery, and a medical history that supports elective surgery. Poor skin quality that could affect healing, or a wish for zero downtime, can point toward a different plan.
Myth: a facelift stops the clock
Aging continues after surgery. The practice states that a facelift does not stop the aging process but can reset it, and that no fixed number applies to how long results last. Longevity depends on skin elasticity, skin quality, weight stability, sun exposure and the technique used.
Recovery is also more manageable than the folklore suggests, though it takes patience. Swelling and bruising peak in the first few days, and the practice lists a recovery time of two to three weeks. Tightness, soreness and numbness are more common than severe pain. Like any operation, a facelift carries risks that a surgeon should explain before a patient commits.
Offices and logistics for Friendswood patients
For Friendswood patients, the practice lists offices in Houston, Katy, Pearland and Piney Point, and patients choose the one most convenient for them. Surgery takes place in a QuadA (AAAASF) accredited facility that Dr. Lapuerta owns and operates, which the practice describes as dedicated solely to plastic surgery. He works only with physician anesthesiologists.
The practice also sets out the logistics of surgery day. Patients spend time in recovery until they are awake and ready to go home, and they need a driver, who waits in a private room during the procedure. Afterward, staff escort the patient out a private door to the waiting car.
Dr. Lapuerta’s recognitions include Living Magazine Best Plastic Surgeon and Best Place for Botox in multiple years, in the Houston and Pearland/Friendswood editions, and Houstonia Magazine has named him a Top Houston Plastic Surgeon in multiple years. For a patient sorting fact from folklore, his practice offers more than 3,000 before-and-after images to review during consultation.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Results vary from patient to patient. Consult a board-certified plastic surgeon or your physician about your own situation. Written in partnership with Joseph Lambert, a publicist working with Leo Lapuerta, MD Plastic Surgery.