So, you’re looking at your mature face and thinking, “Gee, a little nip or tuck would be perfect right now—maybe here, maybe there.”
I know that not everyone who reads Mind Your Body TV is a fan of or believer in plastic surgery. If you are, allow me to share what I’ve learned about the “Boomer Lift” performed by Kirk Brandow, M.D., in Philadelphia and on the Jersey Shore. He’s done more than a few facelifts in his 23 years of practice, and vows that this lift is “less expensive and invasive, with less downtime” than a traditional facelift.
Note: I am not endorsing, nor have I had, the Boomer Lift.
Dr. Brandow trained in Brazil with the famous Dr. Ivo Pitanguy, who, according to Patients Without Borders, is “considered a founding father of plastic surgery” and “established his world-famous clinic in 1963 after first studying in the U.S. and England.”
Father of plastic surgery
A “regular” facelift requires an incision that may begin in the hairline at the temples, continue around the ear and end in the lower scalp, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
“Many women don’t want to say they’re having a ‘facelift,’” Dr. Brandow says. So when they complain about:
1) loose neck, jowl (under-chin) and jawline skin—even if they’ve previously had a regular facelift
or
2) not wanting a scar in front of the ear,
Dr. Brandow suggests the Boomer Lift, “a more targeted and customized approach.” The Boomer Lift consists of just two small incisions—one under the chin to close the gap in the muscles that support the neck, and another indiscernible incision behind the ear to tighten the muscles along the jaw line, he says.
They asked for it
The ideal age group for the procedure is 45 to 65. Patient demand drove this innovation, he says, citing a strong contingent of 68 to 75-year-olds, some quite conservative, for whom he says he also gets “a really good result” without dramatically changing their faces. Almost all patients are back to work with no signs of surgery in five to seven days.
Completed in two to three hours, the Boomer Lift is “less surgery” than a full lift, but patients feel like they’re getting more, he says. Because the procedure uses a smaller incision, it’s technically more difficult to perform.
The average price for the lift is $10,000 to $12,000, which includes an overnight stay with a nurse, anesthesia and the operating room—please ask for your own specific quote. Price those “items” separately for a “regular” facelift in many locations, and the costs are considerably higher.
For example, ASPS says you should know that the cost of facelift surgery may include:
- surgeon’s fee
- hospital or surgical facility costs
- anesthesia fees
- prescriptions for medication
- post-surgery garments, and
- medical tests
The procedure works best, says Dr. Brandow, when followed later by transfer of the patient’s own fat, injectable fillers like Juvederm or Restylane, and a “blue peel”— The Obaji Blue Peel, an in-office facial chemical peel procedure.
“Most people just want to look better. They don’t need to look perfect,” he says.
And I have to add, “except here in The OC!”