Facelift in Memphis, TN
Facelift surgery is a life‑changing procedure that can help both men and women regain a more youthful appearance by addressing sagging skin, lax skin, and other visible signs of aging. The out‑of‑date attitude of belittling plastic surgery has been replaced with the understanding that safe, effective surgical procedures can improve the way we look and feel.
At The Langsdon Clinic, we strive to reverse the aging process while preserving each patient’s natural contours and fundamental appearance. We create subtle, perfectly balanced results because we want every patient to look refreshed — not like an entirely different person.
A facelift, or rhytidectomy, reduces sagging caused by loose skin, weakened muscles, and drooping facial tissues of the face and upper neck. This facial rejuvenation surgery can treat early signs of aging or improve more advanced changes in older patients. If the excess skin and tissue descent are significant, the results of facelift surgery may be more dramatic. In younger patients, the improvements may be subtler — they may look more alert and awake due to elevated, supported facial skin.
Dr. Langsdon is a pioneer in facial plastic surgery and one of the nation’s leading experts in deep-plane facelift techniques. He developed innovations that revolutionized contouring improvements in saggy necks and has continually refined submental muscular medialization and suspension approach over many years. He was the first to publish this surgical technique in 2012, again in 2013, and finally with statistical results in 2018. Today, many leading surgeons worldwide have adopted his techniques, making them a cornerstone of advanced face and neck rejuvenation.
Facelift Videos
7:24
4:57
1:24
1:43
What Happens During Facelift Surgery in Memphis at the Langsdon Clinic?
Before facelift surgery, you will take medication to help you relax and minimize swelling and bruising. Dr. Langsdon usually performs this procedure at his clinic’s outpatient surgical center. The facelift does not require general anesthesia. Instead, he uses “twilight” sedation supplemented by local anesthesia. Most patients have no discomfort during the surgical procedure and do not remember the experience. Afterward, you will be free to go home with a trusted friend or family member who can drive you.
The face is divided into several areas of concern: the neck, the lower cheek‑jowl, the upper cheek, eyelids, and the forehead. The facelift addresses the lower cheek‑jowl and neck skin. It does not treat the forehead, eyelids, or cheekbone areas, though complementary procedures such as a brow lift or eyelid lift can improve these.
Typically, we do not shave our patients’ hair in preparation for facelift surgery because patients don’t want to wait for their hair to regrow, making it easier for them to camouflage their incision sites during postoperative healing.
Incisions for the facelift are made where we can easily access the tissues and strategically place them in areas that will make it easy for the patient to conceal them. The incision for the lower cheek‑jowl‑neck operation begins in the temple at the hairline and extends down to just in front of the ear, around the earlobe, up behind the ear, and then back along the hairline. Through this incision, the outer layers of skin are elevated out into the cheeks and neck. The underlying muscle and connective tissue are raised and repositioned with sutures to help support the underlying tissues of the cheek‑jowl and the upper neck. After we reposition the sagging muscular tissue responsible for the sagging skin on the cheeks and jowls, excess skin is removed. Once we’ve lifted and repositioned the cheeks, jowls, and neck, we avoid tightening the tissue in a way that would make it look stretched or “pulled,” preserving your natural contours.
Dr. Langsdon usually places a small incision in a crease under the chin, which he uses to improve excess fat and tighten muscles in the upper neck. He then secures the incisions with absorbable sutures in front of the ear and under the chin. He may use small skin clips for the incisions along the hairline.
What Is Recovery Time Like After Facelift Surgery?
While you can return home on the same day as your facelift surgery, you will still need a trusted friend or family member to drive you home and take care of you for the first 24 hours after the procedure. Patients should also avoid driving within the first two days of the facelift. During the first two weeks of your recovery, you must take great care to keep your head elevated all the time, even while sleeping, to minimize swelling. You can sleep in a recliner or prop your head up with multiple pillows.
Thanks to Dr. Langsdon’s natural-looking results, you will look refreshed and rejuvenated only two weeks after your Memphis facelift procedure. After this point, you can continue your social activities, though you may have residual bruising and mild soreness. You are welcome to cover the bruises with makeup. Your incision sites will have healed but not completely faded; thankfully, they will be in discreet locations that nobody will notice.
We highly recommend patients avoid strenuous exercise for the first couple of weeks of recovery. If you smoke, you will need to quit for a few weeks before and after the surgery to prevent complications and support healthy healing of the facial tissues.
On average, patients experience numbness in the cheeks, firm or knotty sensations, and discomfort in the incisions for around 5–6 months. Though it may take up to a year before your facelift results fully settle, you will continue to look appealing and naturally improved throughout the healing process.
Maintain your results by keeping your skin hydrated, nourished, and healthy to support ongoing collagen production and preserve facial volume. Dr. Langsdon can recommend products from our FaceMD skincare line to complement your facelift and enhance long‑term skin enhancement.
Patient Testimonials in Memphis
Those seeking a facelift in Memphis choose the Langsdon Clinic for more than its natural, perfectly balanced results; we’re known for our outstanding patient care. Learn for yourself what the Langsdon Clinic patient experience is like by taking a look at our patient testimonials.
Who Are the Ideal Candidates for a Facelift?
The ideal candidate for a Memphis facelift wants to lift sagging skin, improve loose skin on the lower face and neck, and restore a smoother, more youthful appearance. More importantly, an ideal patient is emotionally healthy enough to undergo the procedure and has a realistic outlook about what facial plastic surgeons can accomplish surgically. Before undergoing facelift surgery, you must ask yourself whether you’ll still be happy with your results years into the future as your natural aging process continues.
If you smoke, please quit using all nicotine products at least two weeks before and two weeks after the facelift to prevent scarring and other complications. Patients who wish to undergo a facelift should be in relatively good health and free from any medical condition that could interfere with healing. If you have had previous surgeries on your face or neck, you can determine your candidacy during your consultation with our board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Langsdon.
Request a Consultation
If you have any questions or wish to schedule a personalized consultation with Dr. Langsdon, please contact our office.
Memphis Facelift FAQs
We’ve collected some of the most frequently asked questions by our facelift Memphis patients about the facelift and answered them in detail. At The Langsdon Clinic, we’re passionate about informing our patients, because we want them to understand their procedures every step of the way.
As we age, we lose precious facial volume, and our skin becomes thinner and less elastic. Our body starts to decrease its production of collagen and elastin, the proteins responsible for keeping our skin structure firm and youthful. Muscle tone in the face also decreases, leading to looser facial features. All these factors lead to facial skin that sags and droops around the mouth and the jaw.
Once the swelling has mostly dissipated a few weeks after the surgery, you will be able to notice a significant improvement in the reduction of loose skin on your lower face and neck.
A facelift can significantly enhance the appearance of a double chin, excess fat, and turkey neck by tightening the neck skin, repositioning deeper structures, and removing excess skin. For patients with more advanced neck aging, Dr. Langsdon may recommend combining the facelift with a neck lift for comprehensive neck rejuvenation.
A properly performed facelift should not interfere with normal facial movements. Dr. Langsdon’s techniques respect natural anatomy, minimize risks such as facial nerve injury, and avoid placing unnecessary tension on the skin or muscles.
Most patients look socially presentable within two weeks, but full facelift results continue to refine over several months as swelling subsides and new collagen forms. By around the six‑month mark, your face will settle into its final, naturally rejuvenated appearance.
Many patients enhance their surgical results with treatments such as dermal fillers or laser resurfacing to address skin irregularities, sun damage, or acne scars. These options can improve skin tone, texture, and skin rejuvenation while complementing the structural improvements of facial rejuvenation surgery.
A full facelift will lift sagging on the cheeks, along the jaw, and on the neck. A mini facelift will address a smaller amount of sagging on the cheeks. The mid-facelift will lift sagging skin on the upper cheek.
In addition to the traditional facelift and mid-facelift, Dr. Phillip Langsdon also offers a deep plane facelift, a technique that he has mastered and contributed to through his own innovative surgical techniques that are now used by other leading facelift surgeons worldwide. During surgery, the deep plane facelift is designed to maintain the skin and underlying tissues in alignment with each other while detaching and repositioning the entire system as a single unit. As a result, there is no strain on the skin or muscle, allowing the facial tissue to be repositioned for a more natural, subtle, and permanent effect.
A facelift’s results will last for years, and the excision of sagging, excess skin is something that can’t be reversed. However, the aging process will still continue after the facelift is completed. The rate that a patient’s aging will progress will depend on their skin quality and its elasticity. Other factors like a patient’s age, hormonal balance, and lifestyle can affect their aging process after the facelift is performed. Patients who want to maintain their results can request a touch-up.
Those seeking a facelift in Memphis choose The Langsdon Clinic for our natural results. The “too-tight” look associated with the facelift is more of a result of a surgeon’s work or old facelift techniques. When performed correctly, a facelift should make someone look younger and more refreshed; they shouldn’t look any different or appear too artificial. The Langsdon Clinic creates natural and balanced results by respecting a patient’s tissues and facial anatomy. We take great care to personalize each facelift so that they fit perfectly for each patient.
Your scars from the facelift will eventually heal and then fade. First, the scars will look pale and red before the scar fully matures. About a week or two after the surgery, you will be able to safely cover the scars with makeup; however, it might take a few months to about a year before the scars fully fade. Your incisions will be hidden carefully by Dr. Langsdon, so they will not be easily visible while you’re healing.
It’s recommended that patients take a week off of work or school and up to two weeks away from social events. Patients might still have some bruising at the two-week mark, but it should be easy to cover with makeup by then. While patients will be able to see their new youthful looks a few weeks after the surgery, patients might still have some swelling, bruising, and discomfort in the incisions up to 5-6 months after the surgery. It might take up to a year before swelling has completely subsided.
Dr. Langsdon will strategically place your incisions where they won’t be easily seen. The incisions will go from the temple by the hairline and then travel down in front of the ear and then around it. Most patients will also have a scar running below the chin that’s not easily noticeable.
Your facelift will be performed in The Langsdon Clinic’s onsite, full-service outpatient facility. This surgical facility is fully licensed by the State of Tennessee Department of Health, meaning the facility runs with a hospital-grade, if not higher, level of safety. During your facelift, you will work with our board-certified anesthesiologist and a highly professional, compassionate medical staff.
Since a traditional facelift only addresses signs of aging on the lower half of the face, it can be combined with other compatible procedures like the forehead lift and the eyelid lift.
As you grow older and become bothered by signs of aging, you may find a facelift to be the right solution. If any of the following apply to you, a facelift is an option to consider.
- The way the skin of your face and neck tends to sag makes you feel self-conscious.
- In the mirror, you see that your face makes you look a lot older than you feel.
- You’ve begun wearing scarves and turtlenecks to hide the folds in your neck.
- You feel that looking older than your years is negatively affecting your career or relationships.
After your facelift, you can expect an improvement in self-confidence, as your younger appearance will highlight your health and vitality. Dr. Langsdon can help you find the right facial rejuvenation procedure that aligns with your unique situation and goals.
Your meeting with your doctor is a time for you to ask questions and be prepared to discuss:
- Your goals for this surgery
- Any medical conditions, drug allergies, and medical issues you might have
- The medications, vitamins, and supplements you take, as well as your alcohol, tobacco, and drug use
You should also expect your doctor to:
- Inquire about your general state of health and any preexisting health conditions or risk factors
- Go over your facelift options with you
- Examine and take measurements and photographs of your face
- Discuss the expected outcomes of your facelift, as well as any risks or potential complications
It usually takes around two weeks before you can attend social functions and return to work. The more treatment that is needed, the longer the recovery.
If you have some visible swelling and bruising at the end of this period, it may not be noticeable to others, or it may be camouflaged with makeup.
If your job tends to be strenuous, you may need a little more time to ensure that healing is well underway.
If you’re looking for a facelift in Memphis, call The Langsdon Clinic to find out if you are a good candidate and to discuss your possible facelift outcomes. Dr. Phillip Langsdon is a facial plastic surgeon with over 23 years of experience bringing beauty and youth to the Memphis community.