Location - Dr. Grossman and Dr. Capraro usually recommends an overnight stay following standard complete facelift surgery. In Denver, surgery is performed at our facility in the Rose Ambulatory Surgery Center and the stay is in The Suites at Rose.

Anesthesia - You may find, in talking with a number of different plastic surgeons, variation in the types of anesthesia they prefer for facelift surgery; varying from local, to twilight sleep, to general anesthesia. However, Dr. Grossman uses general anesthesia (complete sleep), exclusively. It is administered by a physician anesthesiologist to provide the safest, most controlled form of anesthesia. This allows Dr. Grossman to focus, exclusively, on the performance of the surgery, knowing that your safety under anesthesia is in the hands of an experienced professional.

Surgery Techniques - As mentioned at the beginning of this discussion, facial aging differs from one person to another. Dr. Grossman therefore designs and plans each patient's facial rejuvenation specifically to meet the individual's needs. Therefore, before there is a surgery, there is the planning. It is the laying out of the design concept and model to be followed. When facial rejuvenation includes a facelift, it usually also includes other procedures as well.  Before going to the operating room, Dr. Grossman again meets with each patient to review the plan and draw pattern lines on the face. For some, the neck requires more work than the cheeks, or vice-versa. In other cases, extra fat needs to be removed or moved and placed in other facial locations. Each face is a different canvas, a different masterpiece to be created.

Incisions are made in and at the edge of the hairlines, then in the natural lines along the front and inside the edge of the ear. They continue along the back fold or groove behind the ear, then into the back hairline. The facial skin and underlying structures such as muscles are lifted, tightened, and brought back to their proper position. Fatty deposits can be shaped, altered, or removed. Grooves and indentations are filled. Then, excess skin is trimmed and the wounds closed.

We used to routinely insert drains to remove fluid, blood collections, and apply a dressing at the end of surgery. Many plastic surgeons still do. However, Dr. Grossman has developed innovative techniques using a biological sealant or "glue" beneath the skin that, under most circumstances, makes dressings and drains unnecessary, and reduces the risks of post-operative bleeding. Post-operative recovery and healing are accelerated. Dressings and drains are now a rarity for Dr. Grossman's patients, used only under particular conditions.

After surgery is completed, patients move to the recovery area (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit) and later to their private room.