Laser Lift at Des Moines Plastic Surgery

A Laser Lift is a minimally invasive laser “facelift” offered at Des Moines Plastic Surgery. The procedure has no stitches, scalpels, or scars. For the right candidate, this procedure can help reverse the common signs of aging that are seen in the neck and jowl areas.

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The laser lift is not an alternative to a traditional face and neck lift. The procedure is best for patients in their 40s and early 50s with mild looseness of the lower face and neck. It does not treat the cheeks or upper face. During a consultation, your board-certified plastic surgeon and the Des Moines Plastic Surgery team will determine if you’re an ideal candidate for this procedure or better suited for a facelift.

Traditional face and neck lifts involve the use of a scalpel, incisions, stitches, and some level of scarring and risk, in addition to the majority of cases requiring general anesthesia, whether the procedure is a classic full face lift, mini-lift, S-lift, neck lift or European lift. The results are no doubt amazing and the team at Des Moines Plastic Surgery performs many of these surgical face lifts every year.

Before & After Gallery

Laser Lift Before and After by Dr David Robbins

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To learn more about our Laser Lift treatment in West Des Moines, Iowa, contact us and schedule a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon.

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The Laser Lift also corrects other signs of aging in the neck and face without the cost, risks, anesthesia, recovery, and downtime compared to a traditional face lifting procedure.

The Des Moines Plastic Surgery™ patient below had sagging skin on her neck most of her adult life. The Laser Lift procedure took care of it with one 30-minute procedure. Her post-treatment photo below is one week from the Laser Lift procedure. She will continue to see results for the next 4 to 6 months. The Laser Lift is a quick, easy procedure with minimal downtime and the best part….patients are awake during the procedure.

laser lift before and after photo patient

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Laser Lift Frequently Asked Questions

Aging happens both at the surface of the skin as well as within the deeper supporting tissue of the face, known as the SMAS layer. During the Laser Lift procedure, targeted laser energy is used to deeply and safely heat the skin and deeper SMAS layer beneath the face and neck skin. The laser energy promotes tissue coagulation and shrinkage. The SMAS and deeper layers are immediately tightened with continued improvements in collagen production and skin tightening in the 4 to 6 months following your procedure. The laser used in the Laser Lift is the Precision TX, an Nd: YAG 1440nm wavelength laser with a side-firing fiber optic laser from Cynosure, a worldwide leader in laser-based devices. The Precision TX 1440nm wavelength is absorbed by water and fat in the skin tissues causing micro bubbles at the fiber tip (cavitation effect) which produces bi-directional energy distribution and allows for more focused tissue targeting.

The effects of laser stimulation on collagen production and skin tightening is thoroughly accepted by experts in the field of cosmetic surgery and supported by numerous clinical and scientific studies. The results are amazing and long-lasting. The Laser Lift approach makes the facelift procedure dramatically less invasive compared to a traditional facelift procedure.

The laser technology is not new. The technology of how to deliver laser energy internally via the Laser Lift is NEW technology. The team at Des Moines Plastic Surgery has been performing the laser lift procedure in Des Moines for over fifteen years. The goal of external laser treatments is to heat the deep layers of the skin, heat up the collagen, denature, and stimulate collagen formation to tighten the skin. The challenge with the external laser procedures was maximizing laser energy and heat to the deep layers of the skin without burning and injuring the external skin. The results of external lasers for skin tightening were oftentimes unpredictable and disappointing to patients. The Laser Lift has taken the technology of external laser energy and heating and applied it internally, directly to not only the undersurface of the skin and dermis but also to the deep muscle, facial layers, and muscle. The laser energy is directly applied where it needs to go to provide the maximum results and efficacy.

The procedure is an excellent option for people who want to look younger but who do not want or need an invasive surgical face lift. If you’re interested in restoring youthful contours in your lower face and neck but want to avoid general anesthesia, invasive incisions, scars, and extended downtime, Laser Lift could be right for you.

Not all patients are candidates for the laser lift. Best candidates are in their 40s and early 50s with mild looseness of the jowl/jawline area, and the neck without overly thin skin of the neck. The laser lift does not treat the upper face and is not a “replacement” of a traditional face lift.

Local anesthesia and mild sedative pills are administered. No general anesthesia or sedation is required.

Only three microincisions are made with a 1mm dermatology biopsy device. No scalpel is used. No stitches are required. The micro incisions are smaller than the tip of a ballpoint pen and will be unnoticeable once healed. The micro incisions are made behind each ear and one just under the chin for a total of three micro incisions.

30 minutes for most Laser Lift procedures compared to 2-6 hours for a surgical face lift.

After Laser Lift at Des Moines Plastic Surgery™, there is minimal downtime. Typically, patients have mild bruising and discomfort for 7-10 days. Strenuous activity can be resumed almost immediately. You will see immediate results with the maximum results following the next 4 to 6 months. Hydration before and after the procedure is very important. With a surgical facelift, the downtime can be up to 2 weeks of bruising, swelling, and redness to the scars with no strenuous activity for 3-4 weeks.

No. The three micro incisions heal without stitches and no scarring. With a surgical facelift, there is potential for significant scarring in front and behind the ears and in the hairline.

No. The three micro incisions heal without stitches and without a scar. Compared to a surgical facelift, stitches are required and removed in 5-10 days.

With the Laser Lift at Des Moines Plastic Surgery, patients will notice some immediate initial skin tightening with results continuing to progress during the next 3-6 months following the procedure.

Yes. In fact, the Laser Lift combined with external traditional fractionated laser procedures will give the most profound results. Essentially, the skin is lasered from both sides; an inside and outside treatment. The Laser Lift tightens the deeper internal skin tissues from within and the external fractionated laser treats the skin surface directly on the surface for a remarkable skin tightening and rejuvenation result.

The Laser Lift is not intended to replace a traditional facelift procedure. The results are not the same. But the cost, recovery, and risks are not the same either. Many patients are completely misinformed as to the procedures available to them and what would be best for their desired result. No other surgeon in Iowa performs the Laser Lift procedure so they would naturally not mention it or offer it as an option. That doesn’t mean the Laser Lift at Des Moines Plastic Surgery™ is not an option for many patients in Iowa who do not want the expense, incisions, and downtime associated with a traditional facelift procedure. Dr. Robbins performs many traditional facelift procedures every year (full face lifts, neck lifts, S-face lifts, mini lifts, etc).

We recognize that not all patients want a traditional facelift involving anesthesia, incisions, scars, and recovery. That’s what makes Laser Lift so beneficial to our Des Moines, Iowa patients. At our West Des Moines office, our Laser Lift procedure costs are half of the cost of a full facelift, the recovery time is not even comparable, there are no sutures, no stitches, no scars, and no general anesthesia or IV sedation. All this added up means you can come to Des Moines Plastic Surgery™ with the confidence and understanding that all that’s left is selecting the right treatment plan that’s best for your unique features, desired results, and budget.

The Laser Lift in Des Moines is half the cost of a traditional facelift. There are no anesthesia or operating room costs.

Learn More About Laser Lift

To learn more about the Laser Lift in Des Moines, call us at 515.221.9999 for your Laser Lift consultation at Des Moines Plastic Surgery or email us if you have questions regarding this procedure.

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