Facelift Surgery Consultations

Considering getting a facelift? Facial aging is a complex process that is influenced by many genetic and environmental factors.  Some of these factors include skin type, skin color, types of wrinkles, depth of wrinkles, skin tone, muscle atrophy, volume gain or loss, as well as others.  In essence, facial aging is not an event, but a continuum of events that progresses over time. Factors influence aging, but aging itself is a continual process of events. Both men and women consider facelifts and other facial cosmetic surgery as well as non-surgical approaches towards facial rejuvenation at some point in their lives.

“We empower you with the knowledge to make informed decisions, and together, we decide on the best nonsurgical or surgical pathway towards achieving your desired facial cosmetic outcome.”

This fundamental understanding is the foundation of our approach to patients.  To achieve the most natural results from a facelift or facial cosmetic surgery, we must accept and evaluate all factors of aging when individuals present to our office.  As well, we must address each of these factors and their impact on your appearance to achieve facial beauty and harmony.  This simple realization is the foundation of our process of excellence towards facelift, facial plastic surgery, and non-surgical approaches of facial aesthetics.

We Help You Make Informed Decisions

At Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery, Dr. Alan Durkin, our Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, does not offer interventions or procedures, we offer you philosophy of care. Our philosophy is dependent on defining the strengths and weaknesses of your face and the strengths and weaknesses of the aging process. We discuss these observations openly and freely with you.  Our goal of every intervention is to maximize the strengths of your face and minimize its weaknesses. By evaluating these issues individually and as a whole we routinely achieve a superior, natural result regardless of treatment modality through a thoughtful multidisciplinary and personalized approach. We empower you with the knowledge to make informed decisions, and together, we decide on the best nonsurgical or surgical pathway towards your best facelift, plastic surgery procedure or non-surgical aesthetic result.

Thinking about a facelift?

Dr. Alan Durkin

Comprehensive Facial Evalution

Once you are familiarized with our facility, Dr. Alan Durkin will meet with you individually. This meeting, as he likes to refer to it, is “a gathering of friends”. The goal of the consultation above all else is to educate you regarding all of your options for care, and to understand why certain options will work, and certain ones will not work. He does not dictate what you will need. He works in conjunction with you to understand your goals and then achieve them in the least invasive, safest fashion.

“The goal of all medical, nonsurgical, and surgical facial therapy is to enhance the inherent strengths of your face, while minimizing its weaknesses.”

First, Dr. Durkin will determine the underlying strengths of your appearance. This is crucial to any intervention, as the goal of all medical, nonsurgical, and surgical facial therapy is to enhance the inherent strengths of your face, while minimizing its weaknesses. By practicing this belief, we consistently achieve exceptional, natural results. Dr. Durkin will review your skin analysis together with you, examine the volume of your face, determine the muscle functions and asymmetries of your face, evaluate the bony structure of your face, and assess the overall harmony of your facial features.

Once Dr. Durkin has a comprehensive understanding of your facial appearance, he will explain it to you, and then offer all of the different pathways for achieving your facial aesthetic goals. This is the proverbial “view from 30,000 feet” that all facial aesthetic patients receive at our facility at their initial consultation. Our willingness to both listen to our patients’ concerns, and to explain to our patients their options is one of our greatest strengths.

Skin & Collagen Assessments

Complete Skin Analysis Prior to Your Facelift

Your facelift or plastic surgery consultation begins with your skin. Individuals that present for facial evaluation will undergo a diagnostic skin evaluation with the Reveal Imager. Non-facelift patients interested in obtaining a skin analysis may do so by scheduling an appointment with our MedSpa. This state of the art device utilizes proprietary RBX technology, allowing us to image the different strata of your skin for areas of existing or future pigmentation and redness or hypervascularity. This noninvasive procedure yields information about decades of skin damage and exposure.

Obtain a Complete Skin Analysis prior to your Facial Cosmetic Surgery or Non-surgical procedure. Once we have structurally evaluated your skin, we take a comprehensive medical history of your skin. Factors such as dryness or oiliness, pore size, skin type and others are crucial to your appearance. Evaluation of these allows us to maximize both surgical and nonsurgical therapy to your individual skin type.

While many people think that the term “Facelift” refers to a specific procedure, in reality, the term facelift refers to a family of related procedures, all of which have similar goals but different tools and approaches.  One of our greatest joys is matching the absolute best surgical, nonsurgical, or combination therapies to each patient as an individual unto themselves.  We strive greatly to maximize natural outcomes, and to have your results emphasize your identity, rather than a textbook definition of “what is in”.

To achieve this goal, our entire process is centered on you, our patient.  Each facial rejuvenation consultation is done personally by Dr. Durkin, free of charge.  We provide a comprehensive analysis of your aesthetic, and provide as many options as possible to address your needs.  We always look for nonsurgical solutions prior to surgery, but take immense pride in our surgical capabilities and results.  Our confidence is based upon a comprehensive understanding that we have exceeded any reasonable standard of preparation for success with your procedure.  All surgeons on staff at Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery and MedSpa are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  As well, Dr. Durkin is dual board certified, holding certifications from the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  Every member of our team at Ocean Drive has met or exceeded the highest degree of credentialing for their respective positions.  All members of our team are exclusive members of Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery and MedSpa, and are only dedicated towards the safety, benefit, and outcomes of our patients.

Beyond our training, we believe that it is a privilege to serve our patients, and to provide them the best possible choices and results in modern aesthetic plastic surgery.  This sense permeates our staff and our campus, and we believe this sensibility makes our patients feel like honored guests, rather than potential clients.  We also recognize that the decision to see a plastic surgeon is an important, and intimate one.  Your privacy and comfort is always at the forefront of everything we do.

Our practice also boasts a cosmetically-dedicated, beachside, state-certified operating room.  With state-of-the-art technology, MD delivered anesthesia, and only the finest in surgical materials, Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery and MedSpa prides itself on its A1a based campus.  Our facility has an on-site surgical center, overnight patient recovery suites, a full service medical spa with hydrotherapy, and a comprehensive plastic surgery and dermatology clinic.  We hope to offer a comprehensive offering to all of our patients.

Lastly, as a practice, we have not “married” ourselves to one product or one type of surgery.  Instead, we have invested heavily in becoming standard bearers and thought leaders on all types of surgical and nonsurgical facial rejuvenation.  By mastering the multitude of options currently available, we are able to offer all of our guests a number of different options for their aesthetic concerns.  For example, we don’t offer just Botox®.  While we are Diamond level providers of Allergan products, we offer three types of neuromodulators:  Botox®, Xeomin®, and Dysport®, as each of them have their benefits and liabilities in different patient types.  This philosophy/concept extends to all of our treatment arms at Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery and MedSpa, but is rapidly apparent when it comes to our signature procedure: the Facelift.

In photo left-above (before facelift) and right-above (after facelift), Dr. Durkin provided patient with a bilateral upper lid blepharoplasty with fat excision, bilateral lower lid blepharoplasty with septal reset, limited incision facelift with structural fat grafting to mid face and lower face. Images are copyright protected by Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery.

What to expect at your initial consultation

We believe that Plastic Surgery is not a commodity, or a procedure.  Rather, Plastic Surgery is an experience.  This experience begins at our initial consultation.  Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery is designed to provide an elegant, comfortable and friendly venue to discuss the intimate and important personal issues that our patients present with. We recognize that the decision to consult with a plastic surgeon is a difficult one. It is a strong person travelling on “the road less travelled” that is willing to say “I do not like this about myself, and I want to do something about it.”  The privilege of joining you on this journey is not lost on us, and we work very hard to make this process as comfortable as possible for you.  We know that the process of plastic surgery is just as important as your outcome.

Our process begins at the initial consultation.  You will first be greeted by our front office staff, and be introduced to our menu of services.  Subsequently, Rosana Mumford (LINK to BIO) will bring you back to our consultation room.  “Ro” will be available to answer any preliminary questions you may have.  Next, you will spend anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour with Dr. Durkin discussing any issues, concerns, or objectives you may have.  Our consults are designed to provide as much information as possible in a comfortable setting.  We do not offer people the “hard sell”.  Our goal is to educate our patients on their options, and to allow them to make truly informed decisions on how they want to proceed is a stress free environment.  Initial cosmetic consultations are always complimentary, and we do not take patient photographs until you decide to proceed with therapy.

After meeting with Dr. Durkin and formulating your treatment options, you will receive a tour of our entire facility, including our preoperative holding areas, postoperative recovery areas, overnight suites, operating room, make-up studio, and medical spa treatment rooms.  Over 70% of our patients will use some form of minimally invasive therapies, such as dermal fillers, Kybella, or neurotoxins at the time of their consultation.  For these patients, the option of injections at the time of consultation is always provided, but there is no obligation on your part to proceed with therapy during your consultation if you are not ready.

Lastly, you will be provided with a comprehensive price quotation for your desired procedure at the time of your consultation.  Options for medical financing are available at our practice, and our staff will provide you with any information you desire regarding finance options.

We want to hear about your concerns and objectives.  We pride ourselves on an ability to listen and understand.  At our foundation, we recognize that every individual consult represents an individual concern, and requires treatment plan. Every facelift is different and unique.   Every filler injection is different and unique.  This fundamental understanding of plastic surgery fuels our passion for our patients.  Excellence in plastic surgery is not created through standardized templates and a cookie-cutter approach.  Excellence in plastic surgery starts with open communication between you and our staff.  We synergize our listening skills with exemplary customer service, and a dedication to provide the finest cosmetic results in the safest possible fashion with the least amount of invasive surgery.