Facelift for Pleasantville, NY

Know what you are asking it to do

People who come to a facelift consultation usually describe a feeling more than a feature: “I look tired,” or “my face has slipped.” Dr. Chang Soo Kim’s first job is to turn that feeling into specifics, because a facelift is very good at some changes and was never meant for others. Sorting the two before surgery is what keeps expectations and results in line.

What a facelift changes

• Sagging along the jaw and cheeks. Through incisions placed inside the hairline and in natural skin creases, Dr. Kim tightens the tissues and muscles beneath the skin, then removes the skin that is left over.
• Deepened folds. Marionette lines and the folds beside the nose and mouth soften as the structures under them are lifted.
• Balance. The whole face is assessed, so the lift keeps your features in proportion rather than pulling one area tight.

What it leaves alone, and what can be added

• Lines that come from expression. Surgery does not stop a frown or a squint creasing the skin again; Botox does that job.
• The surface of the skin. Texture and tone are separate from sagging. Laser resurfacing can sometimes be built into the same operation.
• Lost volume. Hollow cheeks can be filled by transferring your own fat during the procedure.
• The eyelids. Heavy or puffy lids are a separate operation, eyelid surgery, which can be planned alongside.

If the changes are still early, the honest answer may be no surgery yet. Bellava’s injectors offer a liquid facelift with fillers instead.

Who plans it

Dr. Kim earned his medical degree at the Yale School of Medicine, trained in plastic surgery at Yale–New Haven Hospital and is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He operates in Bellava’s own surgical suite, accredited by The Joint Commission. The facelift is an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia with sedation, so you go home the same day with dissolvable stitches. Because sedation is involved, arrange for someone to drive you back down the Saw Mill to Pleasantville, a trip of about 16 minutes without traffic.

Pleasantville patients ask

How do I arrange a consultation? It is requested, not booked online. Send the request form, or call or text, and Bellava’s patient coordinator calls you back to find a time. The consultation is complimentary.

Can I see Dr. Kim’s own results? Yes, in the before and after gallery. Bring any photo you want him to explain.

Can a facelift be combined with other treatments? Often. Ask about pairing it with other rejuvenating services when you meet. Read more on the main facelift page and about Dr. Kim.