10 Things to Note About Facelift Results and Successful Before-and-After Cases

Hello! I am Director Park Seong-hyeok of Eye Level Plastic Surgery, a facelift clinic in Gangnam, Seoul.

Regardless of age, the desire to look healthy and youthful is a common concern that never changes. Especially in the rapidly developing cosmetic surgery market, I write this blog myself to reflect our customers’ needs and current trends and to communicate with you ^^

Sometimes, judgments driven by indiscriminate advertising can lead to complications after cosmetic surgery.

I hope this post will help you understand what facelift surgery can and cannot do, and become a wise consumer who is not swayed by indiscriminate advertising.

The photos used in this article are from academic papers, medical textbooks, or customer photos from Eye Level Plastic Surgery with consent for portrait rights. They are used to help readers understand the content, and I ask for mature consideration so that the dignity of the valued customers who agreed to the use of their photos is not compromised.

Facelift effects

Facelift surgery improves nasolabial folds, deep cheek folds, and sagging cheeks, refining the facial line and restoring a natural youthful look.

Before and after a facelift and neck lift performed at Eye Level

However, there are rare cases in which the full benefits of a facelift are not achieved, or side effects occur.

Examples of an incorrect facelift

Facelift scar left after surgery at another hospital in the past

The photo above is of a customer who recently underwent fat grafting for hollow under-eyes at Eye Level. Separate from the surgery they received at our clinic, a facelift scar is still visible. They said they had the procedure done impulsively because the facelift cost was cheap at the time...

Recently, knowledge about facelift surgical methods has advanced, and unless the facelift price is extremely low, procedures that create the kind of side effects shown above are not common... But there are still practitioners without proper training who continue to operate this way. If we point out the problems one by one...

Analysis of an incorrect facelift

1. The incision line for the facelift was placed incorrectly.

Making an incision in front of the ear cartilage (blue arrow), or cutting through the sideburn area toward the temple (purple arrow), is not desirable.

This approach makes the scar visible, causes the sideburns to disappear, and increases the distance between the eye and temple (red dotted line), creating an awkward-looking face.

2. The skin was pulled forcefully, making the scar worse.

When skin is pulled forcefully without considering skin tension, scars are often noticeable. If only the skin is pulled without lifting the SMAS layer, tension concentrates on the skin, increasing the likelihood of hair loss or scars (yellow, purple arrows).

3. The ear looks unnatural.

Even without being an expert, people can tell that the earlobe somehow looks odd...

S = lowest point of the earlobe, O = point where the earlobe is attached to the cheek

If you look at where the ear is attached to the cheek in the figure above, S is usually positioned lower than O.

If S is lower than O, this is called a knife ear.

Example of a knife ear

Knife ear can be caused by facelift complications, but it can also be congenital.

Earlobe shape before and after facelift performed at Eye Level

If you look at it from a discerning perspective, correction is advisable.

Although it is not as unsightly as a knife ear deformity, when S and O are at the same point, it is called an attached earlobe.

If you look closely, all of these appearances make it obvious that surgery was performed.

Therefore, a clinic with know-how in ear surgery that can prevent knife ears or attached ears can be considered a place that performs facelift surgery well.

Before and after a facelift and neck lift at Eye Level

Recommended facelift results from Eye Level Plastic Surgery

Examples of a well-performed facelift appear as the following results.

Marionette lines and nasolabial folds have improved

1. The lines around the mouth, called marionette lines (red arrow), should become less pronounced.
2. The nasolabial folds (green arrow) should also improve.
3. The deep cheek fat, called jowls (blue arrow), should be removed.
4. The sagging area of the front cheek (purple arrow) should regain firmness.

Natural ears and a more defined jawline

5. As mentioned earlier, the ear shape should look natural (yellow arrow).
6. The jawline (green arrow) should become more defined.
7. Skin movement is preferably diagonal rather than vertical (the direction of movement of the facial spots indicated by the red arrow).

8. From the side, the neck line (blue arrow) should become clearer.
9. The shape of the tragus cartilage of the ear (green arrow) should be well preserved.

The double chin also improved with a neck lift

10. When the head is bent down, the double chin should also show good improvement.

Conclusion

There is no single correct standard for judging a successful surgery. What matters is that the medical team fully understands the customer’s requests and clearly explains what is possible and what is not.

Anyone considering facial lifting wants nasolabial folds and a sharp jawline. But if you become too fixated on those results, unnatural ears or hairline distortion and other difficult-to-repair changes may remain for life.

I hope this post will be a helpful guide for those considering a facelift.