Interview with our lead surgeon, Amir

We asked our consultant plastic surgeon Amir Nakhdjevani MBBS, MRCS, FRCS (Plast.) a few questions about the pioneering techniques and Concept™ Facelift he has brought with him to Bella Vou for our clients. Read the full interview here!

Amir, can you explain how the Concept™ Facelift came about?

The Concept™ Facelift is really an evolution in facelift surgery. In today’s busy world of work and social commitments, most people are looking for what fits with their lifestyle. I developed the Concept™ Facelift after repeatedly hearing from patients, “Why has facelift surgery not changed over the years? Why can’t we get the results we want without the downsides of traditional surgery?” So, I listened to patients and looked into ways of improving the technique. I used concepts of different existing techniques combined with my own ideas to create a technique in keeping with today’s age and now I have developed the Concept™ Facelift, which ticks every box.

Has Concept™ Facelift proven to be popular?

Very much so. Since the technique was developed gradually more and more people have heard about it through seeing the results first hand. We’ve been inundated with patients who want to have the procedure done now. You could say that it has grown organically through word of mouth and by people who have undergone the procedure. We now get frequent patients from Scotland, the north of England and the west country.

So what is so special about Concept™ Facelift?

Well, a number of things really. Basically, the procedure has these fundamental advantages:

• It’s usually done as a day case “Walk-in/Walk-out”
• It can be performed under local anaesthetic
• There’s a much smaller scar
• No bandages are involved
• No drains are needed
• Only absorbable sutures are used (no need for suture removal)
• There’s minimal bruising, if any (minimal down time)
• A completely natural, youthful and fresh appearance will be the result
• Finally, it lasts the same amount of time as a traditional facelift

So what area of the face does Concept™ Facelift address?

Concept™ Facelift lifts the cheeks to their original position, creating a youthful appearance the patient once had. The cheek skin looks smoother and fresher as the fine lines are removed. The nasolabial lines that run from the outer parts of the nostrils to the corners of the mouth appear less deep and the marionette lines that can create a shadow down from the corners of the mouth are eradicated which make people look sad and tired. The jowls are removed and jawline is defined as they once were. The upper neck fine lines and wrinkles are also improved creating a smoother more toned neck. The outcome is a fresher more youthful looking you.

What concerns patients when they come to see you for a Concept™ Facelift?

It can be a combination of cheeks, nasolabial lines, marionette lines, jowls, jawline or the neck improvement. The beauty of this technique is that it can be tailor-made for the individual to achieve the look they want. All patients want to look fresher, less tired in appearance and generally speaking they want to look the way they feel inside as often the outer appearance doesn’t reflect how they may feel inside.

Patients look for the natural look and often are scared of having facial surgery when they have seen the horrors of what happens when people have a bad facelift as seen on TV and with some well known stars. On the whole if people ask, “Have you had a facelift?”, then that’s a sign of a bad facelift. A good facelift should be subtle and other than looking fresh should not appear that the person has had surgery but rather looking good.

Most of my patients who come to see me for their follow up often say that they had positive comments from friends and family that they look good. These are often followed by, “Have you lost weight? Have you changed your hair or been on holiday?”. That is exactly what Concept Facelift™ produces, a fresh look without the signs of surgery.

Are patients anxious undergoing a new procedure and under local anesthetic?

Sure. Understandably the thought of a new procedure is daunting, not to mention a facial one that you can’t hide if it goes wrong. Often the anxiety of having the procedure under local anesthetic is one of, “Will I feel any pain? Would I be able to see what is going on?”. The majority of patients feel that the procedure was not as bad as they thought. Luckily we have a huge database of patients who have undergone the procedure are delighted and want to share their experience with new patients. Frankly I think there’s no better way than hearing about the procedure from those who have had the procedure themselves. Often patients of past and present arrange to meet and see for themselves what a Concept™ Facelift looks like.

By local anaesthetic, do you mean they have sedation?

No not at all. That’s the beauty of Concept™ Facelift. The local anaesthetic injection around the ear stings for a few seconds like going to the dentist. The patient is fully awake and talking while I carry out the operation. They don’t feel any pain and they don’t see any of the surgery. The anesthetic makes the operative area numb and once the patients see that there is no pain they relax.

Why have the procedure under local anesthetic anyway? Is there a benefit to this?

Most certainly. Most of my patients do not want to have general anesthetic. Facelift surgery is want surgery, not need surgery. We want to feel better and look fresher and if there is an alternative where the procedure can be done safer without the strain on your heart and lungs from a general anesthetic then why have general anesthetic? Under local anesthetic the recovery is quicker, there’s no hospital stay and no feeling of nausea and sickness that some get from general anesthetic. It also means that once the operation is over the patient can have a cup of tea or coffee before going home. In today’s busy lives we can easily arrange this kind of surgery rather than booking days off work for the hospital stay.

Where are the scars for Concept™ Facelift?

The scar runs from the top of the ear, in-front hidden within the creases and grooves, tucks under the earlobe and ends behind the ear. Traditionally the facelift scar goes higher up into the hair above the ear and ends at the back by going from behind the ear into the hair at the back of the head. The scars within the hair are often stapled which can be painful when they are removed. Making the scar shorter we can still achieve the same result but through a shorter scar. I don’t use any staples and all sutures (stitches) are absorbable under the skin that leave a very fine line scar. I often see people suffer from hair loss from traditional facelift as the scar disturbs hair growth to the vicinity of the scars. By avoiding scars in the hair we can avoid hair loss.

What dressings do people have after a Concept™ Facelift?

Patients don’t need any head bandages or dressings and I don’t use any drains that can be uncomfortable. A simple ‘skin’ coloured tape by the earlobe is all the dressing they have. They can shower the next day and the tape stays on until they are seen at follow up.

How is it that despite having a surgical procedure they are not bruised?

Well, that’s one of the main areas I have spent a lot of time developing. Often with traditional facelift patients are very swollen and bruised. A combination of infiltration fluid and tailor-made instruments have made this possible. I know that one of our patient’s main concerns is the downtime and bruising. Well the majority of my patients look presentable within a few days unlike a few weeks from the traditional facelift. People these days just don’t have time off work and social for few weeks to hide away while they recover. With Concept Facelift™ they can go back to their daily routine within a few days looking fresh, less tired and with no signs of having had surgery.

Thanks for talking to us Amir.

Thanks, you’re welcome!

Be sure to check out more information about our Concept™ Facelift procedure!