The American Board of Plastic Surgery requires doctors to have five or more years of specialized training after medical school, including two years of plastic surgery. In addition, find out whether your surgeon has privileges at an accredited hospital. Come prepared with questions. If you smoke, stop. Smoking slows blood flow to the face and can interfere with healing.
Doctors recommend that smokers stop at least two weeks before going under the knife.
Liposuction in the neck and jowl may be done to remove fat deposits, and fat in the cheeks may be shifted to another part of the face to plump up wrinkles. The surgery typically takes several hours, though more extensive procedures are often divided into different sessions. Most patients experience some postsurgical swelling, bleeding, scarring and numbness, which all fade with time. Keeping the head and neck elevated for several days after surgery minimizes swelling. You may be sent home swathed in bandages with a drainage tube, which your doctor will remove in a day or two.