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SARASOTA – For years, plastic surgery has been the answer for many men and women looking to turn back the hands of time. But the price of that youthful look usually involves invasive surgery, a hefty price tag, and weeks of down time to hide the effects of swelling.

But the trend for surgeons is changing. Now it’s about giving patients that desired look with less risk, less money, and less down time.

A Sarasota surgeon has one such option; he’s helped develop an alternative to a traditional facelift called Acculift.

"I think as we age, there are different things we don’t like.” Ramona Arpin is like thousands of others looking to regain that youthful appearance. "I noticed everything coming down here, so I know that that happens. So I just thought…well, if we do something to tweak that I’m fine with that.”

Just a week shy of her 57th birthday, Ramona decided she was ready for some improvements. But not wanting to have the down time of a facelift, Dr. David Holcomb told her about a relatively new procedure called Acculift. It’s laser assisted facial contouring, only requiring local anesthesia and small needle-sticks.

It removes the excess fat that accumulates in the midface and along the jawline that creates jowls.

"What happens is, that fat pad slides from outside toward the nose and mouth as we age.” Dr. Holcomb says traditional facelifts have limitations, because sometimes you’re lifting the fat that eventually can sag again…and filler injections are only temporary. “And as jowl folds become heavier, you end up having to put more and more filler to camouflage or contour the face. And that can become very costly and unnatural.”

Before the procedure, the doctor marks the areas where fat will be removed and fillers will be added. Then it’s time to start. After the local anesthesia, small incisions are made for the fat removal.

The fiberoptic laser is used to melt the descended fat and then used to tighten the skin. If needed, fillers can be put in to add volume where it’s been lost, giving the face that rejuvenated look.

The whole procedure takes about 45 minutes, and patients are typically back to their normal routines within just a couple of days.

Several weeks after her procedure, Ramona she said it was breeze. She had the Acculift done Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning she was having breakfast downtown with friends. "I noticed a difference right away. I could really see a difference in this region, and as the time went on it just gets better and better.”

Dr. Holcomb recently returned from Dubai where he presented a course on Acculift. He says it can be a great touch-up procedure for previous facelift patients that have re-formed jowls.

It’s generally several thousand dollars for the procedure, but Dr. Holcomb says it’s about half as much as a facelift would cost.

If you’d like more information, and to see before and after pictures, you can head to www.srqfps.com.

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