Face · Westlake, Texas
Face & neck lift
The full procedure, face and neck addressed together, because the two age as one structure and lifting only half of it shows.
- Fee$18,000
- In theatre4 to 6 hours
- Back to work2 to 3 weeks
01 · What it does
A face lift is not about pulling skin tight.
Treating skin as the problem is how a face ends up looking operated on rather than rested. The work happens underneath, in the muscle and fascia that have descended. The skin is redraped over the result.
The SMAS, repositioned
The muscle and fascia under the skin have descended, and they are lifted and fixed back where they sat. In the neck the same layer is the platysma, repaired in the midline. This is the layer that holds.
Where the skin still has tone, the neck can sometimes be answered with a suture alone. That is the MyEllevate® conversation.
The fat, put back where it belongs
A jowl is fat that has slid below the jawline, a hollow cheek is fat that has left. Both are addressed with the deeper layer, and fullness under the chin is contoured through the same incision.
Where the mid-face has lost volume, fat transfer can be planned alongside, decided at the consultation.
The skin, redraped
The skin is laid back over the repositioned layer and only the genuine excess removed. It carries no tension, which is the difference between rested and pulled.
A lift restores position. It does not change the quality of the skin, which is what resurfacing is for, often staged afterwards.
02 · Who it suits
This is the operation for genuine descent and genuine excess.
Rather than early laxity a suture could still hold. Usually people in their fifties and sixties, and younger people after major weight loss.
If your skin still has tone and the problem is muscle rather than excess, Dr. Stone will point you at MyEllevate® instead. That is a normal outcome here.
03 · How it is done
In front of the ear, around the lobe, and back into the hairline.
The incisions follow the creases in front of the ear, around the earlobe and into the hairline, with a small one under the chin. Through them the SMAS is lifted and fixed, the platysma repaired, fat contoured, and the skin redraped with only the excess removed.
Four to six hours under general anaesthetic, depending on what is combined. You are monitored, then go home with a responsible adult, or stay overnight if that is safer.
Scars sit where the anatomy conceals them and mature from pink to pale over months. Scar care starts as soon as the wounds are closed.
04 · Recovery
A day, a fortnight, and a year of settling.
Conventional ranges, to plan around. Dr. Stone will give you the numbers for your own face.
The day
Four to six hours in theatre
Under general anaesthetic. A responsible adult drives you home, or you stay the night. No driving for twenty-four hours.
Day three
Bruising and swelling peak, then fall away
A support garment, tightness, and a face that looks worse than it feels. It improves quickly from here.
Week two
Sutures out, presentable in company
Sutures come out in stages. Most people are presentable at around two weeks and back at a desk at two to three. No lifting or sharp head turns for six weeks.
Months six to twelve
The result settles
It keeps refining as swelling resolves and scars mature. Follow-ups are with Dr. Stone herself, for up to eighteen months.
05 · Compared with
Three operations, and what decides between them.
Which you need is an anatomical fact, not a preference. All three are quoted separately.
| MyEllevate® | Neck lift | Face & neck liftYou are here | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it treats | Muscle laxity, where the skin still has tone | Muscle separation, fat and genuine skin excess | The jowl and the neck, where they are one continuous problem |
| Incision | None on the outside | Under the chin, around and behind the ears | In front of and behind the ears, back into the hairline |
| Anaesthesia | Local, sedation optional | General or deep sedation | General |
| Back to work | Around a week | Two weeks | Two to three weeks |
| Results settle | 6 to 12 weeks | Three to six months | Six to twelve months |
| Fee | $6,000 | $11,000 | $18,000 |
A lift does nothing for skin quality or a hooded eye, so two things are commonly planned alongside: blepharoplasty at $3,400, and laser resurfacing at $2,800, often staged.
06 · The surgeon
The facial nerve runs through the plane this operation works in.
A diagram does not tell you where its branches run in a particular face, under tension. Dr. Stone trained in oral and maxillofacial surgery across three Level 1 trauma centres, rebuilding this anatomy after it had been broken.
- 01Biomedical engineering degree, then a Doctorate of Dental Surgery
- 02Full oral and maxillofacial residency across three Level 1 trauma centres
- 03Attending surgeon, Baylor and Methodist Medical Centers
- 04She plans, performs and follows up every case herself
07 · Questions
The six questions this operation raises.
Where do the scars go, and will people see them?
In front of the ear, around the earlobe and into the hairline behind it, where the anatomy hides them. They mature from pink to pale over months.
How long will it last?
It resets the clock rather than stopping it. Most people look substantially better than their unoperated baseline for a decade or more, then age normally from there. Skin quality, weight stability, sun exposure and genetics all move that figure.
Will I look like a different person?
No. If it looks like a different person, the planning went wrong. The aim is that people register that you look well, not altered: a matter of how much tension is placed on which layer.
Can I have just the neck?
Yes. The neck lift is quoted separately at $11,000, and for the right anatomy MyEllevate® at $6,000 achieves a great deal with no external incision.
Can I combine it with eyelid surgery or resurfacing?
Often. A lifted face with tired eyes reads as tired, so blepharoplasty is commonly planned alongside. Laser resurfacing reaches the texture and pigment a lift cannot, usually staged.
What does it cost, and can I finance it?
$18,000 for the face and neck together. Financing runs through Sunbit, and membership credit can be applied to a surgical fee. See Memberships.
Book it
One surgeon, from the consultation to the last follow-up.
The consultation is $175 for Texas residents and $250 from out of state, with a $100 deposit that comes off the fee. You spend the hour with Dr. Stone, not a treatment coordinator.
- The practice
- 72 Andorra Dr #110
Westlake, TX 76262 - Hours
- Monday to Friday, 9 to 5
Saturday by appointment