Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) September 04, 2014

Dallas plastic surgeon, Dr. Rod J. Rohrich, Professor of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has completed an in-depth, retrospective study on facelift outcomes of patients in which knowledge of fat compartments were utilized to restore volume. The paper, “Lift-and-Fill Facelift: Integrating the Fat Compartments,” appeared in a recent issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Using data from 100 facelift patients, Dr. Rohrich and his team completed a retrospective analysis of individual outcomes. Detailed photographs taken during pre-operative assessments and follow-up visits at least six months after the procedure were compared to quantify improvements in facial definition, the fullness of the cheeks, and the smoothness of the nasolabial fold.

Each of the patients had undergone an individualized lift-and-fill facelift, including ancillary procedures to enhance the neck, jaw, and eye area. Building on Dr. Rohrich’s existing research, this study evaluated the outcome of strategic fat grafts applied to selected fat compartments which had demonstrated signs of facial atrophy.

For this group of subjects, an average fat transfer of two ccs per compartment provided volume to the underlying soft-tissue structure. Then, the skin and overlying superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) layer were addressed depending on the specific patient’s individual anatomical circumstances. For example, control of facial volume can be achieved by removing SMAS tissue in patients with shorter and wider faces, or may be increased to show more fullness by stacking the layer upon itself in patients with longer, narrower faces.

The results were evaluated by computer software which compared the preoperative and postoperative photos, and also independently assessed by a small team of trained plastic surgeon observers. The observers evaluated both sets of photos for the synergistic effect of filling the underlying soft tissue and then tightening the superficial muscles and quantified the results according to a standardized four grade scale described by Dallas plastic surgeon Fritz E. Barton, Jr., M.D., Professor, Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern.

Based on these observations, the appearance of the nasolabial fold improved by one grade or more in 81 of the 100 patients. Eleven of these patients achieved an improvement greater than one grade. Improvement in malar prominence, or the fullness of the checks, was achieved in 63 patients with ten showing improvement of two grades.

“Studying past surgeries in this way reveals the efficacy of treatments and why certain facelift patients showed such significant improvement,” explains Dr. Rohrich. “Quantifying existing outcomes is the key to developing and refining new technologies and techniques that can be used to consistently and objectively achieve great results.”

About Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Rod Rohrich holds the Betty and Warren Woodward Chair in Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He also holds the UT Southwestern Medical Center Crystal Charity Ball Distinguished Chair in Plastic Surgery. Dr. Rohrich graduated from Baylor College of Medicine with high honors, and completed residencies at the University of Michigan Medical Center and fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard (hand/microsurgery) and Oxford University (pediatric plastic surgery). He has served as president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the largest organization of board certified plastic surgeons in the world. He repeatedly has been selected by his peers as one of America’s best doctors, and twice has received one of his profession’s highest honors, the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes his contributions to education in plastic surgery. Dr. Rohrich participates in and has led numerous associations and councils for the advancement of plastic and reconstructive surgery.






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