Kristin Egan, MD, FACS

Services Offered

• LazerLift 
• Cosmetic injectables 
• Laser services 
• Skin care 
• Cosmetic facial surgeries 

The Latest Treatments

There has been an explosion of minimally invasive treatments in the last five to 10 years, including an increase in popularity of the thread lift procedure, which involves inserting barbed threads (like fishing line with little hooks along the length) through a tiny puncture hole. These threads can be used to lift the tissue of the cheeks, the jowls, the eyebrows and even the nasal tip. With the use of thread lift procedures and fillers, one can achieve quite a dramatic transformation.

Wise Words

I always tell the students I mentor to really listen to their patients. We can only do our jobs if we get all the information from the patients. So learning how to ask the right questions and not rush to a diagnosis—and focus on the complaints or concerns that the patients come to your office for—are valuable skills.  

Trust and Credibility

As a female surgeon in a largely male-dominated field, I bring the personal experience of aging in today’s society from a woman’s perspective. I actively try new technologies and products on myself so I can better educate my patients about them. I believe that being a patient myself inspires confidence in my patients. I am diligent about using sunscreen, wearing a hat and sunglasses, applying high-strength retinol nightly, and receiving neurotoxin treatments every four to five months. I also use fillers to restore volume in my temples and midface/cheeks.

What is a Facelift?

A facelift is a surgery designed to address the jowls and neck skin laxity and tighten up the skin along the jawline. It involves deep permanent sutures to hold the muscle and tissue underneath the skin in a more aesthetic, youthful direction. Stitches and scars are hidden around the ears and by the hair. Results typically last 10 to 15 years.

The typical facelift surgery lasts about two hours. However, if you want to address other issues at the same time such as eyelid skin trimming, it can add another hour. The recovery for a facelift is one to two weeks, with two weeks of no heavy lifting. By two weeks, when the stitches and staples come out, most of the swelling has gone down, and the incisions are still pink but can easily be covered with makeup. Patients are encouraged to be up and walking one day after surgery and beyond.

If you find yourself standing in front of your mirror, pulling your skin back along your jawline and liking how that looks, you would probably be very happy with a facelift.

Fillers and Botox vs. Facelift

Fillers and Botox, while great for the mid-face, forehead and around the eyes, are not designed to do much in the neck and will not be able to tighten up the skin of the neck and jawline comparably to a surgical facelift.

What is a Mini Facelift?

The mini facelift does not involve elevating the skin as far out, which can sometimes mean that you can’t tighten sufficiently to achieve a sharp jawline. In most cases, it’s advised to invest in a facelift, which will be longer-lasting and only involve one recovery period, versus doing a mini facelift and having another surgery/recovery period five years later. Due to the costs for anesthesia and facility remaining the same per hour, a mini facelift is not considerably cheaper. However, an office laser facelift is offered at a lower price with a shorter recovery period for those not yet ready for a surgical facelift.

What About a Neck Lift?

A neck lift is actually a facelift or a face and neck lift that addresses the upper neck and the lower face to sharpen the jawline. There are many different names associated with the same surgical procedure.

Photographed by Arnil Pabalan