FaceTime Video Chat Inspires Face Lift Surgery

The wrong angle can make anyone appear older, as some Skype and FaceTime users are now realizing. A recent ABC news report explores the new, less-than-flattering perspective shown through webcams.

As more people use these devices in their personal and professional lives, more of them desire a solution to the problems they see.

ABC health writer Greta Kreuz interviewed Jennifer Miller, who says she began using Skype four years ago. Soon, Miller realized that her computer screen offered a startling point of view. “I noticed that the jowls and neck line were sagging,” she said. “I thought to myself, oh my gosh — do I look like this?”

She hadn’t noticed this problem when looking in the mirror. But with online video services like Skype, the camera is often positioned beneath the face.

She decided to get a new type of facelift that has been nicknamed the “FaceTime facelift,” after the popular iPad application. Some facial rejuvenation surgeries leave a scar beneath the chin, which would show up while video chatting. This face lift uses incision behind the ears.

“The goal is to lift the tissues from behind,” says Dr. Robert Sigal, the plastic surgeon who performed the procedure. “Then we use sling and modifications to bring muscle back and change direction.” He says that he developed the idea of the “FaceTime facelift” because his wife “didn’t like the way she looked when she got an iPad and FaceTime with our daughters.”

Two weeks after receiving the surgery, Ms. Miller was thrilled with the results. “I love it, I love it,” she told ABC. “I have such great definition now and the jowls are gone and everyone I know says I look so much younger.”

Plastic surgeons can address signs of aging in the neck and jaw area with a few different techniques. Besides face lift surgery, chin implants, neck lifts and neck liposuction can enhance the lower facial contours.

Photo credit: Good Times with FaceTime by MadeByMark, on Flickr