[Notice] I Performed a Facelift on My Mother-in-Law! 1-Year Review

Hello. I am Dr. Kim Yongwoo, a plastic surgery specialist at Returning Plastic Surgery.

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This post covers the 6-month follow-up story after performing anti-aging surgeries—including eyes, nose, fat grafting, and facelift—on my mother-in-law.

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In December 2023, around the time my own mother’s facelift recovery was wrapping up successfully, I visited my in-laws. Naturally, their interest was focused on my mother’s recovery. In fact, I had recommended anti-aging surgery to my in-laws several times in the past. However, since my mother-in-law had never undergone even a simple plastic surgery procedure in her life and is nearly 10 years younger than my mother, I had mostly suggested it to my father-in-law.

But seeing my mother's results must have given her courage. This time, she cautiously opened up about the complex issues regarding her face that she had been harboring. If her son-in-law weren't a plastic surgeon, she is the type of person who would never have had surgery in her lifetime. It is true that for many in their middle age, the barrier to entering a plastic surgery clinic is high, and knowing where to start can be overwhelming.

The daunting barrier to plastic surgery—with a little courage, you can overcome it!

My Mother-in-Law's Concern: "I want a more sophisticated impression!"

Having never had plastic surgery, she wanted a smoother facial contour and a sophisticated look.

As a business owner, she felt her impression was "too kind," which sometimes acted as a disadvantage, so she desired a younger and sharper image. Her biggest concern was her rugged cheekbone contours. We considered facial bone contouring (zygoma reduction) for her protruding 45-degree and lateral cheekbones. However, bone surgery at this age inevitably leads to sagging cheeks, requiring a facelift anyway. Considering her need for a quick recovery to return to work, we decided to resolve the contouring issues through a facelift, fat grafting, and liposuction instead of bone surgery.

Additionally, to address sagging eyes, we planned a Sub-brow Lift and Lower Blepharoplasty. We also planned a Rhinoplasty (Nose Surgery) to improve her long and low nasal tip. Just like other parts of the face, the nose lengthens and droops with age. Many think nose surgery is only for the young, but if applied as an anti-aging concept, it yields significantly more satisfying results. There is something I often tell patients during consultations:

"A facelift makes you younger, but adding nose surgery makes you younger AND pretty!"

Just like with my mother, we scheduled the surgery quickly, within a week.

Final Surgical Plan

• Sub-brow Lift
• Lower Blepharoplasty
• Facelift & Platysmaplasty (Neck Muscle Tying)
• Facial Liposuction & Fat Grafting
• Rhinoplasty

Day of Surgery

As with my mother, we filmed a short pre-op video. Due to the number of procedures, we decided on general anesthesia.

"Who makes you more nervous to operate on: Your Mother or Your Mother-in-Law?"

Mother vs. Mother-in-Law: The Ultimate "Balance Game" Question.

Every staff member asked me this, but my answer was:

"I'm not nervous for either. I do it with the same joyful heart of filial piety!"

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The surgery proceeded in this order: Sub-brow Lift → Lower Bleph → Nose → Platysmaplasty → Facelift → Liposuction/Graft.

Eye and nose surgeries must be done when there is no swelling to ensure accurate shaping, and fat grafting should be done last as it can be pressed during other procedures. Excluding anesthesia time, the surgery took about 6 hours, and everything went satisfactorily according to plan.

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As a side note, the consultant in charge of my mother-in-law had previously received a facelift from me (as did her own mother), and the assisting nurse had also received a facelift from me. Because they had a higher understanding of the procedure and recovery than anyone else, I was able to operate with a peaceful mind.

[Image: Cheerful pre-op video shoot]

[Image: Pre-op Design]

The Surgical Process (6-Hour Surgery)

1. Pre-op Plan: Sub-brow Lift

This is an excellent choice when there are existing double eyelids and the distance between the eye and eyebrow is not too narrow. My mother-in-law had a single fold, so we opted for a natural sub-brow lift rather than an upper blepharoplasty.

(Link to previous blog post analyzing eye surgery choices)

2. Lower Blepharoplasty

A staple of anti-aging surgery, this improves under-eye bulges, tear troughs, and fine lines. Since she didn't have excess fat, we focused on fat repositioning without removal and orbicularis oculi suspension to create a natural "aegyosal" (charming under-eye roll).

3. Rhinoplasty

As I often mention, the nose ages too. Combining rhinoplasty with a facelift is very common and has high satisfaction rates. To correct the droopy tip and lengthened nose, I used septal cartilage for a septal extension graft to increase the nasolabial angle. I used a 4mm silicone implant to create a "natural yet defined" bridge line. From the front, alar reduction and osteotomy were performed to create a slimmer, three-dimensional shape.

[Image: Improving tip droop in an aging nose]

4. Facelift (Pixie Ear Correction) + Platysmaplasty

I performed a Deep Plane Facelift with maximum dissection and maximum lift. As mentioned in previous posts, the focus was on contour improvement via temple fat grafting and buccal fat repositioning. I also made an incision under the chin; since the platysma muscle sagging wasn't severe, I focused on removing deep fat and lightly tying the muscles.

She also wanted to correct her congenital pixie ears, so we performed a Z-plasty during the facelift incision to correct the earlobes.

[Image: Congenital Pixie Ear: Z-plasty design during facelift incision]

5. Liposuction and Fat Grafting

To improve the contour of the side cheekbones, I performed liposuction on the 45-degree and 90-degree zygoma areas, fat grafting on the temples, and buccal fat repositioning for the hollow cheeks to create a smooth contour.

(Link to previous blog post analyzing contour improvement via fat control in facelifts)

Post-Op Progress

3 Months Later – A Sophisticated Impression!

Like my mother, she visited the clinic for a check-up at the 3-month mark. After getting her makeup done for the video shoot, she looked even younger and more sophisticated than I had imagined. She was very happy, saying that her daily life had changed and she had gained a lot of confidence when talking to people in her business.

[Image: Mother-in-law looking brighter after surgery]

[Image: 3 Months Post-op. Pixie ear corrected and rough side profile softened.]

6 Months Later

Pre-op vs. 6 Months Post-op (Unfiltered review with no additional procedures)

This is the most recent video taken when I visited my in-laws in July 2024. It was shot with a standard camera without filters. Even after 6 months, the results remain incredibly satisfactory.

Conclusion

After performing facelifts on both my mother and my mother-in-law, I feel I have grown a step further as a plastic surgeon and learned many lessons.

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Lately, many patients visit after seeing the YouTube results of my mother and mother-in-law, saying, "Please do it just like you did for your mother," or "Make me look like your mother-in-law."

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Dr. Returning will continue to perform the best surgeries with all my heart for every patient, treating you as someone's mother, someone's mother-in-law, and a precious family member. Thank you!

[Links to Videos]

• Before Surgery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZBH9_P8Ajs
• 3 Months Post-op: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieysmJEenX8
• 1 Year Post-op: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ig6D5XWzpY