Photography by Holt Haynsworth

Sam T. Hamra, MD, FACS

Dr. Sam T. Hamra:

The philosophy behind
The Facelift Letdown

Dr. Hamra writes in his book, The Facelift Letdown, "Having been in practice since 1973, I have had experience with almost every type of facelift procedure. I have made almost every mistake and I have had almost every complication. For this reason at this stage in my career, I feel that it is a service to patients to attempt to explain what can happen, why it happens, and what can be done to repair these problems."

According to Dr. Hamra, facelift letdown is certainly not the fault of the surgeon. Rather, it is the shortcomings of traditional procedures that have been practiced for many years and which have remained by and large unchanged. This is in spite of new and exciting advances which can produce very attractive and enduring results.

In 1998 Dr. Hamra published two articles in The Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The first was on new innovations for the Composite Facelift. The second was entitled "Frequent Facelift Sequelae: Hollow Eyes and the Lateral Sweep, Cause and Repair."

To Dr. Hamra's knowledge, this was the first article describing the shortcomings of conventional facelifts, and how to correct them. It was not met at first with enthusiasm by every plastic surgeon, but then it was not the first time Dr. Hamra had received criticism from his peers. New techniques can upset the apple cart in all medical specialties.

According to Dr. Hamra, it brings to mind a saying from Oklahoma, where he grew up; "The pioneers get the arrows and the settlers get the land." In fact, after early doubts, many surgeons started to incorporate his new techniques into their practices.