While everyone knows a facelift by name, very few know actually what it is. I have yet to meet a prospective patient or even an interested person on the street who truly knows what the facelift operation is or does. Apparently this is a similar problem in the dog world as well.
In a recent internet story on the Daily Mail, a pedigree dog recently underwent an ‘extreme facelift’. The Shar Peis, also known as the Chinese wrinkle dog, is well recognized and most everyone has seen one. Known for their adorability, their many folds of skin are unmistakeable in appearance. Such large amounts of skin folds create a classic facial look that makes one think the dog may be squinting, straining to see through the skin overhang. In one such Shar Peis in England, however, this cute and ‘aged’ face hide a more serious condition. In a dog named Molly, she was unable to see since birth because she suffered from entropion, a congenital disease which causes folds of skin to rub against the eye. The skin folds above and hanging down onto her upper eyelid were so heavy, they folded over and rubbed on her eyes. This not only blocked her vision but potentially could leading to a permanent vision change. Overbreeding was blamed for giving the dog this ocular condition, breeding diseased dogs to create an appearance rather than for their health.
This eye condition caused the dog a lot of pain and she lived this way for the first year of her life. During this time, she slept a lot and did little activity. But that all changed due to a recent surgery. A local veterinarian performed an ‘extreme facelift’ in which he removed a large piece of skin and stitched the remaining skin to the back of her head. This allowed her to open her eyes and see for the first time. According to the veterinary surgeon, if this condition was left much longer she would have been totally blinded. The dog has a changed life after this surgery, now being very active and doing things the active and playful things that all healthy dogs do.
This is a great pet story and a wonderful bit of canine plastic surgery. While the concept of removal of the cause of eye irritation and vision blockage surgical is obvious, actually doing it successfully is to be commended. But, technically speaking, this dog did not have a facelift, extreme or otherwise.
The confusion over what constitutes a facelift is common. A facelift, a really misleading term, is really a jowl-neck procedure which affects only the lower third of the face. It is often conceived to be a total face lifting procedure, from the scalp down to the neck, when in actuality it affects just the lower third of the face. This dog actually had a browlift operation or, to be specific, a combined browlift with a scalp reduction. Regardless of its name, this dog will squint no more.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana