The new era of facial rejuvenation is here—one that moves beyond the overly pulled, overfilled, and visibly altered results of the past. Leading that shift in the Southeast is Dr. Blake Raggio, double board-certified Facial Plastic Surgeon and founder of Raggio MD in Birmingham. His modern approach to facelifting and facial rejuvenation focuses not on transformation, but on restoration utilizing refined techniques to achieve subtle, undetectable results.
“For most patients, it’s more than just looking younger,” Dr. Raggio says. “They want to look like themselves again —rested, balanced, more vibrant.”
That quiet, natural desire is at the core of the PreservaLift™— Dr. Raggio’s signature facelift and necklift designed specifically for today’s discerning patient who values facial harmony, longevity, and a refreshed appearance that still feels deeply personal.
What Makes Modern Facial Rejuvenation and the PreservaLift™ Different?
At its core, the PreservaLift™ is an advanced form of the deep-plane facelift, a technique that lifts the deeper layers of the face, not just the skin. Dr. Raggio refines it further by using a lateral, less traumatic entry point—a preservation-first approach that protects blood supply and soft tissue. This comprehensive treatment combines an advanced preservation extended deep-plane facelift with a structural necklift and precision fat grafting and nanofat to restore youthful contours while preserving each patient’s unique facial identity.
“Our goal isn’t to pull or stretch,” he explains. “It’s to reposition the facial foundation in a way that restores, not reshapes.”
This translates into a natural-looking lift, inconspicuous scarring, and longer-lasting results. The outcome is what Dr. Raggio calls the “undetectable facelift.”
Face and Neck—Treated Together, As They Age Together
A key differentiator of Dr. Raggio’s PreservaLift™ is that it treats both the face and the neck—from cheekbone to clavicle.
“The neck is often the giveaway,” says Dr. Raggio. “If we only lift the face, we miss the full story. My approach combines a deep structural necklift to ensure harmony across the lower face.”
This includes work on underlying muscles, fat pads, and even ptotic (drooping) glands—elements many basic necklifts leave untouched.
Restoring Volume with Your Own Fat—Lift and Fill
Facial aging isn’t just about sagging—it’s about volume loss. The hollowed look around the cheeks or under eyes comes from losing fat, muscle, and bony structure over time.
Dr. Raggio addresses this with autologous fat grafting, using a patient’s own purified, stem cell–rich fat. It’s placed in strategic areas like the tear troughs, cheeks, and nasolabial folds to restore softness and contour.
“We’re not adding puffiness,” he notes.“We’re replacing what’s been lost—naturally and subtly.”
In many cases, a finer stem-cell-rich “nanofat” component also improves skin quality and glow from within.
Safe, Comfortable Surgery—Without General Anesthesia
All PreservaLift™ procedures are performed at RaggioMD’s privately owned and AAAASF-accredited in-office surgical suite, under deep IV sedation and local anesthesia, not general anesthesia.
“Avoiding general anesthesia reduces risk, speeds recovery, and improves comfort,” says Dr. Raggio. “There’s no breathing tube, less intraoperative bleeding, less post-operative nausea, and most people are up and around sooner than they expect.”
Patients also benefit from Dr. Raggio’s advanced wound healing protocols:
• Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) to accelerate healing
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• Personalized aftercare and support
• Complementary Laser therapy to surgical incisions
Regarding recovery, most patients are socially presentable in 3–4 weeks. Dr. Raggio adds, “In my opinion, three to four weeks of downtime is a fair trade for the several years of rejuvenation that come with it.”
A Resource for Birmingham—and Beyond
Though patients travel from across the Southeast, Dr. Raggio is clear about his local mission:
“Our goal is to bring these advanced techniques to Birmingham—to serve our own community with the same level of expertise you’d find in New York or Beverly Hills,” he says.
As one of the few facial plastic surgeons in the region focused exclusively on cosmetic face and neck surgery, Dr. Raggio blends technical skill with aesthetic precision, offering a highly individualized experience.
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“Our goal isn’t to pull or stretch. It’s to reposition the facial foundation in a way that restores, not reshapes.”
Not a Transformation—A Restoration
Modern-day plastic surgery should not be about changing how you look—it’s about bringing back what time has softened. It’s surgical, yes, but discreet. Artistic, but grounded in anatomy. And always customized.
“We’re here to do thoughtful, modern work for people who value subtlety, longevity, and natural outcomes,” says Dr. Raggio. “It’s not about looking different. It’s about looking like you, just well-rested again.”
The PreservaLift™ at Raggio MD: A preservation extended release deep-plane facelift and structural necklift approach that “preserves” the skin (green) by entering the deep plane at a point (yellow) more lateral to the traditional deep-plane incision route (blue). Key features include carefully placed incisions (red), “extended” deep-plane dissection below the jawline (yellow), a release of key facial ligaments (black X), targeted deep structural neck work (red circle), and a vertical vector of lift (purple arrow) for natural, long-lasting rejuvenation. Autologous fat grafting and nanofat are also key components of this technique, though not pictured here. Before photo pictured here.
