Home | Procedures | Face and Neck Lift
A facelift restores smoother, more pleasing contours to your face and neck. It can help you enhance the inner beauty you feel, and perhaps reveal a younger “you” in the mirror.
To read more, please click on a topic below:
Am I a good candidate for a facelift?
The following conditions may indicate that you are a good candidate for a facelift:
- Jowls or loss of a well-defined jaw line associated with youthfulness
- Deep wrinkles in the cheeks and sagging of the "highlight" areas of the cheekbones
- Loose skin, wrinkles, vertical "cords" or excess fatty tissue in the neck
A facelift can improve all of these problems. However, it takes other procedures to address conditions such as sagging eyebrows, excess skin and fatty deposits in the upper and lower eyelids, or wrinkles around the mouth. Your plastic surgeon can provide further information if you have an interest in other procedures to treat these areas.
Your Personal Consultation
During the initial consultation, I will ask you to look in a mirror and point out exactly what you would like to see improved with your whole face, then begin to address the separate parts. Sometimes, patients may focus their attention on excess skin in the upper eyelids and not realize that sagging of their eyebrows contributes to this condition. You should be very frank in discussing anything about your appearance that bothers you, as well as what you hope to achieve with surgery. This will help me to understand your expectations and determine whether they can realistically be achieved.
You should come to the consultation prepared to discuss your medical history. This will include information about any medical conditions, especially smoking (which can contribute to tissue death), heart, lung, diseases that interfere with healing, drug allergies, previous surgeries, supplements, vitamins and medications that you currently take.
How will my plastic surgeon evaluate me for facelift surgery?
In evaluating you for facelift surgery, I will assess the thickness, texture and elasticity of your skin, and the severity of wrinkles and folds. Your hairline will be examined to determine where incisions can be discreetly placed. All of these factors, as well as your bone structure and underlying tissues, will be considered in developing an individual surgical plan. Your overall health is crucial to a successful outcome. Plan to share your whole health status with the surgeon.
I may discuss with you additional procedures that can be performed along with a facelift in order to address all the concerns you have identified. For example, a facelift is frequently combined with a forehead lift, eyelid surgery, nose reshaping or skin treatments such as a chemical peel, dermabrasion or laser resurfacing.
How a Face Lift is Performed
Because of individual factors, not everyone achieves the same results from a facelift. With your input I will select the surgical technique that will obtain the best outcome for you.
Where are the facelift incisions placed?
Although there are many variations to the facelift procedure, generally an incision is hidden in the natural contour of your ear, and then extends around the earlobe and back into the hairline. Following surgery, incisions can be easily concealed by your hair or with makeup. There may also be a small incision hidden underneath your chin.
Most facelift incisions are placed within the hairline and within natural contours in front of and behind the ear. Sometimes the deeper tissues may also need to be repositioned in order to restore a more youthful contour to the face. After the skin has been pulled up and back, the excess is removed.
How is my plastic surgeon able to restore a firmer, fresher look to my face?
Through the discreet facelift incisions, I will be able to free the skin from the underlying tissues to the extent necessary for the particular surgical technique selected. After the skin has been pulled up and back, the excess is removed. In some instances, the deeper tissues may also need to be repositioned in order to restore a more youthful contour to your face. If necessary, a small incision beneath the chin permits the removal of fatty tissue in that area and smoothing of the cord-like structures of the underlying muscle in the neck.
Your Surgical Experience
My goal is to make your surgical experience as easy and comfortable for you as possible.
How should I prepare for surgery?
If you are a smoker, you will be asked to stop smoking well in advance of surgery to lessen the risk of skin loss through poor circulation. Aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin E and over-the-counter supplements such as ginkgo, garlic, ginseng and others can cause increased bleeding; diet pills can stop your heart while under anesthesia. You should advise me of ALL supplements and medications (even those from other countries) that you are taking. I will advise you and provide additional preoperative instructions.
If your hair is very short, you may want to let it grow enough to cover your incisions while they heal. If you are overweight and have a realistic desire to lose more that 15 pounds, you should discuss this with me.
If your facelift will be performed on an outpatient basis, you must arrange for someone to drive you home and to stay with you at least the first night following surgery.
What will the day of surgery be like?
The night before surgery you can take your medications (except those cancelled as above) and eat until midnight. This will ensure an empty stomach in the morning. An hour before surgery you will take your pre-operative medications with a sip of water, but NO FOOD. Wear something warm, like jogging pants and a shirt or jacket that can be buttoned or zipped, so your arms do not have to be raised after surgery. Your facelift may be performed in a hospital, freestanding ambulatory facility, or office-based surgical suite.
The medications are administered for your comfort during the procedure. Frequently, general anesthesia is used for patients undergoing face lift, although local anesthesia and IV sedation may be desirable in some instances. For your safety during the operation, various monitors are used to check your heart, blood pressure, pulse and the amount of oxygen circulation in your blood. When surgery is completed, you will be taken into a recovery area where you will continue to be closely monitored. A bandage may have been wrapped around your face to decrease the mess of the normal oozing. Sometimes small tubes will have been inserted beneath the skin to drain away fluids that might otherwise accumulate. There is surprisingly little discomfort from the surgery.
You will go home after a few hours, unless you and I have determined otherwise. When you go home you will be drunk but able to walk. That is why you need a friend.
How will I look and feel initially?
It is important to realize that the amount of time it takes for recovery varies greatly among individuals.
After surgery, you will be asked to restrict your activities and simply relax for a few days. Elevating your head when you sleep will help to minimize swelling and bruising. Remember, you must not take aspirin or certain anti-inflammatory medications, and you should not smoke or be exposed to heavy secondary smoke.
Any bandages and drain tubes will usually be removed in one or two days. At that time, you will notice puffiness and discoloration, which may be more pronounced in some portions of your face than others. Do not be alarmed by any unevenness or temporary asymmetry caused by this variance in swelling and bruising, which is perfectly normal. Generally, the greatest amount of swelling occurs 24 to 48 hours after surgery, but it may take several weeks before all puffiness is resolved. Most bruising will disappear within two weeks. After a few days, you will be permitted to wear makeup which will help conceal any discoloration. You will also experience some numbness in the facial area, which may be present for several weeks or longer. Most of the stitches are absorbable and not removed.
When can I resume my normal activities?
Straining, bending and lifting should be avoided during the early postoperative period. In many instances, you will be able to resume most of your normal activities within two weeks and begin to exercise three to four weeks after surgery. You will be instructed to temporarily avoid exposure to direct sunlight. Of course, for the long-term, the conscientious use of a sunblock to protect your skin will prolong the good results.
Results of Your Facelift
The results of your facelift may be dramatic or subtle, depending on how you look before surgery as well as the specific goals that you and your plastic surgeon have established. Since the healing process is gradual, you should expect to wait at least several weeks for an accurate picture of your "new look." Additional minor changes or settling may occur over several months.
Understanding Risks
Fortunately, significant complications from facelifts are infrequent. Every year, many thousands of people undergo successful facelift surgery, experience no major problems and are pleased with the results. Anyone considering surgery, however, should be aware of both the benefits and risks. This is best discussed on a personal basis with your surgeon or with a staff member.
Some of the potential complications (besides those common to all surgery such as aspiration, drug reactions, and heart or lung complications) include hematoma (an accumulation of blood under the skin that may require removal), infection, damage to nerves, or skin loss and scarring. While plastic surgeons are trained in techniques for safely manipulating facial skin and tissue, injury to underlying structures is possible, though it is usually only temporary. Facelift incisions are most often inconspicuous, but this is not entirely predicable due to individual variations in healing.
Maintaining a Relationship with Your Plastic Surgeon
You will return to my office for follow-up care at prescribed intervals, at which time your progress will be evaluated. Please remember that the relationship with us does not end when you leave the operating room. If you have questions or concerns during your recovery, or need additional information at a later time, you should contact me or my staff.
Click here for more information on face lift
Return to the top ^ |
