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Facelift

What is a facelift | About the procedure | Preparing for surgery | The scoop on scars | Risks and recovery | Suspension and mini-lifts | Post-op healing

ABOUT THE PROCEDURE

A facelift is very detailed surgery. We don't notice all the facelifts with beautiful, natural results. It's the skinlifts that get all the attention because it is obvious you have had surgery.

Some plastic surgeons will perform a facelift on an outpatient basis in a hospital, ambulatory surgical facility or office-based surgical setting. However, an overnight stay in a special care facility or hospital may be recommended. Facelifts are most commonly performed under general anesthesia, though in some cases, local anesthesia with sedation may be used. Facelifts are performed by board-certified plastic surgeons and facial plastic surgeons. The procedure is tailored to each patient's specific conditions and may include a browlift, eyelid surgery, as well as laser resurfacing. In addition, fat may be added to certain areas of the face to refine results.

A facelift begins with carefully placed incisions. In general, these are made just inside the hairline at the temple, extending down along the natural curve of the ear, back behind the ear and horizontally into the hairline. Any incision should take into account your natural hairline and any sideburn pattern. In cases where a full lift is not necessary and excess skin in the jowls or neck is minimal, a shorter or limited incision is possible. A limited incision requires the plastic surgeon to analyze the rates of aging over different portions of your face and place the incisions where you need them. Incisions allow the plastic surgeon to:

• -Visualize the underlying facial structureand fat
• -Reposition muscle and redistribute fat

This is when a plastic surgeon must use meticulous detail and vision to create the foundation for a naturally beautiful result—sculpting the face. The plastic surgeon will reshape your face to return muscles to where they once were, and return fat to where it has diminished.

The final surgical component of a facelift addresses the neck. Through the facelift incision, and often a very small incision concealed beneath the chin, vertical bands in the neck are manipulated beneath the chin for a smoothing effect and fat pockets are corrected.

The final step is to drape the skin over the new foundation, carefully reduce just the right amount of excess skin and close the incisions. Incisions are closed with stitches or staples, and in some cases, with the addition of skin adhesives. Even with the best underlying technique in a facelift, reducing too much skin will result in an unnaturally tight look. Many patients believe if you over-tighten the skin a bit in the beginning, the results of facelift will last longer. However, this is just not the case.