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Aging of the face is inevitable. As the years go by, the skin on the face and neck begins to loosen. The jaw line softens into jowls and excess tissue forms at the front of the neck. The rhytidectomy, or facelift, could improve your looks and self-confidence. As with all facial plastic surgery, good health and realistic expectations are prerequisites. The goal of the facelift is to improve the overall facial appearance. A facelift cannot stop aging, nor can it turn back the clock. It will not improve fine wrinkles. What it can do is help your face look its best and give you a healthy, more youthful appearance. A facelift is usually performed under general anesthesia, or in some cases, local injections of anesthesia with intravenous sedation can be used.
The neck is addressed initially. Liposuction is used to remove excess fat. If the neck muscle under your chin (platysma) is sagging, it is re-contoured into a more natural position. The facelift incision is begun in the area of the temple hair, just above and in front of the ear, and continues around the lobe, circling the ear, ending in the hairline behind the ear. In all cases, the incision is placed where it will fall in a natural crease of skin for camouflage. For men, the incision is aligned to accommodate the natural beard lines. The skin is raised outward, followed by repositioning and tightening of the underlying muscle and connective tissue. After trimming the excess skin, the incisions are closed with fine sutures and metal clips, and a dressing is placed to protect the entire area. The surgery takes approximately four hours.
Following surgery, an overnight stay in an after care facility is recommended. Alternatively, an overnight nurse at your home may suffice. The dressing is changed the next day and then reapplied for one more day. The fine sutures are removed in approximately one week, and the metal clips are removed in two weeks. Even though most patients experience very little pain after surgery, the surgeon will still prescribe pain medication. Some degree of swelling and bruising is unavoidable, and you may be instructed to use cold compresses to keep swelling to a minimum. A short course of post-operative antibiotics and steroids are given to help prevent infection and excess swelling. Recovery usually takes two to three weeks (the time necessary for bruising and swelling to resolve), though many patients go back to work in two weeks. Vigorous activity is avoided for four weeks. Scars usually fade in three months, however, they will become pink during the initial course of healing. In any case, they are easily disguised in natural skin creases, by the hair, or in persistent cases, by makeup until total healing has occurred, which could take up to six months. Bear in mind that the aging process continues after surgery and that some relaxation of the tissues will occur after the first few months.
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Alternatives to Major Surgery
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