Facelift
When people get born, they get the body they have deserved. Your body like your clothes makes you look the way you want to look. It can be perfect from the date of birth and it could be imperfect as everything in this life. Through the years the body is undertaking obvious changes and the first thing that you notice when you look in the mirror is your face. It is like a cover of the magazine and suffers more than the whole magazine. There is a wonderful operation that helps the cover look always sharp and neat.
If a cover is the face, then facelift is asurgery that lifts the facial skin, sometimes even neck – necklift, by removing of excessive skin, subcutaneous fat and by making the tough tissue more compact. Wrinkles can take hold in different parts of the face on different people. Some people develop deep creases between the nose and mouth, while others see the skin around their lower jaw and neck is getting weak and loose. These changes can be effectively removed by having surgery of the face and neck, more commonly known as a face lift. By removing excess facial skin, as well as any excess fat, and then tightening the basic muscles and tissues, a renovation of the skin on the face and neck can be achieved. This can lead to the removal or reduction of the above mentioned signs of ageing. Facelift (rhytidectomy) is intended to improve your facial appearance and make you look good for your age. From deep plane lifts to feather lifts, almost any variation and extent of surgery is available to meet the needs of your facial improvement goals.
Who is a potential candidate for a face lift?
Face lifts are popular among women, and lately interest is growing among men as well. The main indication if a face lift would be right for you is loose skin in the face and neck. Most patients are in their forties to sixties. A face lift can be done on younger patients, if the above mentioned ageing effects have appeared sooner than expected. The surgery can also be considered by older people, if they accomplish the medical requirements. Face lifts can make you look younger and fresher and the result should never lead to an unnatural look. Before you decide to have face lift surgery, think carefully about your expectations and discuss them with your surgeon.
What is your surgeon’s judgment about you face lift?
During the pre-operative consultation, your surgeon will perform a history and physical examination. During your physical examination, your facial bone structure, underlying skin structure, skin thickness, texture, and elasticity as well as the extent of facial wrinkles and folds will be assessed. This information will be used to prepare a surgical plan and the goals of the procedure will be discussed. Generally, a facelift is a very adaptable procedure, and your surgeon will explain you the method that offers the lowest risk. Your plastic surgeon will select the surgical technique that he or she feels will achieve the best result for you based on your discussions concerning the outcome you wish to achieve. Once you have decided to have a facelift, chosen a surgeon and scheduled your procedure, your doctor will give you a list of pre-operative instructions.
In the two weeks before your facelift, your plastic surgeon will likely suggest that you stop taking certain medications, including aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and blood thinners, all of which can increase bleeding risk. Certain herbal remedies may also increase bleeding risk. Just because a product or preparation is “all-natural” does not mean it is safe. Some plastic surgeons may also suggest adding medications to your daily regime in the weeks leading up to your facelift.
The pre-operative instructions will also include a list of do's and don'ts about eating and drinking before your facelift. Quitting smoking before your facelift is a must. Most surgeons recommend that potential patients kick the habit for the month before and the month after the facelift. Smoking reduces blood run to areas of the face. As a result, one in ten smokers will experience skin death (necrosis) at the incision sites if they continue to smoke before and after surgery. Wounds may turn red and black, and the edges may start coming apart. Such wounds may require a skin fix, another surgery in which a patch of skin is surgically removed from one area of the body and transplanted to another area.
How is a facelift performed?
Over the years, the facelift procedure has evolved from a simple skin lift to the more complex deeper plane lift. Today, many different techniques exist, with outcomes that are consistently reliable and long-lasting. Regardless of the type of facelift you and your surgeon decide on, many of the key steps are the same:
- Anesthesia. Normally a facelift requires general anesthesia, but sometimes it is performed with a combination of mild sedatives, local anesthesia and a mild intravenous anesthesia. Some less extensive facelifts can be performed using only local anesthesia.
- Incision. The facelift procedure usually involves incisions in front of and behind the ear. In all cases, the incision is placed where it will fall in a natural wrinkle of the skin for mask. Some surgeons may suggest that you grow your hair longer if it is currently very short, because longer locks will hide incisions during healing. In men, the incision is aligned to accommodate the natural beard lines.
- The facelift. Once the incisions are made, various degrees of undermining of the skin are performed, and the deeper layers of the face are "lifted." The surgeon then separates the skin and muscles of the face from the deeper facial tissues. In some cases the skin is removed. Some fat may be removed as well, with liposuction. In other cases, the skin and muscle tissues are reshaped. The primary muscle may be tightened with the skin, or separately. After the tightening or removal of excess skin, the skin is re-draped and sutured or stapled in place.
Recovery.
A facelift usually takes anywhere from two to four hours. Typically it is an outpatient procedure, but overnight stays are possible. In the first 24 hours, many facelift patients are black and blue. They often have drainage tubes in place to reduce swelling and remove any excess blood. In some cases, drainage tubes are left in place for several days. You should be allowed to wash your hair in two days. You should avoid strenuous activity until the swelling has subsided. This may take four to six weeks; however, within two weeks the swelling should be reduced enough so you can engage in some social activities. You will likely want to remain under the radar for the first one or two weeks after your facelift. After that, dinner with family members and close friends is usually an option. By seven weeks, your new face is ready for prime time. Most surgeons recommend that you undergo a facelift a minimum of three months before attending major social events such as your daughter's wedding. Skin may feel dry and rough for a few months after a facelift.
Facelifts Risks.
Fortunately, important complications from facelifts are uncommon. Every year, thousands of people undergo successful facelift surgery and are pleased with the results. However, anyone considering surgery should be aware of both the benefits and risks. These are best discussed on a personal basis with your surgeon or one of their qualified staff members. Still there are some risks that could be undertaken:
- Unfavorable scarring
- Bleeding or the collection of blood beneath the skin (hematoma)
- Infection
- Poor wound healing or skin necrosis. This can occur in front of or behind the ear and may result in a visible scar by the wound
- Anesthesia risks
- Facial nerve injury with weakness
- Facial asymmetry
- Skin loss
- Numbness or other changes in skin sensation
- Fatty tissue found deep in the skin might die (fat necrosis)
- Fluid accumulation
- Pain
- Skin contour irregularities
- Skin discoloration, sensitivity or swelling
- Sutures may spontaneously surface through the skin, become visible or produce irritation that require removal
- Hair loss
- Dissatisfaction with results
- Deep vein thrombosis, cardiac and pulmonary complications
- Possibility of revision surgery
All this is not the result of a face lift, but some of these things might happen after the procedure.
Now it is the proper time to consult your surgeon.
Before deciding on a facelift, be sure to talk with a plastic surgeon. And please remember that your relationship with your plastic surgeon does not end when you leave the operating room. If you have questions or concerns during your recovery from facelift surgery, or need additional information at a later time, you should contact your surgeon. You can easily do it by contacting Health & Tourism, LLC in Latvia or by visiting http://www.healthtourism.lv/eng/healthcare/cosmetic_surgery/ .
