Facelift: A Youthful Look With Surgical Technology

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Facelift

A facelift, also known as rhytidectomy, is a cosmetic surgical procedure you undergo to improve the visible signs of aging on the neck and face. The surgery improves aging signs such as:

  • Deep fold lines between the nose and the mouth’s corner
  • Saggy facial skin
  • Jowls on the cheeks or jaws
  • Excess neck fat that looks like a double chin.

The loss of a youthful face occurs due to factors such as facial fat loss, stress, smoking, or heredity.

Who Is the Best Candidate for a Facelift?

You qualify for a facelift if you are a healthy person without any medical condition that will impair your healing. On the other hand, you must be a non-smoker and have positive, realistic expectations. Also, you must not have a history of repeated weight changes.

What’s the Procedure for a Facelift?

A facelift will require a careful procedure, from examination by the plastic surgeon to the surgery itself. Below is the process:

Early Preparation

  • Consult the plastic surgeon about the facelift: You will provide your medical history documents and answer questions about your past surgeries. Secondly, you’ll give the names of the dosages of all the medications you are taking. Also, you will speak to the surgeon about your positive expectations after the facelift.
  • Facial examination: the plastic surgeon will examine your face shape, bone structure, fat distribution, and skin quality. The exam will help to determine the best facelift surgery options.

Getting Ready for the Facelift Surgery

  • The plastic surgeon will guide you to stop taking medications or supplements that thin your blood. You’ll quit any blood-thinning supplements nearly two weeks before surgery. Consult the surgeon for the best drug options to avoid complications.
  • Avoid eating after midnight before your facelift. However, you can continue taking the approved medications with water.
  • Find a helper to assist you in driving home and give you some care during the night after the facelift surgery.
  • Wash your face with germicidal soap on the morning of the surgery.

The Actual Facelift Procedure

The procedure may be done with local anesthesia or sedation. These steps can numb your face and neck region or make you sleep.

During the facelift surgery, the skin and tissue flap on each side will be pulled back, altering the tissues. The surgeon will remove the excess skin. In addition, you will often get a neck lift to remove excess fat and saggy skin on the neck region.

What to Expect After the Facelift

After the surgery, you may experience numbness, swelling, bruising, and moderate pain. You should speak to the surgeon if you experience irregular heartbeats or excess pain.

Self-Care Practices After the Facelift

  • Place ice or cold packs on your face and neck to ease the pain.
  • Rest with your head up to minimize blood flow to the area. It helps reduce swelling.
  • Consult the surgeon on which shampoo and soaps you can use.
  • Avoid clothes that you pull over the head to minimize pressure.
  • Don’t use make-up
  • Don’t jump into aerobic activities.
  • Avoid direct sunlight.

Facelift Recovery Duration

Many people recover in four weeks. Others go up to six weeks. In some rare cases, it can take three to four months to recover fully and notice the benefits.

Frequently Asked Questions About Facelift

How long do facelifts take to perform?

Standard facelift surgery will take a minimum of two hours and a maximum of six hours. 

How long do facelift results last?

Facelift benefits aren’t necessarily permanent because you continue to age, and the skin droops. On average, facelift results last around ten years. That said, you will also look younger than if you did not have the surgery.

Is a facelift painful?

The plastic surgeon carries out the procedure with general anesthesia or sedation. These methods numb your facial and neck region or cause you to get into a sleep-like state.You will not feel any pain during your surgery.

However, after the surgery, you may experience mild pain. The pain can also transform into a bruised sensation once you start swelling. Typically, your facial skin will feel heavy.

At what age should I get a facelift?

A facelift is usually done around the ages of 40 to 60; however, both younger and older patients can qualify. Many people notice an increase in aging signs during this period. If you have wrinkles, saggy skin, and deep lines near the nose and mouth corners, get examined for your health and rejuvenate your face.

How many years younger do you look after a facelift?

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery conducted a study earlier that found that individuals who undergo a facelift view themselves as 12 years younger than their current age.

When is it too late for a facelift?

There is no age limit to which you can term yourself too old to undergo a facelift. Provided the plastic surgeon approves your health status after examination, you can get cosmetic surgery.

 

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