Procedure: Improvement of facial aging signs including facial wrinkles, prominent laugh lines including those that extend up from your lips (nasolabial folds) and those that extend down from your lips (marionette lines), down turned corner of the lips, deflated and drooping cheeks, bunching at the bottom of the cheeks (jowls), rounded neck line with hanging redundant skin, and drooping and hollowed out lower eyelids.

Length: Ranges between 4 to 5 hours.

Anesthesia: General anesthesia or intravenous sedation for patients with medical problems is recommended.

Place of Treatment: Outpatient surgical suite or hospital operating room.

Side Effects:

1) Prolonged swelling up to 2 weeks is not uncommon due to extent of both skin and muscle elevation that is required prior to re-draping and trimming of redundant tissues resulting in the signs of facial aging

2) Temporary bruising is often associated with facelift surgery due to the extent of tissue elevation required to obtain long lasting facial rejuvenation results. Bruising is minimized by meticulous stoppage of all small bleeding vessels (hemostasis) and by compression dressings utilized postoperatively. Most bruising subsides within 1 to 2 weeks.

3) Temporary facial numbness is a direct result of elevating redundant skin prior to re-draping and trimming redundant skin tissue. As such, disruption of sensory nerves (nerves that help you feel) is unavoidable. Fortunately, patients should expect full return of facial sensation and resolution of numbness over several months. 

Risks:

1) Poor facelift scarring is seldom observed when the facial surgical incisions are repaired following a properly performed facelift that utilizes the facial muscle layer to hoist up the skin layer. By placing the tension on the facial muscle layer, the skin layer is redraped gently without undue tension, which results in well-healed and hidden incision lines. Patients who smoke are prone to poor scarring and are asked to stop smoking for 4 weeks prior to and 6 weeks following surgery.

2) Local skin infection is uncommon and associated with individuals who posses poor healing tendencies secondary to medical illnesses. Diabetes, nutritional deficiencies, and smoking are to blame for local skin infections. Well-controlled sugar levels in diabetic patients, optimizing nutrition, and cessation of smoking are critical to avoiding infections.

3) Skin tissue compromise leading to skin loss is rare following facelift surgery but is associated with smokers. Smokers are asked to stop smoking for 4 weeks prior to and for 6 weeks following surgery. If patients are unwilling to stop smoking, then patients are recommended to undergo a mini-facelift, which minimizes skin elevation in order to maximize preservation of skin vascularity.

4) Muscle function deficit is a rare risk of facelift surgery and is caused by inadvertent injury to motor nerves. This complication is minimized by patients choosing board certified plastic surgeons who have appropriate training and experience performing facelift surgery

5) Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) may occur in the legs immediately following surgery. DVT refers to the clotting off of leg veins which may result in compromised blood flow return from the legs; a more critical consequence may develop from this clot if it is dislodged and travels to the lungs causing a pulmonary emboli. Although rare, pulmonary emboli are the leading cause of death following surgery. Measures are taken intra-operatively to avoid such a complication.

Recovery: The recovery period for facelift surgery with a return to most daily activities is usually 10 days. Patients are asked to forego physical activities and exercise for approximately 4 weeks until facial suture lines have healed. Finally, patients are asked to forego important social engagements for approximately 6 weeks until all surgical incisions have healed and are no longer red (hyperemia).

Duration of Results: Patients who have undergone facelift surgery can expect aesthetically pleasing results for life. Early revisions are rare and are typically discouraged. Patients will notice turning back of the clock of approximately 10 to 15 years following facelift surgery and will notice a natural return of the aging process.

 

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