French specialist of plastic surgery abroad
Facelift
Facelifts addresses a specific area of the face and can be done separately or during one single surgery (then it’s called a full lift).
Lower Facelift (Cervicofacial): improves the overall appearance of the neck, the jowls, the drooping corners of the mouth, the nasolabial folds (grooves between the nose and mouth), and the cheek fall. It is the most commonly performed facelift of the mid-lower part of the face.
Temporal facelift: addresses sagging skin near the temple, and the external corner of the lids (laugh lines or Crow’s feet).
Brow facelift: addresses the horizontal wrinkles that appear on the forehead and the wrinkles between the eyebrows (Lion ?Frawning? wrinkles).
We can also differentiate facelifts according to the surgery depth:
- Subcutaneous facelift only addresses the skin without in-depth action
- SMAS lift tightens the underlying muscle layer
- The mask lift acts right the near the bone and leads to a change in the face shape.
For the last decade, the facelift procedures improved tremendously, thanks to endoscopic plastic surgery (a camera and an endoscope are used and can reduce the scar length), laser treatments (laserbrasion, dermabrasion) and a great improvement in anatomy knowledge.
This surgery can be associated with another plastic surgery procedure for the face: lid plastic surgery (blepharoplasty) and therapeutic medical procedures can complete it (peeling, botulic toxin injections).
Others examples of face lifting pictures
These pictures show a common clinical case, these results cannot be guaranteed to another person.
The surgery is either done under local anesthetic with sedation (neuroleptanalgesia) or under a general anesthetic, the choice will be made after an agreement between the patient, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist.
It lasts between 2 to 3 hours.
In order to guarantee the best postoperative check-up possible, and prevent any complcation or side effect, it is recommended to spend two nights at the clinic.
Facelifts are generally not followed by huge pains but a tightness feeling that can be eased by antalgics. The scars have to be disinfected until the edges are removed, then they will have to be rubbed for 2 months, and protected from the sunrays with a sunscreen lotion.
Bruises and swelling (edema) can appear and will fade away in average within two weeks after the surgery. After the first month, the swelling is almost gone, but a slight induration of the lifted skin remains, felt more from touching than from seeing directly.
· In the country where the surgery is performed
During your hospitalization the surgeon and his staff monitor to ensure there are no complications occurring. A few follow-up visits are also necessary during the required recovery period (usually about 7 to 10 days depending on the type of lifting), they take place directly at your hotel. The first few days the patient will have to rest and avoid any major effort.
· After you get back to your homeland
After 3 months: a check-up visit, Your surgeon monitors the first results to ensure they are satisfying. In some cases, you may require additional corrections or treatment. The final results of a facelift can only be evaluated 6 to 8 months after the surgery
Examples of unsatisfying results requiring additional treatments (corrections):
- A partial effect of the sagging tissues (ptosis) around the base of the neck, where the ptosis was important before the surgery.
- Scars that are too visible or a hair loss in the temple area (alopecia).
Your surgeon will inform you of all the risks involved during your first discussions but also every time you will have a question. You will be then asked to sign a consent form which contains all the details of the whole surgery procedure.
Medical literature lists some of the following potential complications (apart from the ones directly linked to anesthesia):
- An hematoma that would require an immediate blood evacuation
- A localized cutaneous necrosis, responsible for a delay in scarring
- The infection is really rare when the surgery is carried out in normal asepsis conditions
- Nervous lesions, particularly a facial nerve branch lesion, that can lead to paresis, or a facial paralysis are rare, the sequelas of such complications will disappear after a few months
- Abnormal, hypertrophic or keloid scars, that appear and evolve unpredictably, can alter the cosmetic result and will require specific local treatments often on the long-term.
Without over-estimating the risks, it is necessary to fully understand that even a simple surgery is dependant on a certain amount of unpredictable factors.
Choosing a qualified plastic surgeon ensures you that he/she has the required education, skill and experience to avoid these complications or to efficiently treat them when necessary.
