Face Lift: Types , Procedure and Recovery

Aging is a natural process and the skin of the face and neck undergo some amount of loosening with time. With the sagging comes creasing of the skin, which makes deep folds and lines. But everyone is interested to hold back the youthful days. This is the reason why face lifting or rhytidectomy has increasingly gained popularity in the United States and other countries as well.

The facial skeleton gets highly affected with the age-related changes that a person experiences. The sagging of the forehead and the facial skin is observed due to slow loss of mass of bony structures of frontal bones, maxilla, and the mandibles. Due to this, an impression of sagging neckline is observed and jowling occurs along the mandible, which deletes the delineation between the neck and the jawline.

Exposure to the sun also leads to changes observed in the facial skin. The epidermis that gets damaged due to exposure to sunlight shows a reduction in the fundamental elements that can slowly cause wrinkles. Disorganization and thickening of the elastic fibers below the skin are noted, which is known as a process called elastosis and degeneration of the dermal collagen appears as well.

In order to get a youthful appearance of the face, a facelift surgery is performed. In this kind of surgery, reshaping occurs in the lower one-third of the face by facilitating removal of the sagging facial skin. Tightening of the underlying tissue is also done in some of the facelift surgeries. The face surgery or lower facelift can be combined with neck lift, or an eyelid surgery, cheeks, brows or forehead surgeries.

Types of Facelift Surgery

There are many types of facelift procedures. Some of the most popular procedures include the following:

The deep plane lift: This method is considered as the golden standard and involves the lifting of the muscles and the skin. It aims at releasing and repositioning the SMAS or the superficial musculoaponeurotic system. This kind of surgery is promising as it requires fewer revisions and the effects observed are long-lasting in nature.
The SMAS lift: In this kind of a procedure, deeper tissues of the face and neck are treated along with the superficial top layers of the skin. The deeper tissues grow loose with age and start sagging. This procedure shows results for individuals suffering from a mild amount of laxity and a little bit of face sagging and jowls.
Short scar lifts: This is used as an umbrella term for various facelift procedures that are required for abbreviated scars. One such short scar lifts involve an S-shaped incision at the front of the ear or at the temple. In another kind of a short scar lift, the incision will stop right at the earlobe and this kind of a technique is usually called MACS or minimal access cranial suspension lift.
Endoscopic facelift: With the help of a pencil-shaped probe and a minuscule camera attached to the probe (an endoscope), the surgeon performs an endoscopic facelift procedure. The video images of the internal facial structures are transmitted via this to a monitor placed in the operating room. This endoscope is usually inserted via two or three small incisions that do not measure more than an inch and can be hidden easily.
Mid-face surgery or cheek lift: This kind of a surgery mainly targets the middle of the face. The surgeon usually lifts and repositions the fatty layer spread over the cheekbones. This procedure shows effective results for improving nose to mouth line and sagging cheeks are also improved. However, this area can be treated with SMAS or deep plane lift as well. This surgery can be teamed up with eyelid surgery or can be done in an isolated way endoscopically.

Stop smoking at least two weeks before the surgery to make sure that the healing is not disrupted after the surgery. Smoking may interfere with the proper flow of blood in the body.
Stop taking aspirin, blood-thinning medications, and herbal or nutritional supplements at least a week before the surgery or as advised by the surgeon.
Follow all the guidelines shared by the cosmetic surgeon.
Sleep well a night before the surgery to relax.
Have someone around to help with the household chores after the procedure. Also, arrange for someone to drive you home after the procedure is done.

Facelift surgery is usually carried out on an outpatient basis. The procedure takes around two to four hours to complete, depending on the extent of the area that requires treatment. The facelift procedure is performed under the influence of local and general anesthesia.

Sometimes, additional procedures may be conducted at the time of facelift surgery. These may include the placement of facial implants, wrinkle reduction through facial fillers, and facial resurfacing for improved skin toning and texture.

The following steps are performed during a typical facelift procedure:

Depending on the approach of facelift used and the type of procedure that the patient is undergoing, the surgeon makes incisions beginning at the target area – near the temples, in front of the ear lobe, under the chin, or any other location.
The fat is either sculpted or redistributed and the underlying tissues are repositioned.
The deeper layers of the skin are lifted, in addition to the muscles.
The excess skin is draped again and the extra skin is trimmed away.
In case of neck contouring, a cut may be made in the chin to improve its appearance by removing the extra fat.
All the incisions are closed with the help of skin adhesives and sutures.

Patients may experience minimal pain after the procedure, which is managed with the help of painkillers. Swelling and bruising are common but patients are advised to use a cold compress to avoid the discomfort.

The dressing is removed within two days of the surgery and physical activity should be limited as much as possible after the procedure. The head should be kept in an elevated position.

A drainage tube may be inserted, which can be removed after a day of the surgery. Facelift recovery time stretches from two to three weeks. The scars and lines gradually grow invisible with time.