All You Need to Know About a Face Lift

Unfortunately, aging is a natural process with undesirable effects, such as skin laxity. As you grow older, collagen production declines, causing your skin to become less elastic and looser. You may develop deep folds on the side of your nose, a sagging appearance on your cheeks, and excess skin on your jawline. These changes can affect your appearance and sometimes lower your self-confidence. While you cannot evade aging, your plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Arlington can help you counter the effects.

What is a facelift?

A facelift or rhytidectomy is a surgical procedure to tighten your facial skin, giving you a younger appearance. It can reduce wrinkles and folds of skin on your jawline and cheeks and other age-related changes on your face. During surgery, your specialist cuts along your hairline to the front of your ears and pulls back the skin. The tissues beneath are also surgically altered before the surgeon closes the incisions. Most specialists combine a facelift with a neck lift to avoid noticeable differences between the face and neck.

How do I prepare for the procedure?

If you consider rhytidectomy, consult with your doctor to understand what the procedure involves, and what recovery looks like. Expect to answer questions about your medical history, including your previous surgeries, medical conditions, and complications from previous surgeries. Here is when you discuss your expectations with your specialist, and you get to learn the possible outcomes of the procedure. Your surgeon explains to you what surgery can and can’t do. For example, a facelift may not change the natural asymmetry in your face.  

Pre-operative care

After the surgeon deems you as a good candidate for a facelift, you may have a list of written instructions to follow as you await surgery. Your specialist may expect you to:

• Avoid blood-thinning medications and any medication containing aspirin and ibuprofen because they put you at risk of excessive bleeding during surgery. Supplements and diet pills are also not good for you at this point.
• Refrain from alcohol consumption roughly a week before surgery because this can impede the healing process.
• Avoid hairstyles that pull your scalp.

What are the risks involved?

Like any other major surgery, rhytidectomy poses several health risks, which include:

Scarring: The incisions from a facelift leave a permanent scar that your hairline and natural face contour cover. Hardly do these scars become raised. Your doctor may use corticosteroid injections to reduce the appearance of the scars.

Hair loss: Since the surgeon makes incisions close to your scalp, you may temporarily or permanently lose hair. If you have permanent hair loss, a specialist can implant follicles on your scalp to promote hair growth.

Nerve injury: During surgery, some of your nerves can get damaged, which may cause temporary paralysis of a specific muscle. When this happens, you may have an uneven facial expression and appearance. Sometimes surgical intervention may be necessary to fix the problem.

Are you unhappy with the folds on your skin? Book a session with your plastic surgeon at Advanced Plastic Surgery Center for a facelift to improve your appearance.