 Why have a face-lift?
The procedure reverses the natural ageing effect caused by skin losing its elasticity, which creates wrinkles on the cheeks and neck. It eliminates jowls and deep furrows around the mouth. Loose skin and vertical bands round the neck cause "double-chin" or "turkey neck". Once eliminated, the person enjoys a younger-looking "new" face. Why should I consider the procedure?
To some extent genetic factors pre-determine the ageing process. So when a person feels that their appearance no longer accurately reflects their inner well-being, they seek to remedy the "tired" look with surgery. Long gone are the days when these procedures were only available to the rich and famous. Today everyone has it within their reach to help nature by diminishing or removing the tell-tale ageing signs. One's lifestyle can often hasten the ageing process. Modern stresses can result in a dramatic change in one's appearance in a surprisingly short time, leaving even a normally happy person looking sad and weary. Plastic surgery offers a speedy and successful remedy. Often people who are in a demanding or powerful job, and who feel they need to give out youthful and healthy signs to their peers, undergo a complete face-lift despite displaying only minor ageing. This is usually followed up with additional touching-up procedures when deemed necessary. How is the procedure carried out?
In most cases, the face-lift operation is carried out under local anaesthetic and sedation. General anaesthetic is usually avoided in view of the increased risk of thrombosis formation, particularly amongst older patients undergoing a lengthy procedure such as a face-lift which can take three hours or even longer. The surgery itself is painless. The patient is very relaxed and drowsy but can respond to the anaesthetists questions, and can report any discomfort. As mentioned, the procedure is often a long one, anything from two-and-a-half to five hours, with a follow-up operation carried out some years later being a simpler format and therefore quicker. A few hours after surgery the patient may return home. After 24 to 48 hours a re-visit is required. An overnight stay in the clinic is optional. We place great emphasis on pre-planning all of the details of the surgery we undertake. In order to leave the patient with as normal a facial appearance as possible, when carrying out a face-lift the artistic details are worked out in advance to avoid an "operated-on" look. This ensures that scars be hidden from normal view and a moderate and intelligent balance to the lifting and stretching of the skin itself. A woman who has had a face-lift should be able to wear her ponytail without showing any tell-tale scars! How long to heal?
Although each day they remain in telephone contact, the patient will be re-examined after 24 or 48 hours so that the surgeon can be satisfied that all is progressing satisfactorily. A few hours after surgery swelling occurs in and around the operated areas and develops during the first two days, often as bluish bruising. After four days, the acute post-operative swelling goes down, and the healing process continues uneventfully. It is not uncommon for blood formations to appear in the area around the ears, which can be dealt with by the surgeon during the re-examination. The degree of pain suffered varies from patient to patient. Often the ears are painful for the first few days. Sometimes just one side of the face can cause pain. Considering the extent of the surgery undertaken, it is surprising how little pain many patients experience. Paracetamol is usually most effective in relieving pain. Because of its blood-thinning qualities, aspirin must not be used from two weeks prior to surgery until one week after. And convalescence?
With trouble-free healing, good results can be seen after just seven days, although ten to fourteen days is more usual for the swelling to go down and the bruising to disappear. After 7 to 14 days, the stitches are removed to reveal small suture lines which in turn must then heal. After three weeks nearly every patient will look good enough to mix freely again and feel totally "normal". A feeling of "stiffness" under the skin can be felt for a considerable time, but this cannot be noticed by other people. The surgery also leaves an impact on the affected skin and areas around the ears causing numbness for anything up to several months. What about complications?
Swelling occurs after any operation, and with some patients this can be more pronounced. Blood clots and bruising can also develop. All these things are to be expected, and should not be categorised as complications. After surgery the patient is bandaged. After 24 hours this is removed by the patient who then washes the hair gently under a shower. Bandage is no longer required. The doctor's advice really must now be followed in cleaning around the stitches each day to wash away bacteria thus reducing the risk of irritation along the suture lines. There can be complications, but these are thankfully most rare. A face-lift necessarily causes reduced blood circulation for some five or six days. It is quite usual for some small areas to take longer to heal than others. Less common is that larger areas of necrosis (dead tissue) can occur with an inevitable production of pus. Such matters would of course be addressed by the surgeon, who, after cleansing the wound would advise the patient as to the necessary future care. This type of extended healing occurs virtually solely in smokers! Diabetics do face a higher risk of healing complications, including infection which is in any event a risk following the face-lift procedure. Infection is virtually always a result of inefficient removal of bacteria around necrosis. Sometime a small peripheral muscle nerve can be damaged, but this should repair itself within weeks. And the result?
No aesthetic plastic surgery procedure can be as rewarding as a successful face-lift. The pleasure is shared by both patient and surgeon. Some results are astonishingly good, others less obviously so, but in all cases a "better" appearance is apparent. Obviously every face is different and results will inevitably vary. The essential decisions made by the surgeon are based on various criteria. These include the amount of surplus skin and tissue, the wrinkling, the elasticity and tension of the skin, as well as it's porosity or otherwise, and the thickness of both the skin and the fat layer. In short, all the facial properties have to be ascertained prior to the modus operandi being formulated by the surgeon. The wishes and desires of the patient too must be heeded as to the degree of their change of appearance following surgery. |
