Facelift: Procedure Steps, Complications, after procedure recovery in Miami; As you grow older, the skin begins to lose collagen. The skin begins to lose its volume and firmness. Wrinkles and fine lines begin to appear on your shape.
Fat deposits may increase in some areas of your face and decrease in other areas of your face. This can alter the shape of your face.
Due to the loss of volume and firmness of the skin, the facial skin begins to sag. Folds on the facial skin begin to appear and you generally lose the youthful appearance of your face.
Facelift
A facelift is a cosmetic surgical procedure that is used to reduce or eliminate saggy skin or folds of the facial skin.
A facelift can help improve the appearance of your face by reducing saggy skin and folds of the skin on your cheeks and jawline.
Though a facelift is not a treatment for wrinkles or fine lines, it can also help to improve the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines to make your face look more youthful.
Preparing for a facelift
Facelift: Procedure Steps, Complications, after procedure recovery in Miami; Before undergoing a facelift, there are some preparatory things that should be done.
These include:
Preparing for a facelift
Review of your medical history
Your plastic surgeon will review your medical history to know if you have any condition that may affect your results. Your surgeon may ask you questions about past and current medical conditions, previous surgeries, previous plastic surgeries, and complications from previous surgeries. You may be asked if you smoke, use drugs or take alcohol.
Conduct physical exam
Your surgeon will conduct a physical exam of your skin and face. With the physical exam, your surgeon will know if your skin is good enough for facelift surgery.
Medication review
You will be asked to provide the name and dosages of all medications you are currently taking or taken recently. These medications include prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, herbal medications, vitamins and other dietary supplements.
Facial exam
Your plastic surgeon will take photos of your face from different angles and close-up photos of some features. Your surgeon will also examine your bone structure, the shape of your face, fat distribution, and the quality of your skin to determine your best options for facelift surgery.
Expectations
Your surgeon will ask questions about your expectations. Your surgeon will explain the surgery and results to you. The risks and side effects will also be explained.
Things you should do and should not do before the procedure
Your surgeon will give you instructions about what medications you should stop taking and when to stop. Your surgeon will also inform you on the medications that you can continue taking. You will be asked to stop taking blood-thinning medications for at least two weeks before the surgery.
You will be asked not to eat anything after midnight on the day of the procedure. You may be allowed to drink water and take certain medications according to the directions of your surgeon
You may be asked to wash your hair and face with a germicidal soap the morning of the surgery.
Make plans for someone that will drive you home after the surgery as you may not be allowed to drive.
Facelift procedure steps
Facelift procedure steps
Step 1
You will be asked to lie down on your back on a procedure table. You will first be sedated and given local anesthesia to numb your face to prevent pain and discomfort. General anesthesia may also be given in some cases to make you unconscious throughout the surgery.
Step 2
The second step involves incisions. The incision that your surgeon will make depends on the degree of change you desire. Facelift incisions include a traditional facelift incision, limited facelift incision, or a neck lift incision.
A traditional facelift incision often starts in the hairline at your temples and continues around the front of your ear and ends behind your ear in the lower scalp.
A limited facelift incision is a shorter incision that starts in your hairline just above your ear and wraps around the front of your ear. The incision does not extend down into your lower scalp.
A neck lift incision begins in front of your earlobe and continues around your ear into your lower scalp.
Step 3
After the incision is made, the skin will be elevated and underlying tissues and muscles will be tightened. Fat in the face and neck may be sculpted, redistributed, or removed. The underlying tissue is also repositioned. The deeper layers of the face and muscles are also lifted. Facial skin is then re-draped over the newly repositioned or lifted contours of the face. The excess skin is then trimmed away.
Step 4
The incision is stitched with sutures and bandaged. Skin glue may also be used to close the incision in some cases.
After the procedure recovery
After the surgery, you may experience some discomfort and pain. Your doctor will prescribe some pain medications that you can use to relieve discomfort, tenderness, and pain. Bruising and swelling are common for a few days which will resolve afterward.
The sutures will be removed within 5 to 10 days following the surgery.
Avoid touching your face and scrubbing your face with a sponge. Do not wet or immerse your face in water.
You may experience numbness and muscle stiffness for some time which will resolve after a while.
Recovery usually takes about 2 weeks. You can resume your normal activities after 4 weeks.
Avoid smoking and stop or limit your intake of alcohol.
Avoid stress and limit exposure to the sun.
Avoid contact with pollutants.
Complications
Complications
After a facelift, you may experience some minor complications such as mild to moderate pain, swelling, bruising, numbness, or drainage from the incision site.
Major complications that you may experience include:
- Scarring at the incision site that is typically concealed by your hairline
- A collection of blood under the skin (Hematoma)
- Rare cases of nerve injury
- Temporary paralysis
- Uneven facial appearance
- Temporary loss of sensation in your face
- Temporary or permanent hair loss near the incision site
- Rare cases of skin loss (sloughing)
