The facelift, also known as rhytidectomy, consists of cosmetic surgery that combats the signs of facial aging. Over the years, the skin and muscles of the face lose tone, wrinkles, and sagging appear.
How is the surgical intervention?
Before the patient is performed, surgery is recommended for peeling the skin to treat to IMPROVING blood supply of facial tissues.
The facelift is a surgery that requires general anesthesia. The duration of the operation will change according to the specific case and the volume of skin to be removed, as well as the level of wrinkles or depth of the furrows.
Normally, the areas on which the surgery effects are those most affected by age, such as the periocular area (around the eyes), from there, they will extend to the neck and décolleté, reshaping the facial profile. Depending on how many areas need to be treated and the level of aging to be solved, the surgery will take more or less time.
It is essential that the surgeon makes a detailed follow-up of the entire process and a study of each case. In this analysis, the techniques, the areas to be treated, and the incisions necessary to tackle the entire process will be assessed.
The surgery is based on repositioning the muscle layers, skin, and fat. As well as removing or excising the excess tissue and repositioning the skin more firmly on the facial structure. The incisions are made above the ear, and they descend following the contour of the ear, up to the middle of it, and continuing horizontally backwards. To ensure that the facelift scar is not visible, very discreet incisions are made, of approximately 5 millimeters.
If it is necessary to affect the forehead, an incision will be made at the limit of the skin with the scalp, and if it is on the neck, it will be hidden under the natural line of the chin. All incisions are studied and strategically located so that they are hidden with the structure of the face and are hidden in a natural way.
Once the necessary incisions have been made, the skin is lifted together with the SMAS tissue and stretched until they are located in the appropriate direction, upward or outward, depending on the area. By means of this stretching, firmness is given to the skin, the flaccidity is eliminated, the excess tissue is removed, and the dermis is repositioned to its natural position using the surgical technique of compound laryngectomy.
In addition to skin and excess fat, muscle tissue and bone structure are also acted upon in the facelift. This technique provides more natural and long-lasting results. Normally the results remain unchanged for a minimum of six years, after this period, it is usual for gravity and age to have their effect on the skin again, although starting from scratch and never from the previous situation of flaccidity or sagging.
Postoperative of face lift surgery
Immediately after the operation, the patient will have small tubes placed under the skin that act as drainage, preventing the accumulation of exudate or blood. After surgery, the patient will have the eyes covered and, depending on the case, the head will also be wrapped in a padded bandage, accompanied by a closed or open drainage system. All these bandages will be removed the next day or two days after the patient is discharged.
It is usual that during the first fifteen days, the skin of the face looks very inflamed. The swelling and hematoma belong to the normal process of healing and readaptation of the skin and will gradually disappear.
