Face | Breasts | Ears | Nose | Arms | Eyes | Tummy | Liposuction | Dentistry

Face Lift and Neck Lift

  
If you are self-conscious of your appearance and want to reverse the signs of ageing, face-lift surgery can effectively turn back the clock, however, you will always continue to age. A face-lift operation can make you look 10 years younger. So, if you are 50 years old, you could look 40, when you are 60 years old, you could look 50, etc.
The results of the operation will be very good if your skin has not lost its elasticity and moves and stretches easily. If your skin has become leathery from smoking and/or long exposure to the sun, you will not achieve such a good and lasting result as other patients.

The Aim of a Face-Lift

The aim of a face-lift is to enhance somebody’s appearance to make them look younger, to make them "look good". It should not produce a tight mask-like looking face but should keep the natural animated appearance.

The face is made up of layers - bone, muscle, fascia, fat and skin. As we age, the muscles lose their tone. The layer called fascia, which holds or packages everything together, slackens. The fat tends to droop down and accumulate near the jowls, and the skin loses its elasticity. Deep wrinkles and folds appear because of the disappearance of, or redistribution of the fat. The cell renewal cycle shortens and the skin loses its ability to regenerate itself.

Preparation

Patients are advised to take a gram of Vitamin C for at least two weeks before the operation to aid the healing process. Aspirin interferes with blood clotting and must not be taken two weeks prior to the operation (many painkillers contain aspirin). Smokers should stop smoking 2 weeks before and for at least a week after the operation.

Things to do immediately before the operation:

1. You should wash your hair.
2. You must remove all make-up before coming into hospital and not even apply any moisturiser to the face.

What happens during a Face-Lift?

Face-lift surgery entails cutting into the skin in a line beginning at the temples and running down in front of the ears and then behind them across into the scalp. The horizontal incision, which is hidden in your hair, will lift your neck, which will be tight and smooth. The skin is then lifted up off the facial structures, stretched taut and the excess trimmed off. The cheek muscles are also tightened and pulled up as in SMAS, depending on the underlying structure of your face.

The operation takes 2.5 to 3 hours and is carried out under local anaesthetic (deep sedation administered intravenously is available as an option). You will be given a relaxant in the form of a tablet, followed by an injection containing antibiotic and an anaesthetic, and then finally a local anaesthetic. You will not feel any pain.

Aftercare

After the operation you will stay overnight in a private hospital room with round the clock care (deep sedation and general anaesthetic only). You will have tight bandages and drains that will be removed the following day.

After your operation you will be advised to sleep propped up in bed. For a few days try to keep your head and neck as still as possible, and try to avoid sudden abrupt movements to the side, bending over or exercising. Our hairdresser will wash and style your hair several days after your operation. Remember to keep taking vitamins everyday, especially Vitamin C, to promote healing. Some pain is usual after the operation and is normally located behind the ears and in the upper neck. It is controllable by simple painkillers.

Patients are seen every day, including Saturdays and Sundays, and the nurses check, clean and sterilise the area where you had the incisions, making sure that scabs, which may cause scarring, do not form around the stitches. Stitches are removed in 5 to 10 days. It is important to keep the skin well moisturised. It takes 3 to 6 months before all of the effects of surgery (such as numbness) disappear. The incisions behind the ears take the longest to heal but you will be able to return to work two weeks after surgery as the bruising and swelling will have disappeared.

Scars

Some people do not heal well and scars may become itchy, thickened and lumpy. People’s healing abilities cannot be predicted but smokers are much more likely to be left with bad scarring after surgery. Scarring is a natural sequel of any incision. Because of their placement, face-lift scars are hardly noticeable. If they are a problem, they can be corrected by injections of a scar softener or a minor secondary scar revision. The cut in front of the ear leaves an inconspicuous scar in everybody. The cut around the earlobe is also unnoticeable. All scars fade with time and it takes a full year for them to fade completely.

Upper Eyelid Surgery

Upper eyelid surgery is a very straightforward procedure where the discomfort level is very low. The surgeon cuts a long ellipse of skin from along the line of the upper eyelid crease. Where there is hooding on the upper side of the eye, the cut will extend further out into the crow’s feet. Along with the skin, the surgeon also removes fat that accumulates beneath the muscle responsible for screwing up the eye. Having the excess skin cut away can instantly make you look more fresh-faced and wide-awake. When carried out at the same time as a face-lift, it will create a harmonious look, will mean one episode of swelling and will make everything significantly cheaper.

A combination of upper eyelid surgery and a face-lift produces the best results since more skin can be taken off the sides of your face.