WHAT TYPES OF FACE-LIFT SURGERIES ARE THERE?
Depending on their desires and expectations, patients can choose to have a standard face-lift, a mini face-lift and a neck lift. During the initial consultation, the plastic surgeon helps the patient to decide which face-lift will resolve his/her specific age-related skin concerns.
Standard face-lift
includes tightening the skin on the cheeks, jowls, forehead and neck. Sometimes it also includes lifting saggy eyelids.
This type of face-lift addresses each part of the face. It reduces frown lines and lifts saggy brows. This way the upper part of the face looks firmer and rejuvenated.
It makes the middle area of the face more youthful by lifting the underlying tissue and muscles back up under the cheekbones.
It rejuvenates the lower area of the face by reducing deep skin folds, saggy jowls and saggy skin in the neck. It makes the skin firmer and lifted by repositioning underlying tissue and muscles and by eliminating excess fatty deposits and excess skin.
A standard face-lift can make the face appear 10 to 15 years younger.
The procedure lasts between 2 to 6 hours and it is usually an outpatient surgery.
The scars are strategically hidden around the patient’s ears and in the hairline.
A mini face-lift
addresses aging signs in the lower area of the face. It is also known as limited-incision face-lift, S-lift or weekend-lift. It lasts much shorter than the standard face-lift and requires a minimal recovery period.
This type of face-lift includes only a short S incision in front of the patient’s ears. It rejuvenates the lower area of the face by lifting saggy skin and eliminating fatty deposits in the jawline. It repositions underlying tissue and firms the muscles. The skin is pulled towards the cheekbones and saggy jowls are lifted. The incision, created along the patient’s ear, is closed with sutures.
This surgery is ideal for patients who have mild to moderate amounts of saggy skin in the lower part of the face. It is a relatively short procedure – it can be finished in less than 2 hours. The patients can resume their normal daily activities in 4 to 5 days with a new and youthful appearance on their faces.
A neck lift
targets loose skin on the neck without addressing cheeks or jowls. It is less extensive than standard face-lift surgery. It is ideal for younger patients who start to notice loose skin on their necks and for patients who have already had a standard face-lift and now they want to improve the skin on their necks.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF FACE-LIFT SURGERY?
Face-lift surgery can address different aging signs. It lifts and tightens saggy skin in all facial areas including cheeks, jawline and neck. It improves the appearance of deep nasolabial folds and marionette lines.
After the surgery, the skin is smooth and firm.
People who are starting to see aging signs like saggy jowls can benefit from a mini face-lift which doesn’t require a long downtime – only a couple of days.
Face-lift can be tailored to address each patient skin concerns – it can be performed together with a brow lift or eyelid surgery for the best results. This way the whole face gets rejuvenated with one surgery.
Once the scars fade away they are practically invisible because they are strategically hidden in the hairline or behind the ears.
The results are natural-looking. The patient still looks like himself only more youthful and refreshed. The results are also long-lasting – with proper skin care and a healthy lifestyle, patients can enjoy their rejuvenated faces for a long time.