Have you been considering a procedure to try and give you a more youthful appearance? You may like to consider rhytidectomy, more commonly known as a facelift.
A facelift works by pulling back the sagging skin on each side of the face and remoulding the tissue underneath to improve elasticity, restore volume, remove jowls and create a more youthful appearance.
What is the best age for a face lift?
As a rough guide, the best time to consider a face lift is in your 40’s. Having the procedure in your 40’s ensures your results are long-lasting. Factors such as diet, lifestyle choices, genetic traits and sun exposure all affect how quickly the skin shows signs of ageing, meaning the optimal age for every individual will be different.
What results can I expect from the procedure?
The best thing you can do is schedule an appointment with a plastic surgeon to get advice tailored to you and your circumstances. The facelift can be made up of several small procedures including eyelid surgery, forehead/brow-lift, cheek/mid facelift and lower facelift. You may choose to focus on just one of these, rather than a full facelift. During your consultation, Dr Mark Lee will discuss with you your desired outcomes, and recommend the best set of procedures based on your individual needs and areas on concern.
Some of the procedures include
- Forehead lift – may alleviate creases and frown lines by adjusting the tissue and muscle beneath the skin
- Eyelid surgery – may brighten the eye area by removing or repositioning fatty deposits and removing excess skin and muscle tissue on the upper and / lower eyelid
- Cheek/mid face lift – lifts cheeks may elevate the underlying muscles and fat that may have sagged over time
- Lower face lift – can reduce the appearance of deep facial wrinkles, sagging jowls and sagging in the neck by repositioning underlying tissue and muscle, tightening skin and removing fat deposits and excess skin
How long is the recovery?
When considering plastic surgery, it’s important to understand both how the procedure works and how long it will take for you to feel like yourself again.
For a face lift procedure, we generally follow the recovery schedule
- Day One to Seven – after a surgery, there will be some swelling, bruising and discomfort that may require pain medication for about a week. Surgical dressings will be used to keep the area clean and hygienic, and you will have several check ins with your surgeon to ensure you are healing well.
- Day Seven to Fourteen – by day seven your swelling should start to reduce, however you may still experience some numbness, tingling and tightness. This is very common and nothing to worry about, however if you are concerned contact your surgeon. By day fourteen you may feel ready to return to work and add light activities such as walking into your daily routine.
- Day Fifteen to Thirty – two weeks post-surgery your stitches will be removed, and you will likely start feeling like yourself again. After 30 days, vigorous exercise can be reintroduced and you will likely be back to doing your normal activities, while enjoying your more youthful appearance.
Every patient is different, and you may recover more quickly or slowly than the schedule. It is important to stay in touch with your surgeon if you have any concerns or queries during your recovery period.
To learn more, view our 3D simulation on facelifts or book in for a consultation with Dr Mark Lee to discuss your individual needs. Choosing to have plastic surgery is a serious personal decision and undertaking. Please be mindful that any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks.
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