What is Facelift?

1. Consultation and Planning

• Initial Consultation: Meeting with a plastic surgeon to discuss goals, expectations, and potential risks.
• Evaluation: The surgeon evaluates your facial structure, skin quality, and other factors to determine the most appropriate surgical approach.
• Planning: The surgeon will outline a personalized treatment plan, discussing the type of facelift, incision locations, and expected outcomes.

2. Preparation

• Medical Evaluation: Pre-operative tests and assessments to ensure you’re fit for surgery.
• Medication Review: Adjustments to current medications, if necessary, and advice on avoiding certain medications and supplements that can increase bleeding.
• Fasting: Instructions on when to stop eating and drinking before the surgery.

3. Anesthesia

• Administered to ensure comfort during the procedure. This may be general anesthesia (you’re asleep) or local anesthesia with sedation (awake but relaxed and pain-free).

4. Making the Incisions

• Incisions are usually made within the hairline at the temples, continuing around the ear and ending in the lower scalp. The pattern and length of incisions depend on the extent of the lift and the specific technique used.

5. Lifting and Tightening

• Skin and Underlying Tissue Adjustment: The skin is lifted, and underlying muscle and connective tissues are tightened. Excess skin may be trimmed away.
• Fat Contouring: Fat may be sculpted or redistributed from the face, jowls, and neck.

6. Closing the Incisions

• The skin is redraped over the uplifted contours, and the incisions are closed with sutures or skin adhesives. Sometimes, drains are placed to collect excess fluid and reduce swelling.

7. Recovery

• Immediate Post-Op: Recovery begins in a post-operative care unit where staff monitors for any complications.
• Home Recovery: Detailed instructions are provided for home care, including how to care for incisions, medications for pain and infection prevention, and when to follow up with the surgeon.
• Follow-Up Visits: To remove stitches and assess the healing process.

8. Healing and Results

• • Swelling and bruising are normal and diminish over weeks to months.
  • Final results gradually emerge as swelling subsides and incision lines fade, typically becoming more apparent within several months.