The facelift is an aesthetic surgery to reduce wrinkles on the face and neck, as well as reduce sagging skin and remove excess fat from the face, giving a more youthful and beautiful appearance.
This rejuvenation surgery, also known as rhytidectomy, is more common in women aged 45 and older, and is usually performed by a plastic surgeon in a clinic, using general anesthesia and requiring hospitalization for about 3 days.
For best results, one can perform other blepharoplasty surgeries, to correct the eyelids and rhinoplasty, to position the nose.
When the face lift is indicated
The facelift can be performed when you have:
- Deep wrinkles, folds and expression marks;
- Skin flaccid and fallen on the eyes, cheeks or neck;
- Very thin face and accumulation of fat on the neck with sagging skin.
These changes in the face are more frequent from the 45 years due to the aging, being this procedure more common from that age.
Benefits of Face Lift
The facelift is an aesthetic plastic surgery that makes the face younger, with more stretched and beautiful skin, provoking well-being and increasing self-esteem.
Surgery price
Rhytidectomy to improve the appearance of the face costs about 10, 000 reais, but varies with the clinic where it is performed.
How is the surgery done
Surgery is performed on the operating room by the surgeon, requiring general anesthesia or sedation, taking deep sleep remedies and lessening the sensation of pain. During surgery you need:
- Hold the hair in several small locks to avoid contaminating the skin and facilitating the scar;
- Make small bites on the face to apply general anesthesia;
- Make cuts on the face to sew the muscles of the face and cut off excess skin;
- Make the scar around the ears and hair.
Usually the surgery takes about 4 hours and is very delicate, needing to be admitted to the hospital or clinic for about 3 days.
In addition, facial aging is more common in smokers, individuals who have excessive sun exposure and when doing frequent tanning.
How to Prepare for Surgery
Before performing the facelift is necessary to make a general evaluation of the state of health, performed blood test and electrocardiogram. The doctor questions about the presence of illnesses, use of frequent medications, use of cigarettes or allergies that may compromise recovery.
In addition, your doctor generally recommends avoiding:
- Remedies like AAS, Mejoral, Doril, Coristina or Superist;
- Cigarette at least 1 month before surgery;
- Facial creams within 2 days before surgery.
It is also essential to fast for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery, as your doctor advises.
How is face lift recovery?
The recovery of the surgery to the face is slow and causes some discomfort during the first week. During the postoperative period it is necessary to:
- Take medication to control pain, such as Dipirone every 8 hours, being more intense in the first 2 days;
- Sleeping from stomach to cim, supporting the head with 2 pillows in the region of the back, leaving the head of the bed very elevated by about 1 week, to avoid the swelling;
- Keep the head and neck bandaged, staying for at least 7 days and do not take out either to sleep or shower in the first 3;
- Perform lymphatic drainage after 3 days of surgery, every other day, about 10 sessions;
- Avoid using cosmetics the first week after surgery;
- Avoid touching the scars to avoid causing complications.
In some cases, your doctor recommends applying cold compresses to the face to reduce swelling for about 2 minutes in the first week.
In addition, in the case of having visible spots on the face these are removed about 15 days after the surgery, being essential not to make efforts, to paint the hair or sun exposure in the first 30 days.
Main Complications of Face Aesthetic Surgery
The facelift usually causes purple patches on the skin, swelling and small bruises that fade during the first 3 weeks after surgery.
However, other complications may occur, such as:
- Scar thick, thick, broad or dark;
- Opening of the scar;
- Hardening below the skin;
- Decreased skin sensitivity;
- Face paralysis;
- Asymmetries on the face;
- Infection.
In these cases, it may be necessary to touch the skin to improve the result of the surgery. Learn about the risks of plastic surgery.
Does the surgery leave a scar?
Facial surgery always leaves scars, but they vary with the type of technique that the doctor uses and in most cases are barely visible because they are covered by the hair and in the outline of the ears.
The scar is changing color, being initially pink and subsequently becomes similar to the color of the skin, taking about 1 year.
Are the results of the surgery for a lifetime?
The results of the surgery are only visible about 1 month after surgery, however, in most cases, surgery is not for the rest of life and therefore the results undergo changes over the years.
Some factors that may affect the results are aging, weight variation, or prolonged exposure to the sun.
