Getting a Youthful Facial Appearance With a Facelift

No one likes to look older, but the environment around us makes that inevitable. Stress and sun exposure cause lines and folds to form on the neck, mouth, forehead, and around the eyes. Your facial skin starts to sag along your jawline, forming jowls.

Worse still, some people age faster than others. If this is you, your peers may look younger than you. There’s possibly no worse feeling than your friends being considered young while you are addressed as "ma’am." But, you can do something about it. If you start seeing signs of aging on your face, get a facelift to reverse the aging process.

A Facelift

A facelift is a classic cosmetic procedure used to take out the effects of aging from the face. It is considered the gold standard for restoring youthfulness on the face.

A facelift is an invasive procedure. The doctor conducts the procedure by making an incision and taking out the excess skin. He or she then repositions and tightens the underlying muscles before closing the incision to tighten the skin. The procedure smoothens out your skin and gets rid of the signs of aging on your face. You end up looking years, if not decades, younger.

What to Expect

The facelift surgery is done on an outpatient basis, under general anesthesia. Patients can combine this procedure with other facial rejuvenation procedures such as an eyelid lift or a brow lift.

The plastic surgeon makes the incisions along the hairline or natural skin creases to make the scarring less visible.

The doctor may choose to perform one of two facelift techniques. The first is the traditional facelift. It involves making an incision along with the shape of your ear and onto the hairline. You may also get an incision under the chin if your neck needs a lift too. The surgeon lifts the skin and tightens the muscles underneath. He or she also takes out the excess fat and closes out the remaining skin.

The second technique is called a Minimal Access Cranial Suspension (MACS) facelift. It is suitable for patients who have only mild to moderate skin elasticity and have nasolabial folds or jowls. This technique is less invasive in comparison to the traditional method. Hence, the recovery time is shorter. The surgeon makes incisions along the front of the ears to blend in with the hairline. He or she then tightens the skin and muscles underneath.

But, the MACS facelift does not correct neck sagging. If you need to smoothen out the skin on your neck, you need a traditional facelift.

Recovery From a Facelift Surgery

The healing from facelift surgery is relatively easy, with minimal discomfort. The results are visible once the bruising and swelling subside.

The normal downtime after a facelift procedure is 7-10 days. Take time off work and rest to hasten your recovery. Also, observe the surgeon’s instructions on avoiding strenuous activities.

A facelift is a gold standard for recovering your youthful look. Get your procedure done by the experienced Andrew Friedman, MD, FACS, at Texas Plastic Surgery in San Antonio, Texas. You can call 210-934-8400 to request an appointment.