The non-surgical enhancement market has well and truly taken hold, but there are times when surgery is not just a last resort but a preferred option.
When it comes to fixing a crooked nose or lifting a severely sagging face, most times surgery is still your best bet. Surgery these days is a far cry from yesteryear – as techniques continue to evolve, procedures have become more and more customisable, leading to very natural-looking results and more manageable downtime.
Today, there’s a wide range of cosmetic surgery options available to target specific areas of the face and body. Whether facial surgery (such as a facelift, neck lift and blepharoplasty) or body surgery (such as breast enhancement, liposuction and abdominoplasty), the modern approach to cosmetic surgery involves tailoring a procedure or combination of procedures to your individual requirements and goals. Here, we explore the modern facelift, one of the most common procedures in facial surgery.
Facelift
First performed more than 100 years ago, surgical facelift techniques have continued to evolve and today can enhance virtually any part of the ageing face. Predominantly used to restore the contours of the face, a facelift, or rhytidectomy, can correct sagging, loose skin and reposition fat and tissues to add volume back to the face.
Over time, the effects of gravity, sun damage and the stresses of everyday life appear on the face, altering the way people appear to the outside world. Deep lines may appear around the eyes and mouth, sagging skin may fall from the cheek, jawline and neck, and fat deposits that were once full and firm deplete, leaving hollow and sunken areas of the face. As people are living increasingly lengthy lives, a facelift is designed to address these age-related changes and help both men and women look as young as they feel inside.
By repositioning both the skin and the layer of muscle and tissue beneath (known as the superficial musculoaponeurotic system, or SMAS), the modern approach to facelifting restores facial elements to a more desirable position to create a younger looking appearance while avoiding the tell-tale signs of surgery.
The modern approach to facelifting predominantly addresses volume replacement and vectors of lift. The procedure also helps smooth lines and folds but it does not address overall skin texture, skin thickness, and may not improve wrinkling and creases around the nose and mouth.
Facelifts can be divided into full, lower and mid-facelifts. Typically, a full facelift will begin with incisions made and concealed within the hairline. From here, the skin is separated from the muscles and tissue beneath, and the SMAS layer is then tightened in the mid and lower face, as well as the neck. The skin is then pulled back, reducing lines and wrinkles. Excess skin and fat is removed, and the incisions are closed.
A lower facelift addresses the appearance of ageing features in the lower part of the face. Depending on the specific needs of the patient, a surgeon will use one of a number of different types of incisions. It is common for a single incision to be made within the hairline extending down around the perimeter of the ear and into the hairline on the back of the head. Through these incisions, the skin is lifted from the underlying tissue of the lower face, jaw line and neck to expose the muscle and fibrous tissue beneath.
The SMAS is then repositioned to elevate and tighten the underlying facial structures to a more youthful and aesthetic position.
Once the SMAS has been adjusted, the skin is repositioned, with any excess being removed. The incision is then closed with sutures. A lower facelift procedure typically takes three hours, depending on the extent of surgery.
A mid-facelift is concerned with tightening the underlying tissues and elevating the fat pads to give improved shape and volume to the face. Although capable of restoring a firmer, younger-looking appearance, a mid-facelift cannot correct loose skin in the neck and jaw line.
A mid-facelift can be performed using a variety of different incisions and surgical techniques. One approach is the endoscopic technique, whereby small incisions are usually made just above the hairline, above the ear or by the temple. Additional incisions are made inside the mouth over the cheekbone. With the aid of an endoscope, the surgeon can gently manipulate the facial tissues and fat pads and lift them to a more youthful position.
This procedure takes around one and a half hours, depending on the extent of treatment.
Recovery from modern facelifts is typically much less extensive and lengthy compared with facelifts of the past, with less swelling, bruising, pain and recovery time. There are also different procedures, such as mini-lifts, which use smaller and fewer incisions, offering less recovery and down time.
Advances in surgical procedures and technology mean there are several different face lift techniques available today. They are designed to address your unique needs more specifically, helping to ensure optimal and natural-looking results.
