Both procedures are commonly done together because they are done through very similar incisions. Patients who usually have concerns with the lower face inevitably have concerns with the neck and vice versa. The procedure is commonly said to set the patient’s appearance back ten years, to allow the patient to age gracefully. Commonly with aging there is also a loss of fat and tissue leading to the excess and loose skin in the lower face. Fat grafting from the abdomen to the lips, cheeks and chin can be done at the same time to provide more structure and youthfulness.
The decision to have plastic surgery is extremely personal, and you’ll have to decide if the benefits of the surgery outweigh the risks and potential complications of surgery.
You will be asked to sign consent forms to ensure that you fully understand the procedure and any risks. It is important that you address all your questions directly with your surgeon.
A face and/or necklift is typically done under a general anesthetic. Both a face and necklift have the same surgical incisions. There are two separate incisions on both sides of your face. The incision for a full facelift typically begins at the temple and goes along the natural skin fold in front of the ear, then behind the ear and along the hairline into the scalp. Facelifts also involve a tightening of the deep facial layers (also called the SMAS) and then redraping of the overlying skin. Sometimes a very small incision is required just under the chin to help tighten the neck. Usually black or blue non-dissolvable stitches will be used to close your surgical incisions. Sometimes dissolvable stitches are used, your surgeon will make this decision during your surgery. Sometimes dissolvable stitches may be used for the incisions under your chin and a ‘pink’ paper tape will be placed over top of the chin incision. If you have a Jackson-Pratt (JP) drain, you will have one black stitch to hold your JP drain in place. This will be removed when the drains are ready to come out. The drain will exit through one of your lower scalp incisions.
Recovery can be lengthy and the final results of the face lift are sometimes not evident until 6-8 weeks postoperatively with improvement continuing for several months after that. Some patients have very obvious swelling and bruising in the first month. We advised that you are able to comfortably take time off work and social activities in order to have peace of mind.
A good candidate for surgery is a patient who is relatively healthy and has realistic expectations for post-operative outcomes. It is also strongly advised that you be a non-smoker at the time of surgery. If you are a smoker we recommend you quit smoking at least 3 months prior to surgery as nicotine can interfere with blood supply and potentially cause complications with healing after surgery.
