Face Lifts
What is a Face Lift?
As a person ages the elasticity and suspensory ligaments of the face become lax. This presents in the upper face with a lowered brow and increased hooding of the upper eyelid, in the mid-face with loss of volume through the cheek and in the lower face with jowls and lines around the mouth. The neck can also tend to sag and jowl.
Face and Neck lifting is referred to medically as a Rhytidectomy and involves the surgical lifting and restitching of the forehead, mid facial area or neck.
The Surgical Procedure
A face lift (Rhytidectomy) is the gold standard of treatment for the ageing face but there are several different sub types or modifications to the classic face lift which can be employed. Careful consultation and consideration of different options with Dr. Mooney must be employed before the procedure as a full face lift requires lengthy surgical time and post operative recouperation. Today many patients are using earlier and earlier what is frequently called "The Liquid Face Lift" - anti-aging injections and dermal fillers to stave off the need for full face lifts later in life.
The surgical procedure involves the surgeon making incisions behind the hairline and around and behind the ears. The loose connective tissue underneath the skin is re-located back to its youthful position and secured in this position with sutures. Excess skin is removed and the sutures are closed. This procedure can be teamed with other Anti-Aging Procedures such as the use of injectable fillers, upper and or lower Eyelid Surgery and Rhinoplasty.
What to expect after surgery
A face lift procedure is a complicated procedure that can take several hours. It is not an overly painful procedure but patients will have a bandaged head and face for the first 24 hours and the bandaging may remain for 1 week. Patients generally stay in hospital for 24 hours. Some bruising and swelling is very common after this procedure but usually resolves within 7 to 10 days.
Patients return to Dr. Mooney's rooms at day 7 for removal of sutures and inspection of the early changes. It may be 2 to 3 weeks before patients can return to normal function but it is not a difficult recovery in so much as a "simple stay at home" recovery while we wait for the bruising to resolve. Face lifts enjoy a low complication profile with bruising and infection being the main concerns - the former being common and the latter being most uncommon.
Of course more significant problems such as nerve damage, asymmetry and other problems will be discussed in detail at the time of the consultation with Dr. Mooney but these problems are very much the exception not the rule.
Take time to discuss your anti-ageing options with our Patient Coordinator using our Online Inquiry Form
or to book a consultation please call (02) 9389 4497.
Rhinoplasty
The nose serves as the axis of the face: the static structure around which the expression, dynamism and beauty of the face find axis. For cosmetic surgery to succeed, the surgeon must strike a delicate balance between artistry and medical science.
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