Fundamentals of Cosmetic Surgery: What You Should Know About Facelifts Surgery

If you are considering having a facelift, you have to know what you're getting yourself into. A cosmetic facelift surgery is no joke. It must be taken seriously. A facelift, scientifically known as rhyidectomy, is an operation which lifts the facial skin and its issues with the muscles underneath in order to make the face smoother and tighter.

As we grow older, the muscles on our faces slag off and the skin becomes looser and less elastic. Folds and lines become visible. A facelift reduces the wrinkles and saggy skin. Plus, it gives off a youthful and more vibrant appearance. The procedure is either a full facelift or done on the whole face. Sometimes it is just conducted within a specific area like the lower face, neck or brow.

Face lifts last for seven to ten years. Best results are with people who are able to maintain their ideal and stable body weight. This is because their skin can adjust well with elasticity and their bones have nice structure. For the older people, those who spend much time under the sun, the effects of face lift last a shorter time.

If you are not keen on the idea of having a face lift, there are other alternatives. These are: - Resurfacing techniques that reduce wrinkles.
- Tissue augmentation that plumps out the wrinkles
- Anti-wrinkle injections or botox
- Creams, beauty treatments and gels with an advertisement claiming that these tighten the user's skin.
However, if facelifts is the way to go, here are the important points you have to know about the facelifts surgery procedure.

Before the facelift, the surgeon discusses how you can prepare for the operation. You will have to give up smoking. Smoking heightens the risk of infection. It also slows down healing of wounds. It also increases the blood clots in the legs. You will also be asked to stop taking medicines like anti-inflammatory prescriptions and aspirins two weeks prior the operation. If you do not stop, this can heighten the risk of bleeding.

Before you go through the operation, talk to your surgeon about it. Make sure that they ask you to sign a consent form. When you do, this means that you comprehend the benefits, risks and alternatives to the whole operation. It also means that you gave them the go signal for the surgery. The surgeon will then examine your face by taking a photograph before the surgery. This will be compared to the after-results. If you are to be given anesthesia, you will be asked to not eat or drink six hours beforehand. But there are some anesthetists who lets you sip water once in a while two hours before the procedure.

The operation lasts for about three to four hours. After the procedure, the patient is required to stay in the hospital for a night or two. There are various facelift techniques. Let your surgeon explain each choice that is appropriate for you.

First and foremost, in the typical facelift, when the anesthesia kicks in, the surgeon cuts around the headline and past the ears. The cuts are also made under the chin, that is if you prefer to lift up your sagging jaw. Skin is then carefully separated from the muscles located underneath the face. The excess fat is removed and the muscles are tightened. This lifts up and pulls back the skin. Excess skin is trimmed off. Afterwards, it is stitched back to where the cut was originally made.

Your face is wrapped tightly in bandages at the end of the entire procedure. The bandages may run beneath your chin, around the ears or even on op off your head. These are usually taken off after a day or two. Stitches are removed when five to ten days have gone by. You can ask for painkillers when anesthesia wears off. Before you are discharged, your surgeon or your nurse will advise you on how to care for your face. This includes bathing and hygiene.

You can apply a cold compress like an ice bag or bag of frozen food wrapped in a towel to lessen the bruising and swelling. Never apply the ice directly to the skin because this will result to ice burn.

Here are the points to remember when you are recovering from a cosmetic surgery. - You must keep your head elevated for two days in order to reduce the swelling
- Do not bend or strain yourself too much
- As much as you love these places, do not go to massage parlors or saunas for two weeks at least
- Do not stay under the sun for too long for the next couple of weeks.

Do not rush yourself when deciding whether you'll get a cosmetic operation or not. Discuss it with your doctor who can recommend credible surgeons. Most importantly, do the procedure because you yourself want to, not because you feel like you have to please people. The need and want for cosmetic facelift surgery must start from within and not from surrounding influences.

For more information now go to: http://www.bestcosmetic-surgery.com/index.html

http://www.myalpha-power.com or http://www.aperfectharmony.com

My Thermage Face Lift Journal

Saturday, September 9

I Had a Face Lift Today

If I had a face lift today, you may wonder how I am able to sit at the computer and type up this journal. I look pretty much as I did when I got up this morning and I feel fine. After the procedure, my husband and I went to a restaurant for a nice lunch.

Are you wondering why I look pretty much as I did this morning and why I?m not wrapped up like a mummy and in excruciating pain? It?s because I had a non-invasive face lift procedure called Thermage.

I think I look better already and my skin feels tighter, but it?s not enough that others should notice and it might just be a temporary irritation effect of the procedure. You?re still wondering why I did this, right?

Well, my plastic surgeon (and the Thermage website) explained that the treatment causes collagen to grow to re-plump and lift the face.

Given my age (60) and the condition of my skin (very good for my age), I can expect the improvement to continue for the next 18 months. He said the improvement will last for another six years after that.

Everyone is different. He said the results depend on how much collagen you still have; because the treatment works on that which you have ? thickening and lengthening it. I?ve seen the before and after pictures on the Thermage website and in a brochure the doctor gave me.

I?m really excited about the prospect of looking younger and younger each day for the next year and a half (instead of the reverse!). I?m also pleased that the treatment should last almost as long as a surgical face lift and that it was so affordable.

Next time, I?ll tell you about the procedure itself and I promise to pull no punches.

Monday, September 11, 2006
Thermage Non-Invasive Face Lift ? Blow by Blow Account

Some doctors will want to see you for an evaluation before scheduling the Thermage procedure. I asked mine if everything could be done in one visit because his office is quite far from my home. He was very accommodating.

I arrived at 11:00 and was taken right into the doctor?s office. He looked closely at my face and the condition of my skin. Then he explained the procedure in detail and said he would do 600 pulses which would include treatment of the forehead, crow?s feet area, mid-face, around the mouth, along the jaw line and the upper neck (in front). He gave me an anti-inflammatory pill to place under my tongue.

I was asked to remove my makeup thoroughly and lie on a reclining chair (as in a dentist?s office). A large rubber pad coated with gel was placed on my waist area and a cord was plugged into it. I assumed this was to conduct electricity through my body. Uh-oh, I thought this was going to be radio waves. Nobody said anything about electricity!

Then came the ?tattooing?. Don?t worry, it?s not permanent. The doctor placed a transparent flexible sheet with a grid-like pattern against my forehead and carefully rubbed over it with alcohol, transferring the grid pattern to my skin. Then he did the same to the rest of my face and to my neck. I must have looked a sight! Good thing I couldn?t see myself.

Come back next time for the rest of my story: Thermage Non-Invasive Face Lift ? Ouch and Wow!

Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Thermage Non-Invasive Face Lift ? Ouch and Wow!

So there I was, stretched out on the ?dentist?s chair?, staring at the bright overhead lights with a rubber pad stuck to my belly and lines ?tattooed? all over my face and neck. The doctor showed me the radio-frequency wand which would be used for my Thermage.

Each patient gets their own individual tip. I?m not sure why. Since the procedure is non-invasive, I doubt that it is for sanitary reasons. Perhaps the electronic chip which delivers the charges wears out?

Thermage works by heating collagen fibers beneath the skin?s surface. With age, collagen fibers thin, shorten and rigidify. As the face loses collagen mass, the epidermis wrinkles, collapses in and eventually begins to sag.

For some reason, heating the existing collagen fibers with radio waves causes them to relax and lengthen. Just as importantly, the heat stimulates the existing collagen to grow and thicken again. This is why the results of Thermage are not immediately evident, but rather develop over time.

The doctor warned me that I would feel a sensation of heat and at times a bit of ?discomfort?. If I could not tolerate the ?discomfort?, he could lower the frequency. To protect the epidermis from burning, a little jet of Freon (I think) is sprayed at the same time the radio waves are transmitted.

Darn, I?m out of time again and I didn?t get to the ?Ouch and Wow!? part. Next time ? I promise.

Friday, September 15, 2006
Thermage Non-Invasive Face Lift ? Ouch and Wow 2!

The doctor began zapping my forehead according to the tattoo pattern. That wasn?t too bad. A little heat and sometimes a bit of a tingling sensation. However on more sensitive areas of the face and neck, there was definite pain. It reminded me of facial electrolysis.

As the nurse noticed me tensing with the pain, she offered me a small foam ball to squeeze. The doctor told me to breathe deeply. I learned that there is a definite rhythm to maximize the pain relief using these techniques. Inhale deeply. Squeeze the ball tightly and exhale with the pain. It really helped. Kind of like mini-Lamaze, I guess.

Several times, the doctor asked me if I wanted him to lower the intensity. Each time I said, ?No?. I wanted the maximum benefit from the treatment. The doctor made a first pass over each area. This was the only painful one.

Then he did a second pass at the interstices (between the first points). Finally, he went over the ?really bad areas? (his words, not mine ? but I think we all know what he meant!). I hardly felt that. An hour after the procedure started, I was done. Big sigh of relief.

I was unplugged. The doctor and nurse wiped the tattoo from my skin.

Next time, I?ll tell you about aftercare and answer the burning question, ?Would I ever do this again??

Sunday, September 17, 2006
Thermage Non-Invasive Face Lift ? You Bethcha!

When I last wrote (I feel like I?m doing an old radio show ? ?When we last left Little Orphan Annie, she was cowering in the coal bin with her faithful dog, Sandy ?), my Thermage procedure had just been completed. I stood up from the ?dentist?s chair? and felt a bit woozy. The nurse said that was from the tension and it quickly dissipated.

I went to the washroom to freshen up and get the first glimpse of the new me. No redness, no swelling. I looked pretty much as I did right before the Thermage. I say ?pretty much? because I thought I detected a slightly tightened look but realize that may have been wishful thinking on my part.

My face felt fine. There were a couple spots of very minor tenderness, but nothing I would even take an aspirin for. Then I sat down with the doctor to learn about aftercare.

For two months I am to drink a tablespoon of chlorophyll dissolved in water morning and night, as well as a glass of 1000mg of vitamin C dissolved in water.

In the morning I am to put on a high SPF face cream and at night, an active C, a.k.a. L-ascorbic acid or C esther face cream. My doctor explained that vitamin C is the best thing for collagen.

Who knew? I?m not sure why the chlorophyll and want to research that.

It?s now eight days post-treatment. My husband says in profile he sees a remarkable improvement in my neck. I see a remarkable improvement over all. I just look better every day. Friends are starting to look at me funny but no one has asked ?the? question yet.

Am I glad I did it? As they say in the movie ?Fargo?, ?You betcha!?

Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Thermage Options and Alternatives

If you?re interested in Thermage after reading my blow-by-blow account, go to the Thermage website. There you will find lots more information, before and after videos of real people, and even a worldwide Thermage-certified physician finder.

If you live in a high cost country, like the U.S. or Canada, you may want to consider combining a vacation with your Thermage. The money you save on the Thermage will probably pay for your vacation. And since there is no recovery period or post-treatment pain you can enjoy all of your stay.

By: Jean Bowler, manager of the Ageless Beauty website, devoted to help all baby boomers hold on to the glow of youth for as long as possible. For more on plastic surgery and cosmetic proicedures, please visit our AntiAging Cosmetic Procedures Guide.