What To Expect Before And After Your Face Lift

Just like fingerprints, every face is unique. Therefore, every face responds differently to the aging process. For some people, the forehead becomes deeply lined. For others, the skin around chins and jaws begin to sag. Other still seem to show most of their again in their eyes. Of course, there are many variations and combinations of ways in which people age. Because every face is fundamentally different and ages differently, every face lift is unique to the particular needs of the patient.

The Initial Consultation: Defining Your Goals and Expectations

In your initial consultation with your plastic surgeon, you will frankly and thoroughly discuss what you hope to achieve through your face lift. During the consultation, your surgeon will evaluate your skin and the bones beneath your face. In so doing, he or she will begin to make a plan for your face lift surgery. Do your very best to make sure that you and your doctor understand one another before going forward with the surgery. Also, remember that plastic surgery is meant to offer improvements to one?s appearance, not create perfection. As any plastic surgeon worth his salt will tell you, perfection is a fantasy construct, and your aim should be to feel the best you can about the face you have.

Preparing for Your Surgery

Before undergoing any type of surgery, it is important to consult thoroughly with your physician. Your doctor will let you know if you are in good enough health to undergo the surgery and will also check to make sure that none of your medications will negatively interfere with your surgical procedure. Also, your plastic surgeon will give you advice on preparing for your surgery. Be sure to follow any guidelines regarding consumption of food, liquids, medications and vitamins.

If you smoke, be sure that your surgeon is aware of this. Smoking can inhibit the flow of blood to and through the skin. This can impede the healing process after your face lift. If you are a smoker, you will probably have to stop for at least two weeks before your surgery. It is also not a good idea to smoke directly after your surgery.

In most cases, face lift incisions are made behind and within the hairline. This is done so that scars can be hidden underneath your hair. If you tend to wear your hair quite short, you may want to grow it longer before your surgery. In so doing, you will be able to cover your sutures.

Make sure that you have a close friend or family member with you on the day of your surgery. You will need to have someone drive you home, make sure that you have all of the related medication that you need and help you for the first day or so.

After Your Surgery

As with any surgery, you will experience some discomfort after your face lift. Your surgeon should prescribe a painkiller that will help you through the worst of it. Of course, you should also expect some swelling around your face and head. This can be alleviated a bit by keeping your head elevated as much as possible and applying cold compresses.

If you have a drainage tube inserted into your skin during your surgery, this should come out within a day or two post-op. The stitches will follow about five days later. While your face may look thoroughly bruised, battered and swollen for a few weeks following surgery, the marks and swelling should soon give way to a younger, fresher-looking version of yourself.

Your surgeon will give you specific instructions about how to take care of yourself after your face lift. Make sure that you follow these directions to the letter. If you fail to follow these instructions after your face lift surgery, you could damage your face or even suffer an infection. You don?t want to increase your face lift cost - or recovery time - by having to return to the doctor for additional face lift surgery or treatment, so be sure to take great care of your beautiful new face.

Types of Cosmetic Surgery The Facelift

Cosmetic surgery is an amazing way of improving one?s appearance with methods of modern medicine. It functions as an art as well as a science, since the aim is not only to help someone be healthy, but also look better. Cosmetic surgery includes face lifts and other improvements in facial appearance, and corrections of the contours of the breast and stomach for men as well as women.

Probably the most popular cosmetic surgery operation is the Facelift. The purpose of a facelift is to tighten the skin and remove excess fight, reforming the skin normally on older people, at least over 40 years old. It can be an in hospital procedure with general anesthesia, even though some surgeon due it as an outpatient procedure with local anesthesia. The results usually last for 5 to 10 years.

Facelifts can be over the entire face, or only over the neck, the brow, or the lower face. Other alternative procedures to improve facial appearance include a chemical peel, and facial resurfacing techniques, also laser facial resurfacing. In a chemical peel, a chemical agent is used to remove the upper layer of skin. A better, new layer of skin grows back over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

If your facelift surgery involves using a general anesthetic, you will have to fast and not drink from the night before. The surgeon makes a cut around the hairline on the forehead and carefully separates the skin from underlying fat and muscle. He removes excess fat, tightens loose muscles and then pulls up the skin to a tighter tension. This usually takes three to four hours.

In a new variant of the procedure, called endoscopic surgery, the surgeon makes a few tiny holes to pull the skin up and insert tiny surgical tools. Through a camera and controls, the surgeon is able to see inside the operating area on a TV monitor, and use the surgical tools to do the work. After the operation, the face is wrapped for one or two days, and stitches are removed after one week to ten days. In another procedure, called MACS- Minimal Access Cranial Suspension, also shorter cuts are made, and an effort is made to due the facelift with a minimal amount of scarring.

After the surgery there is some pain, and you usually have to stay in the hospital for a day or two. There is some pain after a facelift, but this can be controlled by normal over the counter pain relievers.

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