Facelift (Rhytidectomy) Surgery

The ideal youthful face has taut, smooth skin. With the passing of years, the skin of the face and neck loosens, resulting in wrinkles, fat redistribution and sagging skin. After facelift surgery, you will discover a more rested and youthful appearance. The goal is to reverse and impede the effects of gravity on your face. There are several varieties of facelift or rhytidectomy that we offer. The techniques for facelifting have undergone a revolutionary change in the last decade. Although traditional rhytidectomy corrects the double chin and jowl, it does little for the deep crease between the upper lip and the cheek. The crease deepens with age, extending from the corners of the nose to the mouth, sometimes continuing down to the chin. These difficult to treat areas known as the melolabial folds may be improved with midface lifting and with injectable fillers like Juvéderm or Radiesse.

 The midface is that portion of the cheek extending from the lower eyelids to the corner of the mouth. With midface lifts, the facial skin, muscles, and fat of the cheeks are elevated and tightened as one unit, with melolabial folds flattened in the process. Small quantities of fat may also be injected into the midface to enhance fullness of the cheeks. Rhytidectomies which include the midface along with the lower face often produce a more natural appearance than more traditional facelifts. Newer techniques such as sub-SMAS dissection (which is in a deeper tissue plane than traditional facelift surgery) are used to insure a non surgical natural appearance to the lower face. These techniques may also provide results which have greater longevity than traditional rhytidectomy.

 As with all facial plastic surgery, good health and realistic expectations are prerequisites. Rhytidectomy is sometimes performed on patients in their thirties, and successful surgery has been performed on patients in their seventies. A facelift cannot stop aging, nor can it turn back the clock. What it can do is help your face appear its best and give you a look of health and a more rested appearance.

For the first week after surgery, you may engage in relaxed activities, and then begin to resume normal activities the second week. Sutures are removed from 5 to 10 days following surgery, at which time make-up may be used. You may shower and shampoo within 48 hours of surgery. Full daily activities, including exercise and returning to work, may begin 2 weeks after surgery. Final healing may take up to 3 months.