Your facial appearance can reflect your personality and often times determine how people view you. If your face is riddled with wrinkles and fine lines, it can adversely affect the way people perceive you and even how you feel about yourself. You may experience a sharp decrease in confidence and self esteem when your face succumbs to the effects of aging.
A facelift, also called rhytidectomy, is a procedure that not only lifts the unsightly jowls and crow’s feet that appear as a result of aging or genetics, it can also lift your confidence levels too! The procedure can take years off your facial appearance, making you look much younger and more alert.
The Causes of Wrinkles
The harsh effects of aging may appear for a variety of reasons. One such reason is called oxidative stress. The body’s cells are damaged by unstable radicals that are released during the metabolic process, smoking, or environmental pollution. A bad diet rich in refined sugars and fats can also increase the production of these harmful radicals.
Conditions like wrinkles, sagging skin, and fine lines are attributed to oxidative stress. Hormonal changes, other health conditions, and genetics also play a role in accelerating the appearance of aging facial skin.
Good Candidates for a Facelift
A facelift can help a great deal of people rejuvenate the look of their face. If you aren’t satisfied with the appearance of your face, the procedure is perfect for you. You will make a great candidate if you are in good health, have realistic expectations, you don’t smoke or you are ready to quit for a while, and you are ready to follow your surgeons instructions.
What Happens During The Procedure?
Your facelift will be performed under general anesthesia. Depending on your individual needs, your plastic surgeon may also use a combination of local anesthetics and intravenous sedatives. During your initial consultation, you can discuss your preferred type of anesthesia, the process of the procedure, how long you will take to recover, and post-surgical instructions.
To begin, your doctor will assess your face as a whole and determine the amount of skin that needs to be modified during the facelift.
The facelift surgery has the following steps.
- Your surgeon first makes an incision along the hairline on the temple. The incision is made strategically along the hairline to hide any visible post-surgical marks.
- He will lift the skin up and outward to access the tissue and muscle that lies beneath.
- He will remove excess fat and skin tissue from the target area. The remaining facial skin will be tightened and sutured.
How Soon Can I Recover?
You will be able to resume your normal day to day activities within two weeks. You surgeon may ask you to avoid heavy exercise for up to a month. Wearing protective sunscreen on your face will help keep it protected and accelerate the healing process.
Contact Our Office
There’s no way to stop time, but with plastic surgery, you can stop the affects time has on your facial features. If you’re interested in learning more about a facelift, contact our office today. Dr. Ryan Hoffman, a double board-certified plastic surgeon, will help address any questions or concerns you have and give you the aesthetically pleasing face you desire.