What is a facelift?

With age, we lose volume in our faces. We also lose elasticity of the skin of the face, causing the face to sag. We get deepening folds between the base of our nose and the corners of our mouth. We get jowls. We get bands of skin hanging along our neck. These are not attractive features. They can be corrected with a facelift. Incisions are designed around the contour of the ear in order to best camouflage and hide them from view. The skin in front of the ear, along the jawline, and on the neck is undermined in order to release it from the attachments to the tissue below. The tough tissue below the skin can be tightened with sutures as well. It is these sutures which provide the long-lasting effect of the facelift. The skin can then be re-draped in a tighter fashion and any excess skin is removed. This gives the patient a younger, more refreshed appearance to their face.

What are the benefits of a facelift procedure?

A facelift gives the patient a younger, more refreshed appearance. In essence, it turns back the clock several years and allows the patient to recapture a younger look.

Are there significant risks associated with facelift surgery?

Facelift surgery has several risks. Most commonly, bruising may occur, especially in the neck area. If bleeding occurs under the skin, it may necessitate a return trip to the operating room to remove the blood and stop the point of bleeding. Scars are generally very thin, however, thickened scars may occur. There may also be some numbness around the ear or involving the ear that should improve with time. Since the skin is very thin, great care must be taken to preserve the blood supply to the skin. If enough blood does not reach the edges of the skin, some of the skin may not survive. Fortunately, this is rare and is generally confined to the area behind the ear itself. This is a bigger risk with smokers and most plastic surgeons will not perform a facelift on a smoker until they have ceased smoking for an adequate amount of time, usually several months. A dramatic, but fortunately, rare risk would be damage to the nerve that sends messages to the muscles on each side of the face. If this nerve or its branches are damaged then it may cause the muscles that make us smile, close our eyes, raise our eyebrows, etc. not to work. Again, this is a very rare event. Often, it is a problem that will resolve on its own, but sometimes it may require a second surgery in an attempt to repair the damaged nerve.