What Does a Facelift Do?

As you age, you can expect to experience changes that might significantly affect how you look. But thanks to advancements in the medical and cosmetic fields, you can look youthful for longer. Through cosmetic surgery, you can counter the effects of gravity and time, restoring your natural vibrant appearance. Also known as a facelift, rhytidectomy is a cosmetic surgery procedure that aims to give you this youthful look on your face.  

What Does It Entail?

During a facelift procedure, your cosmetic surgeon will reshape the lower half of your face. He or she will achieve this by removing excess skin. This procedure can tighten loose skin in the jawline area, also referred to as jowls.

On the other hand, it can also get rid of deep creases around the nose and mouth. This includes the removal of excess fat and skin under the chin as well as in the neck. It can also involve tightening the underlying tissues and enhance your cheeks, forehead, eyelids, and brows.

The Facelift Procedure

This cosmetic surgery is usually undertaken as an outpatient procedure that may involve general anesthetics and/or sedatives. Usually, the procedure takes about two to five hours. If there are no complications, you can go home on the same day. Different types of facelifts achieve different results. The types of facelifts include:

Mini-Facelifts

If you are showing mild signs of sagging skin, a mini-facelift is perfect for you. The procedure is less invasive, allowing your surgeon to make shorter incisions to tighten your deep facial tissues. These are usually done in the natural creases around your ear and/or along the hairline above your ear.

Your surgeon might use general anesthesia or local anesthesia with a sedative, depending on your particular case. Generally, mini-facelifts address early signs of aging before they progress too much.

Standard Facelifts

A standard or conventional facelift aims to address moderate to advanced signs of aging. This is usually around your mid-face and neck area. This procedure is more far-reaching than a mini-facelift and requires more time to heal. For this reason, the results are more intense.

Your surgeon makes incisions just above your hairline so they can reposition the deeper tissues under your skin and remove the excess skin. This smoothens the folds to remove sagging. These incisions start close to your temples, going around the front of your ears, hidden in the natural creases.

How Does a Facelift Work?

The technique that cosmetic surgeons use during a rhytidectomy varies. It depends on various factors such as your anatomy, the extent of the facelift (either standard or mini), the existence of concurrent surgical procedures, and your personal goals, to name just a few.

For less costly facelifts, local anesthesia and sedation are usually deployed. After removing the excess skin, your surgeon gently lays back the remaining skin over the revitalized facial tissues, making your face smoother and youthful.

To learn more about what facelifts do, visit Kenneth Bermudez, M.D. in the San Francisco Bay Area today to schedule an appointment. Call us today at (415) 712-1800.