Face & Neck Lift Surgery
With age, the face may sag due to the effects of gravity and aging. Loss of elasticity and collagen on the face over the years brings along sagging cheeks and jowls, wrinkles, and partial indentations and bulges, which cause a prematurely old appearance, as well as a tired and sad expression.
Facelift surgery is performed to tighten the facial ligaments and remove excess skin causing sagginess on the face. If the sagging is mild, non-surgical procedures may be applied to correct the problem easily. However, if the sagging is severe, facelift surgery is recommended. Additionally, in some cases, fat injection, and eyelid cosmetic surgery may also be necessary.
Full Facelift & Mini Facelift
In facelift surgery, the incisions are hidden in the hairline, ear line, and behind the ear. The incision begins in the temple area above the ear inside the hairline and continues along the front of the ear towards behind the ear. If the patient is young with mild sagging, posterior ear incision will not be necessary. During the surgery, the skin of the cheek is lifted, and tightening sutures are made on the underlying tissue, called SMAS (superficial muscular aponeurotic system) consisting of the facial muscles. Afterward, the surgeon removes the excess skin tissue and closes the incision with fine sutures.
Facelift Surgery Operation
Facelift operation lasts about 3 to 4 hours and the patient discharges in1 to 2 days. The drains put to prevent blood from building up near the incisions are removed within 1 to 2 days. After the surgery, the patient will have bruises and swelling on his/her face.
For this, using a special mask is recommended for 2 weeks until this edema dissolves. Mild asymmetries may be observed on the face due to edema and nerves which become tense during the surgery. These will spontaneously disappear within 4 to 5 days. Sutures do not need to be removed thanks to the self-absorbable material. A hardly visible scar remains on the incision areas. Depending on the skin type, the visibility of the scars change. For example, they are less noticeable in light-skinned patients.
Although rare, complications may develop, such as bleeding or accumulation of blood under the skin, malnutrition in the end tissues on the incision borders and loss of sensation in the face and neck skin, injury of some of the branches of the facial nerves and loss of mimics, etc.
Face lift surgery provides good results which other methods cannot. Although the new facial shape will change slightly due to ageing, the result will be permanent for many years.