As you know, the biological process of skin aging begins at the age of 25 years. By the age of 30, the regeneration of the upper layers of the skin occurs 2 times less often than in adolescents at the age of 15. Dead cells accumulate on the surface, causing the skin to become rough, dull, and wrinkles appear.
With age, the appearance of a person undergoes the following changes:
- appearance of so-called crow's feet (expression wrinkles);
- deepening of nasolabial and interbrow folds;
- drooping corners of lips;
- sagging eyelid skin;
- cheekbone volume reduction;
- sagging neck skin;
- appearance of the second chin;
- skin and muscles become flabby, elasticity is lost
Even if you carefully take care of your skin, you can only slightly delay the manifestation of age-related changes. But unfortunately avoid them completelyimpossible. Sooner or later, the moment will come when the use of cosmetics and techniques to correct age-related changes will become insufficient. Then a facelift comes to the rescue.
Facelift (rhytidectomy, or facelift) is a correction method designed to correct age-related changes. During the operation, excess skin of the face and neck, as well as excess fat is removed.
Classification
Currently, there are several ways to carry out a circular lift. This is a surgical method, laser and radio wave.
Indications for surgery
As a person grows older, his skin loses its elasticity. With a decrease in the amount of collagen and elastin, the skin begins to sag, wrinkles appear. To correct these problems, a circular tightening is performed.
Indications for surgery are:
- forehead wrinkles;
- drooping eyebrows;
- overhang of the skin fold of the upper eyelid, bags under the eyes;
- wrinkles in the nose and periorbital area;
- drooping outer corners of the eyes;
- deep nasolabial folds;
- sagging of soft tissues in the lower jaw;
- double chin;
- formation of pronounced wrinkles and folds on the neck.
Contraindications
Like any operation, a circular lift has a number of contraindications. Among them:
- oncological diseases;
- inflammatory processes;
- chronic diseases in the acute stage;
- diseases of the endocrine system;
- hypertension;
- prone to keloid scarring;
- blood clotting disorders and other diseases of the circulatory system.
Some aspects
What you need to know before doing a facelift?
- Expectations from the facelift procedure must be realistic. You should not hope that the operation will return the image of a 20-year-old girl if you are 50. The purpose of the operation is to make the patient younger, the face fresher, to correct the tired look. A lift does not eliminate every wrinkle.
- Pre-surgery consultation is critical to understanding the patient's concerns, goals and expectations.
- Before the operation it is necessary to get rid of smoking. Products containing nicotine may adversely affect the healing of postoperative sutures. Patients who smoke, use smokeless tobacco, or any nicotine-containing products should stop using them before the procedure. Smoking increases the risk of infection, hypertrophic scarring, and skin necrosis. Typically, patients are asked to abstain from nicotine one month before the procedure and not to smoke for one month after. It should also be noted that passive smoking can cause similar problems.
- Scars are inevitable despite all the exquisite techniques and precision equipment.
- The effect after a circular lift does not appear immediately, but after the disappearance of bruises and swelling.
- After the facelift procedure, the patient can gohome on the same day. With a successful procedure and good he alth, a stay in the hospital is not necessary.
- The postoperative recovery period after a circular facelift takes an average of 2-3 weeks.
Preoperative preparation
The question of the need for a circular facelift and its volume is decided with a plastic surgeon at a preliminary consultation. Quite often, the procedure is combined with eyelid rejuvenation surgery - blepharoplasty (upper and/or lower) and lipofilling.
Before the operation, a mandatory examination is carried out. It is also necessary to take a photo before and after a circular facelift for a visual comparison of the results. The duration of the operation depends on its volume, on average it takes from 2.5 to 4.5-5 hours.
Operating
Most often the procedure is performed under endotracheal (general) anesthesia, but intravenous anesthesia is possible for small volumes.
Steps of a circular lift:
- Very often, liposuction of the chin area is performed at the first stage, as a result of which only the muscles of the neck and skin areas with thinned subcutaneous fat remain.
- Skin incisions are made according to preliminary marking. These lines often run along the hairline, behind the ears. After healing, the scars will not be noticeable.
- Lifting is performed in stages: correction of the forehead, along the edge of the lower jaw, in the cervical fold. The amount of skin and fat removed depends on the degree of age-related changes.
- Procedure in progressplatysmoplasty - tightening of the neck muscles that form the second chin.
- Suturing.
- Drainage is installed in the area of skin removal along the angle of the lower jaw. This manipulation is necessary to prevent the accumulation of blood.
- A special compression bandage is put on.
Post-operative period
Stay in the hospital is 1-2 days. Installed drains are removed on the first day after a circular facelift. The sutures are removed on the 7-14th day, depending on their location. To minimize swelling, you must wear a special compression bandage for 7-10 days. It also supports the neck, chin and cheek area. The maximum swelling after the operation lasts 3-4 days, then it decreases every day. In the first few days after a facelift, mild pain may appear, which is stopped by painkillers.
You need to be prepared for the fact that the postoperative period is accompanied by the appearance of bruises on the face, which disappear within 2-2.5 weeks. The sensitivity of the skin on the face may also decrease, which will gradually recover over time.
After the operation, you can wash your hair with water and a mild shampoo after 2-3 days. Do not rub the seams with your hands, fingers or a towel. You should also refrain from coloring your hair for several weeks.
For 4-5 weeks after surgery, any physical activity should be avoided. For example, running, heavy housework or any other activitywhich can increase blood pressure.
If you follow all the recommendations, the result will not be long in coming. A course of cosmetic procedures will also help maintain the effect of a facelift. At present, it is possible to take into account all the features of social activity and the daily routine of each patient, develop an individual rehabilitation plan, depending on the volume of the operation, financial possibilities, for a speedy return to work.
Prevention
To save and maintain the result after a circular facelift, the following procedures can be performed:
- Physiotherapy rehabilitation. For example, magnetotherapy, which can be carried out from the second day after the operation. Rehabilitation contributes to the reduction of edema, the rapid resolution of bruises, and prevents rough, dense scarring.
- Ozone therapy improves microcirculation (especially with repeated operations on the face), accelerates healing.
- Microcurrents also relieve swelling and improve lymphatic drainage.
- Mesotherapy strengthens the walls of blood vessels.
- Plasmolifting.
- Biorevitalization of the skin sometimes even from the fifth day after the operation.
- Fractional skin polishing.
- Longidase injections.
- Hirudotherapy.
Possible Complications
All transactions involve some degree of risk. Some of the possible complications after a facelift:
- allergic reaction to anesthesia, which in rare cases can be fatal;
- bleeding or infection;
- formation of blood clots that can lead to potentially fatal cardiovascular complications such as heart attack, vein thrombosis, clot rupture;
- collapse lung;
- hair loss along the wound;
- tissue necrosis;
- itching in the scar area;
- hypertrophic scars;
- skin roughness;
- rough skin contours;
- constant facial skin pain;
- nerve damage that can lead to temporary or permanent facial paralysis;
- temporary or permanent facial numbness;
- uneven result, such as asymmetric eyes.
Additional surgery may be required to treat these complications.
Where is a facelift performed?
The operation can usually be done in plastic surgery clinics. In large cities, such as Moscow, a circular facelift is performed in many medical institutions. It is preferable that the procedure be done by a surgeon who is experienced in performing this type of surgery.
The cost of the operation depends on the volume of intervention and is individual in each case. On average, prices for a circular facelift in Moscow range from 200,000 to 300,000 rubles.
Facelift alternatives include:
- fillers,
- Botox injections,
- laser lift,
- facial implants.
Laser facelift
One of the greatest achievements of modernaesthetic plastic surgery is a laser non-invasive facelift. In the 90s, the so-called laser resurfacing (laser dermabrasion) became widespread, which made it possible to rejuvenate the skin by 10-15 years. The procedure has become a partial alternative to the circular facelift and blepharoplasty. But the very aggressive effect of the laser on the skin and the long recovery process, complicated by multiple side effects, made this procedure obsolete, and deep laser dermabrasion was forgotten for several years.
The laser actively stimulates the production of subcutaneous collagen, which is responsible for the youthful appearance and elasticity of the skin. Depending on the level of aging, the appropriate number and intensity of procedures are assigned, for example:
- at the first stage of skin aging, up to 2 sessions of laser lifting with an interval of 2-4 weeks;
- at the second stage - 2-4 sessions with an interval of 10-30 days;
- at the third stage, 3-5 sessions are needed with an interval of 2-4 weeks.
Laser lifting can be used as an additional procedure after a circular facelift for the older generation and as an alternative for people between the ages of 35 and 45.
Effect of operation
Circular lifting in the photo below helped the patient get rid of sagging eyelids, nasolabial folds, double chin. In general, the operation helped the woman look much younger.
From a different angle in the photo before the circular facelift, it is noticeable what it wasthe patient's gaze. He became more fresh, signs of fatigue disappeared.
The patient in the following photo had a circumferential lift combined with a platysmaplasty (neck lift). The patient previously had sagging skin around her chin and neck. There is no such problem after a facelift.
The photo shows changes in the appearance of the patient after a circular facelift. Mimic wrinkles disappeared, excess skin was removed, leading to the appearance of deep wrinkles in the forehead, upper lips and around the eyes.
Circular lift. Reviews
The result of the procedure is a significant improvement in appearance. Most patients after a circular facelift notice that they began to look younger by an average of 10 years.
In conclusion
Unfortunately, the fountain of youth does not exist. Remember that a facelift does not change your basic appearance. The procedure is cosmetic surgery to remove excess skin and reduce signs of aging. However, it is impossible to completely stop this process. Your skin will continue to fade after the operation. A facelift will help you look younger. To consolidate and prolong the results of the operation, it is necessary to use proper skin care, avoid sun exposure, and maintain a he althy lifestyle, do not smoke or abuse alcohol.
