Facelift

These procedures are individually determined according to each patient. The facial features are carefully examined in a patient and the operative procedure planned accordingly.

Some patients have noticeably marked fullness in the submental area (under the chin), requiring liposuction of that area in addition to the facelift. Others may merely require the jowls to be improved.

Some patients have ‘hollow cheeks’ and these need to be filled with fat at the time of surgery, others require a SMAS plication to lift the jowls and augment the “cheek bones.” There is no one operation for all patients and each patient needs to be individually assessed at the time of the consultation to determine the procedure that is necessary and best suited to that particular patient.

A facelift takes about two and a half to three hours and is done under local anaesthetic, with conscious sedation, as a day case procedure, with the patient going home the same day. Drains are usually inserted and these are removed the next morning, the patient merely returning to the clinic to have this done.

Post-operatively the patient has a bandage covering the head and face for approximately twelve hours. This is generally removed the following day and replaced with a light dressing, which is merely to cover the ears and offer some protection to the suture lines. The scars are usually “around the ears”. There is fairly significant bruising and swelling associated with this surgery for the first 5 to 7 days. Although this might not all have resolved thereafter, this can often be camouflaged with make-up etc.