Tips for Facial Surgery
Expediting Your Recovery
A facelift will lift your sagging cheeks, smooth your jaw line, and
eliminate jowling. Plastic surgery of the face will also tighten
the loose skin of your neck, remove excess fat from under your chin,
and correct the turkey-gobbler appearance of your neck.
A facelift will NOT (here comes the bad news) eliminate your wrinkles
and other skin problems. Skin Care,
Laser Resurfacing, Chemical
Peel, and Dermabrasion complement
a facelift because they address these problems.
Incisions and Scars from a Facelift
Scars will extend from above your ear, down the front of your ear, around
your ear lobe, up the back of your ear, and into your hairline behind
your ear. There is another incision beneath your chin. Most scars
from a facelift are hard to see once they heal. Your scars can be
camouflaged with make-up within three weeks and should fade beyond
detection in one to three months.
Ask Your Plastic Surgeon About These Complication and Telltale Signs
Hematoma
Skin death
Facial weakness or paralysis
Attached earlobe (pixie ear)
Open ear canal
Average Cost of Facelift in the USA
Surgeon's fee
Anesthesiologist's fee
Operating room fee
Overnight stay
Total |
$5,000
$1,000
$1,500
$ 500
$8,000 |
What to Expect if You Have A Facelift
Anesthesia: Sedation or general.
Location of operation: Office or hospital.
Length of surgery: 2-4 hours.
Length of stay: An overnight stay may be recommended.
Discomfort: Mild. Anticipate 0-3 days of pain medication.
Swelling and bruising: Will be mostly gone in 2 weeks but
may last longer
Numbness: Cheek numbness is expected and lasts several weeks
or months.
Bandages: Changed in 1-2 days.
Make-up: May be worn in 1-2 weeks.
Presentable in public: You should be presentable within 2
weeks with the help of make-up.
Work: You may feel capable of returning within 5 days, but
your appearance will be the limiting factor.
Exercise: May be resumed in 2-3 weeks.
Sun protection: Six months with SPF 15 or higher.
Final result: Seen 1-4 months following most facelifts.
Tips and Traps of a Facelift
-
Mini facelifts
have been touted all over the internet. Do not be deceived.
Those who perform them likely do so because they do not know
how to perform real facelifts. They claim that mini facelifts
provide excellent results with only a few days of recovery.
This is simply not true. Mini facelifts involve removing a minimal
amount of excess skin near the ear, but have no effect on the
skin near the cheeks, jowls, or neck. As stated by Dr. Lawrence
Robbins, former president of the American Society for Aesthetic
Plastic Surgery, "The only thing a mini facelift lifts
is the patient's wallet." Realize that if mini facelifts
were effective, then all plastic surgeons would be performing
them. Also, be suspicious when viewing "impressive"
results of a mini facelift on the web. The actual results are
not that impressive.
-
Beware plastic surgeons whose facelifts cause their patients to look
like someone else. You want to look like a younger version of
yourself, not like a different person.
-
Because a facelift
will only rejuvenate the lower two-thirds of your face, consider
eyelid surgery and forehead lift at the same time to restore
youth and maintain harmony.
-
Quit smoking two weeks to two months prior to surgery.
-
Quit taking aspirin and aspirin products at least two weeks before surgery.
-
Wait two to
three months after a chemical peel or laser resurfacing of your
cheeks before you have a facelift (unless it is a micro peel).
-
Sleep in a recliner
or with your head elevated on pillows for the first several
days to minimize swelling. Frequent application of ice is also
important.
-
Expect that your facelift will turn back the clock by an average of seven
to ten years. You will continue to age on your new face, and
you may be ready for another lift within a decade.
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