What Is a Facelift?
A facelift is the ultimate facial rejuvenation treatment. It lifts drooping cheeks, tightens loose skin on the face and neck, removes jowls, and creates firm, youthful definition to the jawline. Advanced techniques produce far superior results, with discreet incisions placed around the ears to restore the muscle structure and remove excess skin for a natural look – not pulled. A facelift is one of the most powerful techniques known to help turn back the clock of time.
Why Should I Get a Facelift?
Your face is in constant motion and always exposed to the elements. Over time, the skin and tissue weaken, the facial muscles become looser, and gravity takes a toll, leaving you looking older, tired, and deflated. Our facelift can resolve all of these problems with a custom surgery designed to create a durable result that keeps you looking about one decade younger than your chronological age.
Are You a Candidate for a Facelift?
If you are experiencing sagging skin, jowls, and deep wrinkles and creases, you may be a candidate for a facelift. We will need to review your medical history to ensure you are safe to undergo surgery. Everyone, women and men alike, deserves to feel confident about the way they look.
A facelift will tighten sagging facial muscles and skin and remove excess fat to bring back the look you had in your youth. Depending upon your goals you may choose to undergo eyelid surgery or a brow lift to achieve full facial rejuvenation.
What Happens During a Facelift?
For a dramatic improvement in the appearance of wrinkles and jowls and a smoothly defined jawline, a facelift is the most effective treatment. Non-invasive treatments are very effective, but there comes a time when surgery is the right choice.
Your surgical plan is customized to match the condition of your skin and facial muscles. Our surgeons will create an incision around your ears, and possibly a small incision beneath your chin to:
- Tighten facial muscles
- Correct bands on your neck
- Remove excess skin and fat
- Restore your skin and tissue to a more youthful position
- Transfer your own fat to provide volume exactly where you need it
The MACS Lift Procedure
Besides a full facelift, we offer the MACS Lift procedure. MACS stands for minimal access cranial suspension. This shorter procedure has a typical recovery of a week or less. We will work with you to determine a procedure that will produce the results you envision. A MACS lift may be suitable if a full facelift is not needed for you.
What Is Involved in Facelift Recovery?
Depending on the type of facelift procedure, the recovery time is about two to three weeks. Pain is usually minimal. Your head will be bandaged for the first day after surgery, and you will need to keep it elevated during waking and sleeping hours throughout the recovery period. Bruising and swelling will fade over a few weeks and can be camouflaged with makeup. You may experience temporary numbness of the skin, but this usually resolves over time. Discomfort and pain are usually minimal and can be controlled with medication.
Will There Be Scarring?
The goal is always to have no visible scarring, so incisions are always placed out of sight around the natural creases of the ears or within the hairline. Dr. Flugstad and Dr. Rivet, as highly skilled plastic surgeons, are well aware of the importance of limiting scars and are known for their advanced surgical techniques that limit incision length and scarring.
When Should I Expect to See Results?
The final results of your facelift will not be apparent for a few weeks. The puffiness you see in the mirror will gradually resolve as your new look emerges. You will look natural—like yourself, just younger and fresher—and will feel more self-confident. Friends will comment that you look refreshed, or ask if you have lost weight, or changed your hair. It is up to you if you want to tell them your secret. We like to think that our best work goes undetected.
Patients can contact our office for more information or to schedule a consultation at (940) 287-3795.