FACELIFT

The face is at the center of beauty. It is also the center of attention during communication and reveals our secrets about our age. These secrets can be a tired look, angry eyebrows, unkempt dry skin, sagging and sun spots.

Preoperative evaluation: All structures on the face should be taken into account and their relations with each other should be considered. The forehead area is evaluated together with the eyebrows and upper eyelids, and the lower eyelids are evaluated together with the position of the cheekbones. The mid-face area is often neglected in reversing the effects of aging. In classical facelift surgery, this area must be included in the planning. Recovery can be done by hanging the middle face temple area or under the eyes or filling it with fat injection. The meticulous structure of this region is the tear trough. Its contribution to the aged appearance is great and should be resolved. Since aging and related changes occur on the entire face, it is possible to optimize the results with botox applications between the eyebrows or crow’s feet. Another region that should be evaluated together is undoubtedly the neck. A facelift without evaluating the neck can, in many ways, prevent us from getting the intended results.

Surgery: Facelift surgeries have changed frequently during the development process. The operation performed in one period was found to be severe and with a high risk of complications in another period and was performed in a different way. The common purpose in all of them; It is to bring the sagging facial skin back to the previous age level due to aging and environmental effects. This was achieved by pulling up the rigid structure covering the entire face (SMAS) under the skin and removing the excess parts of the overlying skin. One of the most feared complications during facelift surgery is trauma to the facial nerve that moves the facial mimic muscles. Depending on the degree of facial nerve damage, some of the mimic movements may become temporarily or very rarely permanent. A second and yet rare complication is the cutting of the salivary gland duct. This complication can be resolved more easily. The subcutaneous SMAS tissue is stretched upwards with an incision that goes around the hair band in front of the ear or goes up through the hair. With a short incision under the chin, excess fat in the jowl area is excised or withdrawn with a cannula. Frontal incisions can be easily camouflaged with hair, especially in women. However, upon closer inspection, a noticeable scar will remain. Since the skin blood supply is good in the incision areas, the appearance of the scar is not disturbing. It is also important not to exaggerate the amount of stretching and the amount of skin removed. This causes an overly tense facial appearance. Natural appearance should not be compromised. The average duration of the operation is 2.5 hours.

Bruises pass within the first 10 days. The swelling decreases gradually, being rapid at first. The duration may be longer in combined surgeries. The incisions are red-pink at first, and after a few months they become pale. Patients should avoid heavy exercise for the first 1 month. They are allowed to return to work after approximately 1 week. This period may be longer in combined surgeries. The edema regresses faster with the use of a compression garment at night in the first week and in the next month.

It is possible to rewind time to some extent with fall stretching surgery. It is our right to take back at least some of what time has stolen from us.