Facial aging is multifactorial, i.e. it is due to several causes, such as changes in the volume and shape of the skull, alterations in the volume of the soft tissues, the effects of gravity on the soft tissues, damage to the superficial layers of the skin due to the effect of the sun and the harmful effects of tobacco on the tissues.
What techniques exist for facelift?
Currently there are numerous facelift techniques, from the subperiosteal facelift; a facelift performed under the deeper tissues or even a facelift with simple skin lifts. However, what is mandatory is to replace the tissues by manipulating the muscle aponeurotic system. It is common to associate blepharoplasty in this technique, since the eyelids are usually an area very affected by aging. Facial fillers, usually fat, are also common, since this is an attempt to correct not only the effects of age, but also the changes and loss of volume that occur with age.
Which facelift is the best?
The surgeon will have to perform an exhaustive evaluation of the patient, and once this has been done, he/she will choose the most convenient type of facelift or lift and the auxiliary techniques required to achieve a good result. Normally, the techniques with repositioning of the aponeurotic muscle system with short or long incisions are usually quite effective. Volume recovery is also important, and this is usually achieved by means of fat grafting. Obviously, as in all surgery, there is a risk. In addition to the risks inherent to the facelift, there are also those inherent to the associated techniques, for example, fat grafting can produce asymmetries and force corrections with new fat grafts.
Preparation before a facelift
The patient should be prepared as any other patient who will undergo a surgery of medium to long duration. In turn, the patient should avoid the use of painkillers that increase bleeding, and should also undergo a complete preoperative procedure to reduce the risks.
How long does a facelift last?
The level of effectiveness of a facelift is very high, as long as it is performed optimally and the patient has reasonable expectations. Its duration is variable, and it is because once the intervention is finished, the effects of aging continue, and the rhythm of this aging will determine the duration of the result.
To which patients is a facelift recommended?
The facelift is not a minor surgery, but a major surgery and therefore it should be performed when there is no medical treatment that can achieve the improvement that the patient needs. Because of this, it is very common to reach the lifting after treatments such as fillers, botulinum toxin or facial rejuvenation lasers. These methods do not have to be abandoned once the facelift has been performed, but the association of them, such as lasers, is important, since the repositioning of the deep tissues of the face does not improve the aging produced for example by the sun, and that can only be achieved through topical treatments or through skin resurfacing lasers.