Preparation for Getting a Face Lift

May 19
08:12

2011

Andrew Stratton

Andrew Stratton

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The first step in face lift preparation is to consult with your operating physician. He or she will inform you that whether you are only participating in a mini-lift or are going for a full lift, your body’s ability to off put complications and improve your ability to heal can be greatly influenced by lifestyle adjustments made months and often only weeks before your procedure.

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The ultimate way to prepare for your face lift procedure is with your overall health. Whether you are only participating in a mini-lift or are going for a full lift,Preparation for Getting a Face Lift Articles your body’s ability to off put complications and improve your ability to heal can be greatly influenced by lifestyle adjustments made months and often only weeks before your procedure. Your plastic surgeon will require full disclosure of lifestyle, medical history, and any medication or blood thinners. This information is critical to his or her assessment of your immediate or future surgical candidacy. Any surgery on the face may be seen as minor but all anesthesia, incisions, and intricate adjustment of fluids and tissue for adequate healing. You want to put in your best effort to get the best outcome.

The first step in face lift preparation is to consult with your operating physician. During your consultation, you will dialogue, receive a physical examination of the area to be operated on, and a full explanation of the procedural technique to be executed. Your examination includes your surgeon’s close inspection of the uniqueness of your facial structure and thickness of your skin. He or she is required to assess what manipulations of the technique will benefit your skin thickness, muscle positioning, and remaining fat pockets in order to surmise how to reposition and how the surgery will appear once healed. Next, you will participate in a dialogue about your medical history including medication you are using for a pre-existing condition, previous facial surgery, or recent trauma that has caused scar tissue that will affect this process for you. Lastly, as a part of your surgeon’s explanation of the procedural technique that will be executed, it is critical to share the details of your desired outcome. You can break down which areas of your face and neck you would like to be affected by a tauter, smoother change and how. Your surgeon will proceed by explaining what is possible with scalpel, scissor, or laser application.

There are four types of face lifts. The brow lift focuses on affecting how the muscles of the forehead have sunk into the brown and therefore lowering the upper eyelid. The mid-lift will impact the nasolabial fold that comes to us all at some point. It is the fold down of the large cheek muscle that rises beneath the eye when we smile. It causes a line between the nostrils and the corners of the mouth. The mid-lift involves small incisions within the hairline above the ear and within the cheek inside of the mouth. This provides the surgeon ample surgical space to lift the fatty tissue and muscle to it original position atop the cheek bone. The full face lift focuses on the natural triangle of the human face as it encompasses all of the above techniques and more. When we are youths, there is an inverted triangle to the distribution of fat and muscle strength of the face. However, as we age, the base of the triangle shifts around the jaw line causing the wonderful term jowls and sag to the upper neck. With a small S shaped incision at the ear, a small pocket is opened between the skin and the muscle to select the muscle causing the droop to the cheeks and the surgeon completes this aspect of the full lift or mini lift, as desired.

For all of the above surgeries, the physical act of the surgery is always true, the surgeon will make small incisions beyond the hairline or around the ear in a crescent or S shape, separate the skin from the muscle in a small pocket, hook the precise muscle(s) that is having an adverse effect on the appearance and gently lift up and back on it until a desired natural smoothness is achieved. The muscle will be cut, repositioned, and secured. Any excess skin that has expanded over time to accommodate the sagging muscle will be snipped away. The incision will finally be closed by either suture or laser, depending upon the size and location. But, before you sit for the surgery, remember that your surgeon is there to make sure you’ve expressed the areas you would like to improve/alter and to make sure that he or she has expressed how to make it happen.