A facelift is an aesthetic medicine operation that corrects sagging facial skin, usually due to old age. The lifting can be cervicofacial, frontal or temporal. How is the operation carried out? What is the price ?
“Since the 1980s, the facelift has evolved a lot thanks to the techniques but also with the requests of our patients who wish for more natural things, the evolution of society… Today we are going to do softer things. Treating aging is no longer about stretching the skin to the maximum, it is also about treating the volumes and loss of fat associated with age. We act to improve the quality of the skin, tissue regeneration. The facelift has become a remodeling that allows “to be yourself better”” emphasizes Dr. Van Hemelryck, plastic surgeon. Among the various facelifts, we distinguish the cervico-facial, frontal or temporal facelifts. Which is the best age for a facelift? What are the postoperative? The risks ? What is the price ?
Definition: what is a facelift?
THE facelift East cosmetic surgery which aims to correct sagging skin on the face and/or neck and reduce age-related wrinkles. There is no modification of the morphology of the face with the facelift. The technique consists of incising, peeling off and then “redraping” the skin and tissues in order to put the muscles back in tension and correct the slackening, without freezing the facial features. Less invasive, the operation has evolved in recent years. From now on, the aim of the facelift is no longer to stop aging by freezing the features, but rather to aging better. Regardless of the area treated, the facelift is generally associated with other medico-surgical techniques always with the aim of maintaining beautiful and young skin : “more comprehensive, more holistic skin care. In addition, the skin can be treated with fat, what is called liposculpture, Nanofat, laser, dermabrasion, peelings, injections of hyaluronic acid, botulinum toxin, PRP“, enumerates the specialist.
What is a cervico-facial lift?
The cervico-facial lifting treats the lower part of the face. “He corrects the oval, the jowls, the neck. This is the most requested facelift now. It is also frequently associated with blepharoplasty, eyelid surgery“explains the president of the French Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (SOFCEP). The cervico-facial lift also allows to correct bitter folds and nasolabial folds. “Today, for this type of intervention, the incisions are reduced, quite short. They are located in front of the ear. Sometimes behind depending on the degree of sagging skin on the neck. But the scar is no longer visible.”
What is a forehead lift?
The forehead lift, which aims to erase horizontal forehead wrinkles and frown lines, would be losing ground. It is indeed more than rarely used, supplanted by aesthetic medicine which allows equally convincing results with less invasive gestures and much lighter consequences. “Apart from extremely damaged foreheads, there is no longer any need for a forehead lift“explains Dr. Van Hemelryck who says he has not used this technique for about ten years. “At forehead level, we can reduce wrinkles without major surgery. There botulinum toxin is extraordinary to correct this zone. Again, we can also do injections of PRP, NanofatIn cases where the plastic surgeon still needs to perform a brow lift, the incisions are made behind the front hairline, or sometimes at the hairline.
What is the temporal lifting?
The temple lift corrects temples and sagging eyelid. Here again, the request goes towards softer things: “it is still done, but we no longer have requests for deep facelifts as we have had. It is done either in isolation to raise the tail of the eyebrow, or as part of a cervico-facial lift. We then make a small temporal incision and we come up the tail of the eyebrow“, explains our interlocutor.
What is the best age for a facelift?
As Dr. Thierry Van Hemelryck explains, there is not really a key age to perform a facelift. It is the lifestyle, the genetics, the quality of the skin which will be determining, more than the civil age of a person: “There is no rule. It is possible to perform a facelift on a 45-year-old person if the slackening is very important, if the skin has been very damaged by tobacco, exposure to the sun. But generally, it is more willingly around sixty. The advantage is that aesthetic medicine makes it possible to do very beautiful things, it makes it possible to delay the transition to surgery“says the plastic surgeon.
It is necessary to count a price from 5 000€
To restore tension to the tissues, each surgeon has his own technique. However, the operation always takes place in three stages:
► The incision (there may be several) is usually hidden in the hair or around the ear, concealed as much as possible.
► Tissue detachment removes excess skin. Today, we take off as little as possible, only in the treated area to have simpler and shorter follow-ups; because the more tissue you take off, the greater the risk of hematoma. The extent of the detachment is of course a function of each case and the extent of the sagging skin.
► The muscles will be treated. There are different ways to re-tension the muscles to correct the slackness. We kink the muscle, that is to say, we will make small sutures with notched thread under the skin which allows the muscle to be pulled and to have a completely independent action. We no longer need to pull the skin because it is the muscle that does the work.
The operation usually takes place under general anesthesia because it is a rather long intervention more than two hoursalthough the surgeon confides that hypnosis associated with local anesthesia for this type of intervention is beginning to make its way: “Hypnosis is growing everywhere in the hospital. The advantage is that after an operation under hypnosis, the sequences are much simpler : there is less nausea, vomiting, hematomas.“At the end of the operation, a bandage is very often placed all around the patient’s head.
What are the postoperative consequences of a facelift?
The exit can be done the next day, once the dressing has been removed. No drainage is needed except in special cases. After the operation of swelling and bruising temporary may appear on the upper and lower eyelids in particular. “Hematomas are possiblenotes the professional. Healing delays also especially in smokers. Therefore, it is recommended to quit smoking one month before and one month after the operation. Social eviction is about a week. The patient may feel a few small areas of insensitivity, especially in front of the ears, and then like tingling when the sensitivity returns.“
What are the risks of a facelift?
Apart from the risks associated with general anesthesia and inherent in any surgery, the facelift does not present any particular risk. However, to limit them as much as possible, it is advisable to call on a plastic surgeon qualified and trained in this type of intervention. The Council of the Order of Physicians or SOFCEP website provides interested persons with a directory of qualified practitioners.
What results can you expect after a facelift?
Dr. Thierry Van Hemelryck, wants to be reassuring: “the results are definitively acquired. The years that the skin has gained thanks to the facelift are definitely acquired. The face will continue to age normallybut we can consider that this kind of technique makes it possible to “rejuvenate” about 10 years. A reinforced result if it is associated with other techniques.”
How much does a facelift cost?
The facelift is an act of cosmetic surgery which is not not covered by Social Security. The price range is quite wide but you have to count a price from €5,000. “This price can rise if you combine the facelift with an eyelid lift, lipostructure, dermabrasion, laser…”.
Thanks to Dr. Thierry Van Hemelryck, plastic surgeon.