A surgical procedure aimed to improve visible signs of aging in the face and neck, including:
- Relaxation of facial skin to reduce sagging.
- Deepening fold lines between the corner of the mouth and nose.
- The fat that has disappeared due to natural evolution.
- Excess fat around the neck, more commonly known as a double chin.
The loss of youthful contours in the face can be due to a variety of factors including loss of gravity, facial fat, smoking, sun damage, as well as heredity and stress.
Other procedures that might be performed in combination with a facelift in Atlanta are brow lift and eyelid surgery to reinvigorate aging eyes. Fat transfer or fillers are suggested to replace the lost fatty volume. In-line with the previous symptoms some patients are also recommended to undergo different skin treatments to improve the texture of skin.
It is a restorative surgery, which means that facelift is just a method to rejuvenate the skin not stop the aging process.
Risks?
Experts such as the ones at Crispin Plastic Surgery explain that the decision to undergo any cosmetic enhancement procedure is extremely personal. You will have to carefully consider the potential benefits in achieving your goals while being aware of the possible complications of a facelift surgery.
Furthermore, since ‘facelift’ is an off-shoot medical surgery, it means that you will be required to sign consent forms, to ensure that you comprehend the surgical procedure and attached risks or complications.
Facelift risks include:
- Allergy to Anesthesia.
- Inflammation or Infection in the treated area.
- Slow healing and skin loss.
- Facial nerve injury with a weakening response.
- Temporary or permanent hair loss at the cuts.
- Fluid accumulation in the treated area.
- An adverse effect on skin sensation.
- Persistent pain.
- Skin discoloration.
Stitches may surface through the skin, cause irritation that may require immediate removal or worse another surgery. Apart from the adverse effects let’s now have a look at the unsatisfactory results, which could include: unsatisfactory surgical scar location and unacceptable deformities at the ends of the incisions. Deep vein thrombosis, cardiac or consumptive complications, and some others that could cause adverse effects, these risks and others are fully discussed between you and your surgeon.
If you have a terminal illness or have suffered a stroke, hypertension, etc. then this would be the best time to discuss your medical history with your plastic surgeon. It is important that you address all your questions directly with your plastic surgeon.
Unlike any other surgery, this process does not dictate a standardized list of requirements for a patient, however for the sake of righteousness expert’s remark that good candidates for a facelift should be:
- Healthy individuals who do not have severe medical conditions that might impair healing.
- Non-smokers
- Individuals with realistic expectations
Contrary to popular belief a facelift can only be performed surgically or through incisions; studies and evidence have proved that non-surgical rejuvenation treatments cannot obtain the same results, but they help in delaying the inevitable and later complement the results of surgery. Some non-surgical treatments, such as stem cell facelifts, are of unproven benefit.
How do I choose a surgeon?
The first and foremost act in any medical surgery is to find a qualified and a member of the regulatory body; ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons) and thus can be trusted to carry out this surgery.
Why is the board’s accreditation so necessary?
Apart from being accredited these plastic surgeons complete six years of surgical training following a medical school with an accumulated three years of plastic surgery training. Further reasons include:
- These accredited surgeons have passed comprehensive oral and written exams.
- Graduated from an accredited medical school.
- Completed medical education.
- Perform surgeries in state-licensed or Medicare-certified surgical facilities.
