Usually around the age of 50, the skin on the face starts to feel “loose”. Some of the excess skin also wrinkles. What is done in this surgery is to remove this excess skin and tighten the skin.
Facelift surgery has been performed for almost a hundred years and is therefore referred to as “classic” surgery. But there have been revolutionary innovations in the last decade.

What is done in Facelift surgery?

Think of skin like fabric. What do you do if your fabric is too big for the cushion it covers? You cut off the amount you think is too much.
Facial anatomy is much more complicated than it looks from the outside and this surgery has a lot of technical details. However, basically what is done is to remove the excess skin on the cheek by making a cut on the border where the ear meets the cheek. This cut usually continues into the scalp behind the sideburn and into the scalp behind the ear.
This surgery especially treats sagging in the neck very well.

Who Is This Surgery Suitable For?

The limit for this surgery is usually 50 years of age. The vast majority of people over 50 benefit from this surgery. However, people with wrinkled and sagging skin can have this surgery at an earlier age.
If you stretch your cheeks in the mirror by pulling them towards your ears, you may have an idea about the effect of this surgery. Especially if you complain of sagging in the neck, this surgery may be suitable for you.

How much scarring is left?

In this surgery, since the cuts are made in front of and behind the ear, some scars remain in these areas. If the cut in front of the ear is passed through the ear, a large part of this scar will remain inside and will not be seen.
You can assume that the cuts made in the scalp will not leave any scars.
As a result, the scar that will remain after a well-performed surgery is almost imperceptible.

What is Mini Face Lift?

This name is given if the cuts are made only in front of the ear and the stretching is reduced. The advantage is to reduce the scar and speed up healing by performing a smaller operation. The disadvantage is that small surgery will give small results.
This is a very rare surgery for me. I agree that the idea of “mini” surgery sounds good, but if you consider that the actual scar is already in front of the ear and that the cuts made in the scalp will not leave a scar, you can understand why I do not find this surgery very meaningful. Moreover, in mini surgeries, it is necessary to sew the skin by shrinking it a little to prevent it from potting, and this causes both the remaining scar to be worse and the ear to be pulled forward a little. Still, if you need
a very limited facelift, you can consider this “mini” version.

Can This Surgery Solve All Problems Related to Aging?

No, it does not. This surgery only tightens your sagging skin. It has almost no effect on the mid-face area. If you have downward sagging in your cheeks, performing this surgery together with endoscopic mid-face surgery gives very good results.

Complications and Possible Problems There is almost no possibility of serious bleeding after this surgery. However, small blood accumulations (hematoma) can sometimes cause aesthetic problems. Therefore, after this surgery, it is absolutely necessary to keep a hose that absorbs fluid accumulations under the skin called “drain” for at least one day.
Infection is a rare complication after this surgery. A serious infection can occur very rarely in this surgery.
Skin loss can be a serious problem if you smoke, especially if you light a cigarette after surgery. In this surgery, the skin is removed as a thin layer and the blood circulation in it is trusted to be sufficient to nourish the skin. However, smoking disrupts this calculation made by your doctor during surgery by blocking the capillaries. If the skin cannot receive sufficient blood circulation, it will turn purple-black starting from the area closest to the ear, that is, the place where the blood reaches the hardest. This means that healing in that area will be delayed and your residual pain will increase.
Numbness in the scalp and hair loss may also be rare. However, the hair and sensation will definitely come back.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is it true that there is a risk of facial paralysis in this surgery?

The nerve that moves the face exits in front of the ear and distributes to the muscles in the cheeks and lips. The areas worked on in this surgery are very close to these branches. However, even if one of these branches is not severed, it can become lazy for a while and cause some degree of facial asymmetry. Still, the rate is around 0.4%, that’s four in a thousand. And 80% of such problems resolve spontaneously.

Isn’t this a very bloody, scarring surgery that will keep you confined to the house for months?

There is a big difference between 10 – 15 years ago and today in terms of the techniques used. Today, facelift is no longer a surgery to be feared. In fact, it can even be called a superficial surgery performed only under the skin, away from vital structures. The recovery period is one week. It can be performed with local anesthesia without stunning, you do not need to stay in the hospital, you can return to work after a week. If there is no problem with the surgery, the remaining scars are indistinct.

But know that this surgery is very dependent on the surgeon in particular.

How many years does this surgery last?

It is difficult to tell. It depends on how well and widely the surgery was performed and you may not be able to tell the difference after the surgery.

For example, in this surgery, the correction can be made only a few centimeters in front of the ear or along the entire cheek up to the inside of the lips. The difference determines both the result of the surgery and how long the effect lasts.

Tips

• This is a surgery where the outcome depends a lot on the surgeon. The result of a well performed surgery can be very impressive. But a bad surgery may not lead to any improvement, even if it does not cause any problems. For example, a breast implant surgery usually gives a good result, but this one is a bit different. Be sure of your doctor.
• In the mirror, stretch your cheeks towards your ears with your hand, just enough not to change the shape of your mouth. The effect of the surgery will be approximately like this.
• This surgery is usually necessary after the age of 50.
• This is one of the most common cosmetic surgeries in the US and Europe. Especially career people undergo surgery to look more vigorous and younger when they pass middle age.
• Performing endoscopic mid-face surgery at the same time can change the result very much.

What to Expect After Surgery:

After this surgery, there will be some swelling on your face and maybe bruising on your neck. These will almost completely disappear in the first week. You usually do not need to stay in hospital. However, you will need to come back to the hospital the next day because your drains need to be removed. It is useful to spend the first few days at home. You can usually bathe on the third day. You can put makeup on your face after a few days and return to work after a week. Your stitches in front of the ear will be removed on the fifth day, and the stitches on your scalp and behind the ear will be removed at the end of the first week.

Scorecard of the surgery:
Type of anesthesia: You can have surgery with local anesthesia. The anesthesiologist will give you an additional treatment called sedation at the same time, which will keep you half asleep. You can also have general anesthesia if you absolutely want to.
Where the operation will take place: In a clinic or in a hospital operating room.
Duration of surgery: 2.5-4 hours.
Length of hospitalization: You can be discharged on the same day.
Postoperative pain – discomfort: There may be a slight tingling for a few days. Simple oral painkillers are usually sufficient.
Swelling, bruising: Between 3-6 days, moderate.
Dressing: It is completely removed in 2 days. Drains are removed the next day. You can wash on the third day.
Stitches: Stitches in front of the ear are removed on the fifth day, behind the ear on the seventh day. There are metal stitches in the scalp and these are removed on the seventh day (they are not painful).
When you can return to work: At the end of the first week.
Sports: After 2 weeks long walks, after 3 weeks heavy sports can be started. Body-to-body sports such as basketball, where you can get hit, are forbidden for the first four weeks.
Final shape: After a few weeks, the final shape will have largely emerged. But you will still feel that the fronts of your ears are hard when you touch them. This stiffness lasts for up to three months.