As you age, your body experiences a natural decline in collagen and elastin that causes your skin to lose its elasticity. When skin loses elasticity, it becomes more wrinkled and sags downwards. This leads to the appearance of hanging jowls, deep facial creases, and folds around the nose or mouth. While certain over-the-counter products claim to combat these issues, a more effective treatment is available.
Rhytidectomy is a popular cosmetic procedure that can tackle age-related changes by lifting and tightening the skin. Palms Wellington Plastic Surgery provides rhytidectomy surgery for patients throughout the Wellington area and surrounding cities. Read on to learn more about this surgery and how it can create a more youthful appearance.
What Is a Rhytidectomy?
Better known as a facelift, a rhytidectomy is a plastic surgical procedure that reduces sagging, hanging, and wrinkling by lifting the skin into a higher position. Facelifts can give the skin a tighter, more firm appearance that resembles the youthful complexion you once had.
There are two different types of facelift procedures: full and mini. A full facelift lifts the entirety of the face higher, from the jawline up to the hairline. A mini facelift is a procedure that lifts just the bottom portion of the face, the area around the mouth and jawline, into higher placement.
Facelift with Necklift Surgery
Age-related changes like sagging skin and wrinkles are not limited to the facial skin. These signs of aging are also found on the neck and extend downwards to the rest of the body. This is why many patients choose to have a necklift performed along with their facelift procedure.
As you age, the skin on your neck will often droop and sag. A necklift aims to create a smoother, more contoured neck by lifting and tightening this skin. When used in conjunction with a facelift, it can have a significant anti-aging effect.
How Is a Rhytidectomy Performed?
Before having any new cosmetic treatment involved, it’s important to understand what the procedure involves. The following is a breakdown of the rhytidectomy process from consultation to recovery.
Before Your Procedure
A facelift is not the ideal treatment for every patient. This is why it’s important to have a consultation appointment before you can schedule your surgery.
During your consultation, we will assess your skin and examine the various signs of aging that are present. If we find that a facelift or necklift is not the best procedure to meet your needs, we will advise you on alternative options at this time.
If you have been deemed a good candidate for facelift surgery, you will be able to schedule the date of your procedure. In the weeks prior to your surgery, you will need to receive medical clearance from your regular physician. This is to ensure that you are healthy enough to be under anesthesia.
The Facelift Process
The night before your facelift, you will need to avoid eating or drinking. This is a precaution for all patients going under general anesthesia. Your procedure will be performed in a plastic surgery center with a complete team of cosmetic surgery professionals.
After being placed under anesthesia, your facelift procedure will begin by making strategic and discrete incisions that will allow for movement of the skin and access to the tissues underneath. Small incisions are made just inside the hairline, following the contour in front of the ear, continuing under the earlobe to the backside of the ear and to the lower scalp.
Once the incisions have been made, the fat deposits and tissues under the skin will be separated, and excess skin will be removed. The remaining skin will be pulled upward and back into a tighter, firmer position.
If your facelift is being performed along with a necklift, an incision will be made under the chin. Excess skin will be removed, and the remaining loose skin on the neck will be stretched tight to create a more contoured appearance.
Miniscule sutures are used to close your incisions, minimizing the potential for scarring. For some patients, staples may be used on the incisions along the hairline. The entire facelift procedure can take anywhere from two to four hours, depending on each patient’s unique needs. Patients receiving additional treatments, such as a necklift procedure, will have longer surgical times.
Recovering from Rhytidectomy
After your rhytidectomy, you will need to remain in a plastic surgery aftercare center overnight before being discharged. You will be sent home the following day with fitted dressings in place to promote optimal healing. This helps decrease recovery time and supports the new placement of your neck and facial tissues. These bandages will remain in place for the first two weeks. In some cases, the bandages must remain in place for longer.
Sutures and staples can be removed after the first week post-surgery. You will notice a significant difference in your skin as soon as the bandages and sutures are removed, but it can take some time to see the final results.
For most patients, it can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks to see the final outcome of your facelift procedure. This gives the tissue and skin time to settle into their new placement.
Facelift and Necklift Surgery at Palms Wellington Plastic Surgery
When anti-aging products aren’t producing the cosmetic changes you hoped they would, a facelift procedure could be the solution you need. Facelift and necklift surgeries aim to reduce wrinkles and sagging by lifting the skin into a higher, tighter placement.
Palms Wellington Plastic Surgery provides these cosmetic procedures to help patients achieve a more youthful appearance. To learn more, please contact us online or by phone today.