Three Common Types of Surgical Facelift Procedures

There are several different types of operations available for people planning facelift surgery. The way they differ depends on which areas of the face, jowls, and neck to be treated. Basically, all operations are done by lifting the facial skin, tissues, and the muscles underneath, then pulling the skin back to make the face tighter and smoother. The operation most often performed is the "traditional facelift."

Traditional Facelift Surgery

In a "traditional facelift," (rhytidectomy) the surgeon makes an incision right around the hairline, in front of the ears. The skin is carefully separated from the underlying facial tissues and muscles. Some fat may be removed in cases where there is an excess. At this time, any muscles that have lost tonicity are tightened by sutures. The skin is then lifted up, pulled back and any excess trimmed off. Finally, the skin is stitched back to the line where the initial incision was made. The entire operation takes three to four hours with great care taken in the final stages to prevent visible scarring.

MACS Facelift

In another popular type of facelift operation, called Minimal-Access Cranial Suspension (MACS), shorter surgical cuts than the traditional facelift are made in the temporal areas and in front of the ears. Excess fat is removed and the muscles are tightened using permanent sutures.

Keyhole Facelift

Miniaturization and remote methods of surgery have created yet another facelift operation, aptly named the "keyhole facelift." In this less invasive procedure the surgeon makes several tiny cuts allowing an endoscope to pass through the incisions. This a miniature camera attached to a flexible tube that allows the surgeon to perform the operation by viewing a TV screen. Both MACS and the Keyhole methods are desirable because scarring is minimal with shorter recovery time.

After each operation, the face is tightly wrapped in bandages. They are meant to reduce the swelling and will come off in a day or two. Fine plastic drainage tubes may be left in for several days to allow for the removal of blood and fluids. Staples and non-dissolvable stitches are removed after a week, and within ten days, dissolvable stitches will disappear. So will the lines, wrinkles and creases. And miraculously, many years of aging.

For more information, schedule a consultation at one of our cosmetic surgery centers.