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Face and neck rhytidectomy

Face and neck rhytidectomy (or face and neck skin lift) is an operation to eliminate the most visible ageing sings (sagging cheeks, mental skin abundance, small rhytids, eyebrow ptosis, depression of infraorbital areas and nasolabial folds, etc.) due to the fat removal or redistribution, lifting and fixation of underlying muscles and fascias, face and neck skin redraping with abundant skin resection.

Biological ageing usually begins in the second half of a human life, although the very first age-related facial changes may be seen after 28-30 years. Change in the quantity of elastin and collagen or in the percent ratio thereof lead sooner or later to the formation of skin wrinkles and folds generally determining the external signs of a human ageing. The process of ageing affects not only the skin but also the underlying tissues: adipose, fascial, muscular, aponeurotic and osseous. In view of this, a good deal of face and neck rejuvenation methods have been developed nowadays allowing to obtain more pronounced and durable cosmetic effect via acting not only on the skin but on the deeper structures as well.

Facelift allows:

To lift the face and neck skin;
To eliminate or smooth the face and neck wrinkles;
To eliminate abundant, sagged and flaccid face and neck skin;
To form a clear-cut face oval with the jawline definition;
To lift and strengthen the superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS);
In combination with neck liposuction, to get rid of a “double chin”;
In combination with contouring plasty and lipofilling, to eliminate deep skin folds and wrinkles;
To lift the skin in isolated facial areas (forehead, temples, mid-face, neck)

Specific features of the face and neck rhytidectomy include:

The possibility of combining it with liposuction of problematic areas (neck, nasolabial folds);
The possibility of combining it with facial grafting (placing the zygomatic, mandibular angle and mental grafts) and with other plastic operations;
The possibility of concomitant facial skin laser rejuvenation

There exists a number of face and neck rhytidectomy methods, the most popular among them being:

Complete face and neck rhytidectomy (FACE- lift);
Short-scar facelift (MACS- lift);
S - lift.

An ultimate surgical outcome predictability and method selection will depend on a number of factors, such as:

Skin condition and manifestation of the age-related changes;
Facial anatomic specificities and heredity effect

Face and neck lift involves incising the skin folds and the area where the formation of cosmetic scars is purported. Most frequently the incision begins in the hairy part of the temporal area, extends cephalad to the preauricular fold, around the lobe, then smoothly goes exteriorly and enters the hairy part of the neck. This approaching line may be somewhat changed under the influence of certain factors: location and character of the hair growth, hair style, hair condition and length, preauricular tragus size, previous rejuvenating operations. Consequently, after the skin-fat flap dissection and manipulations on deep structures (SMAS-flap, fascia, fat tissue, sometimes bone and periosteum) the skin flexures are eliminated along a specific direction of skin redraping, and cosmetic intracutaneous suturing is performed.

Should you decide to undergo a plastic operation the Medical Club surgeons will give you a primary consultation. After talking to you and giving you the relevant examination, a doctor will set fourth his (her) judgment as to whether it is possible to considerably improve your face surgically operatively with high reliability and minimal risks. Any aesthetic surgery involves a certain trade-off. Our specialists will clearly define this trade-off for you and will answer all the questions that may arise.

In the “Medical Club”clinic all operation aimed at face rejuvenation are performed under a general anesthesia (narcosis). You will feel no pain and will not be able to remember what was happening with you during operation.
The duration of operation will depend on its volume, and an operation itself will last from 2 to 4 hours.
Your stay at the clinic will be a 1-2 day long, on the average.
Immediately after operation a special compressive dressing will be applied to your face and will be replaced every day within 2 days.
Drainages placed to the wound are removed, as a rule, next day.
During 7-10 days you will have to wear a light supportive bandage.
Sutures are removed at 12-14 postoperative day.
Approximately in 2-3 weeks you will be able to resume your usual life.
You are not recommended to attend sauna and solarium within 2 months.
At the early postoperative period a physician-rehabilitator will make up and conduct your personal rehabilitation program, which will shorten your recovery period and improve surgical result.
An ultimate result of operation may be assessed in 3-6 months.