Face Lift (Rhytidectomy) Surgery Toronto

Facelift and necklift surgery

As health, education, and modern medicine lengthen the life span, most people feel physically and mentally vigorous and energetic long after their appearance begins to show signs of advancing years.  The benefits of the facelift procedure are either to slow down the advance of aging by helping a relatively young individual (about forty), to retain a youthful appearance; or its purpose may be the rejuvenation of the older face, and to create a less tired, energetic appearance

Loose skin and sagging subcutaneous tissues of the face and neck are the most obvious signs of aging.  Your Toronto facelift operation by Dr. Conrad is designed to remove and tighten the excessive tissues of the face and neck. In addition to the sagging, some faces become etched with numerous fine wrinkles. These may not be corrected by a facelift operation. A face peel procedure or laser skin resurfacing are effective in correcting this problem, rather than a face lift.

Face Lift Surgery

The facelift operation is usually performed with local anesthesia and sedation. The incisions are made inside the hairline, wherever possible, but the hair is not cut before the operation. The hair, though, should be shampooed thoroughly before entering the hospital.  The site of the incisions will be discussed during your preoperative Toronto face lift visit.

There is little pain and discomfort following your Toronto face lift operation. Remember that the swelling and discolorations are temporary, as are minor changes in the configuration of the hair line, which may occur, and are usually unnoticed by the observers or even by the patients.
There may be some areas of numbness particularly around the ear, which improve to a great extent within three to twelve months. Some small patches of numbness may persist indefinitely.

Closing of the incisions is performed in such a manner as to exert no tension on the lines in front of the ear, where the scars are usually inconspicuous, even without makeup. The tension resulting from the stretched and lifted tissue is thus distributed to the areas behind the ear and the back of the ear skirting the hairline. These scars are therefore destined to be more visible and have to be camouflaged by combing the hair. At times, they may require a small adjustment under local freezing eight to twelve months after.

What are reasonable expectations of a facelift?

If the sagging is marked prior to the face lift surgery, the results may be dramatic. In younger patients, where sagging is subtle, the improvement will be less conspicuous but remarks will be made that the face looks refreshed and less tired.  It cannot be predicted accurately how long the improvement will last. In ideal cases, the duration of the improvement is often from five to ten years. Fat faces will have shorter lasting improvement. The face lift surgery simply "turns back the clock but does not stop it." No operation can permanently stop or prevent aging, but the individual's appearance will always be more complimentary than if the operation had never been done.

If the patient has had an original face lift operation, a "preventive maintenance program" can then be implemented. This is particularly indicated in younger individuals who can maintain a youthful facial appearance for the remainder of their life by having periodic "tuck ups" every few years. This is not uncommon among media personalities.
Patients with systemic diseases, high blood pressure, heart disease, or obesity are not acceptable candidates for face lift surgery. Patients with a short, stocky neck cannot expect the same amount of improvement as those with more favorable anatomy. A well designed skin care regime can not be stressed enough as an important adjunct for enhancing the facelift result and for making it last longer.

After your Toronto face lift surgery, the first six weeks

• Move the head and shoulders as one unit or as though you had a "stiff neck."
• Elevate the head of the bed thirty degrees to forty degrees while you are in the hospital and when you go home.
• Specific medication for pain relief will be prescribed for you while you are in the hospital.
• I recommend that you mostly remain in bed for the first twelve hours following face lift surgery.
• You are usually discharged from the hospital the following day. If your dressing, which is applied under some tension, begins to feel excessively tight or uncomfortable, report it to me by calling the office at your earliest convenience. You may then sit in a chair, walk to the bathroom or around the house remaining out of bed as much as possible.
• While at home, you will wear a special chin sling for two weeks, day and night, for as long as tolerated. The sling may be removed for washing and drying. If you feel comfortable, it will be advantageous to wear the sling for an additional two weeks at night.
• If you live in another city, Dr. Conrad prefers you stay in town for approximately 7 to 10 days following your face lift surgery.
• Enquire about the special suite available for rent in our building upstairs for prolonged stay. This unit is not a part of the clinic but is run by a company well instructed in the needs of our patients following facial surgery.
• Excessive sunning of the face is always harmful to the skin. It should be particularly avoided for the first eight months after your Toronto facelift surgery.
• Discolorations can be camouflaged by using opaque makeup one week after your facelift in Toronto. A water-base makeup may be applied with a moist sponge and after it dries, a second layer may be applied. It can be removed with water. DO NOT apply makeup over the incisions themselves for several days after the removal of the sutures.
• Measure your temperature by mouth daily in the morning and report any persistent elevations above 100.l degrees Fahrenheit or 37.5 degrees Celsius.
• Glasses and contact lenses may be worn as soon as the bandages are removed. If eyelid surgery was carried out at the same time, refer to the instructions pertaining to blepharoplasty.  If nasal cosmetic surgery was also performed refer to the instructions under rhinoplasty.
• Returning to work and resuming social activities is usually possible after three weeks. In some cases, this period might be slightly extended.

Dr. Conrad’s facelift recovery checklist

After your facelift surgery AVOID:

• turning the head or bending the neck
• straining at stool and ask for a laxative if you need it
• excessive grinning, smiling and turning, bending and extending the head for two weeks
• foods that are hard to chew; drink through a straw for the first two days
• yawning with the mouth widely open for two weeks

After your facelift surgery DO NOT:

• apply makeup over the incisions themselves for several days after the removal of the sutures
• use a blow dryer,  floor standing salon dryers are preferable
•  rest your neck on the rim of the wash bowl in the area of the incisions
• color the hair until four weeks after surgery
• tweeze the eyebrows for two weeks
• wear clothing that must be pulled over the head until ten days after surgery
• perform athletic activities or exercises that involve turning the head for at least six weeks
  

After your facelift surgery YOU MAY:

• have your hair washed at a salon ten days after surgery
• take a shower three days after surgery
• wash your hair with lukewarm water in the shower and comb it gently with your fingers three days after the operation
• three days after surgery, use a gentle upward motion while washing your face with a mild soap applied with cotton balls

Your facelift scars will mature and become less noticeable within one year after your Toronto facelift surgery. Smoking may result in poor scar quality, the scars being much wider than in non-smokers.

Common questions about face lift surgery

Many patients frequently ask whether it would be possible to have more facelifts in the future. They are also under the impression that once they have had a face lift operation, another facelift will become mandatory a few years down the road. Modern techniques used in face lifting preserve a natural hairline, thus allowing for another operation if desired in the future.

There are two reasons for a second facelift:

1. When there are advanced tissue changes, the first operation may not succeed in the degree of the improvement desired by the patient, despite great efforts on the part of the surgeon
2. The psychological effects of face lifting may be so remarkable that after a few years, despite a still relatively youthful look for the patient's age, he/she may wish to experience again the same satisfaction.