As people mature, time can take its toll in the form of wrinkles, loose skin, loss of definition in the jawline and more. Using fillers is one way to address some of these problems, but with age, this fix becomes less effective than when used with younger patients. This is why Mr. Salerno of Real Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Moonee Ponds, Victoria offers rhytidectomy, popularly known as a facelift.
Rhytidectomy was one of the first strategies invented to give people a more youthful appearance. Of course, the technology and techniques used for this surgery have advanced over time, making it a very common and routine procedure that can improve appearance and boost confidence.
What Is the Best Age to Get a Facelift?
The optimal age for the treatment depends on the particular situation unique to each individual. Though people in their early to mid-40s often see excellent results, depending on the circumstances, those in their late 40s, 50s, 60s or even 70s might actually be the best recipients for the procedure.
Generally, anyone in good health who is starting to notice the facial signs of ageing is a possible candidate. Rather than focusing on a specific age, it might be better to look for the following when deciding if the time is right to consider a facelift:
- Wrinkles underneath the eyes
- Deep lines around the nose and corners of the mouth
- Loss of jawline definition
- Excess deposits in the neck
Why Get It Done?
As people mature, their cheeks lose volume and their jaws become heavier. As a result, adding filler to the cheeks simply stacks volume to the middle and top of an already widening lower region. This creates the stuffed appearance of an overfilled face. And because the face becomes looser and less supportive over time, the added weight of the fillers makes the cheeks droop even further, creating an undesirable, unnatural appearance. A facelift is therefore the better alternative.
Outcomes
During the surgery, Mr. Salerno can remove excess skin, smooth out wrinkles, eliminate age spots, and tighten up the appearance of the face around the jawline, chin, mouth and eye region. Mr. Salerno’s goal is to help patients attain a younger image of themselves and restore the overall contours of the face to provide the optimum outcome that celebrates their natural facial features.
When you visit his Moonee Ponds, Victoria practice for your personalised consultation, Mr. Salerno can evaluate various aspects of your face to decide which technique is best suited for you. Typically, overall health, lifestyle, and genetics, along with additional compounding factors such as smoking and sun exposure have the greatest impact on the way the face and neck age.
The actual condition of your skin, deep connective tissue, and musculature can dictate the type and degree of facial rejuvenation that is most suitable for you. After evaluating these factors, Mr. Salerno can help you decide on the best option to provide you with tighter, more youthful-looking skin.
Types of Lifts
There are three primary options:
- Mini Lift
- Mid-face Lift
- Deep Plane Lift
All three types manipulate the musculature that droops with age, the superficial muscular aponeurotic system (SMAS) and platysma. The SMAS is a layer of fibrous connective tissues located under the skin which surrounds the muscles responsible for smiling and other facial expressions. The platysma is a broad sheet of muscle fibers that extends from the collarbone to the angle of the jaw.
The Mini
This first option addresses early signs of aging in the lower third of the face. For people under 50, this popular procedure is an excellent way to help maintain youthful skin. It is less about improving an overall slack in one’s countenance and more about addressing early signs of wrinkles and sagging in the lower portion of the face. The technique is a more conservative treatment for individuals who merely want to rejuvenate the lower part of the face to enhance their natural appearance. It uses a limited incision, has a shorter recovery time, and effectively refreshes one’s innate beauty.
Sometimes the procedure is called an S-lift, which refers to the S-shaped incision that starts hidden in the sideburn, runs just inside the ear canal, and ends just behind the earlobe. It does not distort the sideburns or hairline like a traditional facelift, and since the incision is relatively well hidden, one can put the hair in a ponytail without having to worry about visible scars behind the ears. For this reason, it might also be referred to as a ponytail-type facelift.
What to Expect
During the procedure, the superficial muscular aponeurotic system and platysma are tightened but are not elevated as would be the case during a traditional facelift. Performed under local anaesthesia and with minimal side effects, this approach is often called a weekend facelift. It is the most common type of lift performed. The results last from approximately three to five years.
Midface Lift
A midface lift, also known as a cheek lift, addresses moderate-to-advanced sagging of the cheeks and the surrounding area in the middle part of the face. For many people, a traditional lift might not adequately improve the upper cheek and lower eyelid area of the face, which often becomes flatter and longer with age.
The midface lift involves lifting the fat pad in the cheek and repositioning the layer over the cheekbones, returning fullness to the eyes and cheeks. This restores the youthful appearance of the cheeks and mouth, resulting in a refreshed, rejuvenated appearance.
An endoscopic midface lift uses only two tiny incisions that are hidden in the hairline. They are just big enough to insert an endoscope about the size of a drinking straw. The deep tissues are lifted off the cheekbones and repositioned vertically, and permanent sutures are used to suspend them to muscles in the temples.
What to Expect
The advantages of this procedure include shorter incisions and a faster recovery than with a traditional lift. Also, results last longer than those offered by injectables, typically between five to seven years. Often used for men and women over the age of 50, a midface lift is perfect for eliminating sagging cheeks and the deep lines that form from the nose to the corners of the mouth.
Deep Plane Lift
Deep plane is the name given to the structural plane between the SMAS-platysma complex and the deeper layer of muscles responsible for facial expressions. This technique relies on the release and movement of muscle and tissue layers rather than skin pull and removal, and it provides dramatic results.
It is ideal for people over 60 who evidence a good deal of facial wrinkling and sagging. It works by fully lifting and repositioning the SMAS. It lifts under the muscle layer only, which leaves the skin attached so it can never look tight. It also lifts the cheeks by releasing tethering points of the face in the deep plane so that the addition of filler becomes unnecessary.
What to Expect
Regarded as the gold standard, a deep plane lift fully rejuvenates one’s face to help individuals look as much as 10 to 15 years younger. The cheeks, jawline, and chin are all drastically rejuvenated, leading to the best possible results and a patient with a dramatically more youthful appearance.
How It Works
Releasing the ligaments tethering the deep plane layer achieves tension-free movement so that the procedure creates no tightness. The first ligaments released unbind the drooping cheeks to elevate them. This restores their form and volume to recreate the heart-shaped face of youth and avoid the desire to add filler or cheek implants. It also reduces the creases from the nose to the corners of the mouth.
Another result is a reduction in the hollowing and shadowing seen under the lower eyelids by restoring the volume lost due to the gravitational descent associated with ageing. It also releases the masseteric and mandibular ligaments that tether the jowl so it can be lifted to create a smooth and crisp jawline appearance.
Lifting the facial more vertically creates a smoother, more natural appearance, restores the cheeks, and elevates the corners of the mouth that sag with age. The deeper layer used in a deep plane lift is fibrous and inelastic, unlike the skin, which is very elastic. This yields the most long-lasting result of the different techniques. Because it works on the structural elements of the face, the deep plane lift is more durable, often lasting 10 years and beyond.
Additional Advantages of the Deep Plane Lift
There are other advantages to a deep plane lift. For instance, patients can receive local or twilight anaesthesia, which can keep the surgical time to around one-and-a-half to two hours long. Often patients can have an awake deep plane lift with just numbing shots, using medication such as the Novocaine used by dentists; whereas a standard procedure involving general anaesthesia can last up to five hours. There is also less trauma caused to the facial tissue so the recovery time is shorter.
An overview of benefits includes:
- Shorter surgical time
- More natural results
- Restoration of the cheeks’ natural volume and elevation
- Softened nasolabial folds
- Quicker recovery
- Less noticeable scars
- Longer-lasting results
Am I a Candidate for a Deep Plane Lift?
Good candidates for a deep plane lift are men and women who are showing signs of ageing in their face. Candidates are in good physical health and have a realistic expectation of what can be the outcome. During your consultation with Mr. Salerno, the doctor can help determine if a deep plane lift is the right procedure for you.
Lifts for Men
Because most men either cut their hair shorter than women or are bald, hiding incisions can be more of an issue. However, this can be accomplished by locating the work inside the ear canal and behind the ear, so no one can be able to tell surgery was ever performed.
Recovery
It is important to get plenty of rest following treatment, with the recovery period usually lasting a few days. Any symptoms can gradually disappear and are likely to be minimal. Most patients can expect to be back to their regular routines within a period of weeks.
Facelifts are generally safe procedures, producing some of the most transformative outcomes possible in terms of facial plastic surgery, and there are innovative technological advances revolutionising surgical procedures on an ongoing basis.
Be Your Best You
You deserve to look as alive and vigorous as you feel. To learn more about getting a facelift, or to schedule a consultation, contact Mr. Salerno at Real Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Moonee Ponds, Victoria today. He is happy to help you determine the most effective treatment option for you.
