Komuna e Parisit, Rruga Ibrahim Kodra, Nd 4. Tirana, Albania 1000
0823 156 0094
Komuna e Parisit, Rruga Ibrahim Kodra, Nd 4. Tirana, Albania 1000
0823 156 0094
The face lift is the intervention that corrects the aesthetic defects of the face resulting from age. This intervention rejuvenates the face, giving it freshness and a toned appearance to the tissues. Face lift or rhytidectomy is a high-level surgery , its purpose is to improve the appearance of the face by relaxing the skin of the face and neck, restoring their freshness and improving the contour by removing excess skin and suspending the underlying muscle layer. The intervention can be limited to a single area of the face (cheeks, neck) or be extended to the entire face. The scars that remain during the operation are for the most part located in the hair or in areas that are not ordinarily visible; the short stretch of scar placed in front of the auricle normally becomes imperceptible in the space of a few weeks. The facial rejuvenation effect achievable with rhytidectomy is enhanced by associating it simultaneously or subsequently with a regional liposuction, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, integration of the facial skeleton. The outcome is generally satisfactory from the very beginning, even if altered by the inevitable post-operative swelling, which however regresses in the following days. The final result is achieved after 2-3 months.
The surgery can be performed with classic incisions or endoscopically. The classic technique is used which is believed to leave the surgeon greater maneuvering capacity. It is generally performed under general anesthesia after antibiotic prophylaxis. The duration of the surgery is about 4 hours, depending on the amount of work that needs to be done in the various areas of the face, neck and scalp. A small strip of hair is removed in the temporal region and behind the ear, and if it is necessary to provide for a forehead lift, also in the frontal region or further back, at the vertex. The edges of the scalp wound, covered with hair of normal length, will be joined by sutures and the incisions will remain hidden.
The incisions descend from the scalp in the temporal region to the front of the ear, curve backward around the ear lobule and continue in the sulcus behind the ear upward, almost to the top of the ear and back down again. and then in the hair of the nape region. There is no scar at the base of the hairline and therefore, if patients wish to have their hair lifted, they can do so without any scar being visible. Through these incisions the skin is lifted and freed from the underlying muscle tissues. It may be necessary to remove some fat from the area below the jaw. The fascia of the expression muscles is unglued as a separate layer and stretched at the top and back, then the excess is removed and sutured.
All this occurs under the skin so that it can drape itself with minimal tension over the tensioned muscles and surgical wounds can heal undisturbed without excessive stress. The excess skin is removed and the closure is performed with very thin sutures. A suction drain is often placed. At the end of the surgery, an abundant soft compression bandage is applied in order to maintain moderate compression over the entire area of the surgery. This is done in order to reduce edema (swelling) and protect wounds. Face lifting is sometimes performed in conjunction with blepharoplasty or other types of face surgery, however it is discussed with the surgeon from time to time.
In the immediate postoperative period and in the first few days after, a liquid diet and soft foods are recommended. The day after the surgery, the dressing is changed, the wounds checked and a new dressing that is lighter and smaller than the previous one is applied. Pain is well controlled by analgesics; continue the antibiotic treatment. Discharge after 24 hours.
On the third or fourth postoperative day this dressing is replaced and the drains will also be removed. If blepharoplasty has also been performed, the sutures from this surgery will also be removed. From now on, patients will be able to gently wash their hair and no more dressing is required. The sutures will be removed 7 and 15 days after surgery. Patients generally, and depending on the of surgery, will normally be presentable within two or three weeks.
