What Is a Facelift | Neck and Face Lift
A facelift involves a lift of the skin in the face and neck area. The natural aging process leads to the formation of wrinkles on the face—to a greater or lesser extent—which can significantly alter one’s appearance. With age, the skin loses elasticity and collagen, fatty tissue sags downward, and the subcutaneous muscles become slack. As we age, marionette lines, nasolabial folds, and wrinkles on the neck become particularly noticeable.
A facelift will make you look younger and more radiant, as if you’ve just returned from a long, relaxing vacation.
First, we’ll discuss with you which areas concern you most and create a personalized surgical plan based on your findings. The surgery should be tailored to your problem areas and preferences. Additional areas such as the eyelids, forehead, and mouth area can be included in the surgery. For a neck and cheek lift, the skin incision is chosen based on your individual anatomy. If the fine musculature of the subcutaneous tissue, the superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS), the cheeks, and the neck have become saggy, these areas can also be tightened through the same incision.
In a mid-face lift, the sagging tissue in the cheek area is lifted vertically. This requires an incision along the lower eyelid lash line, similar to the incision used in lower eyelid surgery. The neck area is not tightened during this procedure. A mid-face lift is suitable for patients whose aging process is not yet very advanced.
Depending on the degree of suffering and severity, you should decide for yourself when to undergo surgery. We will of course be on hand to advise you.
Information on the operation
If the surgery is performed under local anesthesia, you will receive a calming IV before the local anesthetic is administered. The skin of the cheeks and neck is numbed through fine injections. The hair is not shaved during the procedure. Depending on your individual anatomy, the incision is made either behind the temple region or along the hairline. The incision then continues in front of the ear to the earlobe and further behind the ear to the hairline at the back of the head. Key fixation points are located in the temporal region and at the back of the head. This allows the skin—and, if necessary, the superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) can be tightened again.
Hospital stay and anesthesia
A neck and cheek lift can be performed under local anesthesia. If the patient prefers, the procedure can, of course, also be performed under general anesthesia. The surgical procedure takes approximately 4 hours under local anesthesia or general anesthesia. Depending on the extent of the surgery, a hospital stay of 1–2 days is required.