Lifting
The facelift aims at giving the face and neck a younger aspect and softer lines. It won’t correct drooping eyelids, adipose clusters or mouth wrinkles, which can be treated with other surgeries such as blepharoplasty, lifting of the forehead and eyebrows or laser surgery.
Your plastic surgeon will assess the thickness, texture and elasticity of your skin and the depth of wrinkles and creases. He will also examine the hair line to locate the cuts. In order to have a successful sugery, he must be careful to examine the structure of your face.
If you have short hair, you may want to let them grow to hide the scars during the healing process. If you plan to lose more than 15 pounds, discuss with your plastic surgeon.
When the incision is completed, the skin is raised forward. The excess fat is then excised or sucked, the excess skin is removed and deep tissue is replaced.
Hematoma (an accumulation of blood under the skin), infection and reactions to anesthesia are possible but uncommon. The incisions are normally invisible, but will vary with the individual.
More often than not, the patient will resume its normal activities after two weeks. The healing process is slow and it takes several weeks to get a final result.
Lifting of the middle third of the face
Unlike the usual facelift, which addresses the problems of the lower face and neck, the lifting of the middle third of the face is for those whose cheeks under the eyes show signs of aging. This intervention may take place simultaneously with the traditional facelift.
A first approach resembles the lower blepharoplasty. Small incisions made in the lower eyelid can be traced back the underlying tissues of about 90% vertically and 10% back. Then, the excess skin is excised. Another method is to carry a small incision on the temple.
Such small incisions are similar to those practiced on forehead and face lifting and can be done simultaneously as the forehead lift.
The middle of the face is then replaced and the cheeks are lifted with the muscle beneath. This process corrects hollow under the eyes, sagging around the mouth and improvement of naso-lip creases.
As for the traditional facelift, it takes several weeks to get an assessment of the results.
Body lifting
Similar to abdominoplasty, but performed to remove the skin over the entire circumference of the body and raise the buttocks, thighs and stomach, the intervention becomes the ‘’body lift’’.
Body lifting alters the texture of the skin in the drag process, which makes the looseness and loss of tone less apparent.
Breast lifting
If one wishes to give to his chest younger contours without increasing the size, breast lifting might be worth considering. If there has been a considerable loss of breast volume, breast could be accompanied by installation of breast implants.
Although breast lifting can be practiced at any age, it is recommended to wait until the end of the development phase of the chest.
Pregnancy and lactation have a significant effect on the size and shape of breasts. While some want to suffer the breast lifting or reduction before pregnancy, it is advisable to discuss it with your surgeon, as it may have an effect on breastfeeding.
In assessing the candidate for a breast surgery the surgeon carefully examine the size and shape of breasts, the quality of the skin and the location of the nipple and areolas. If you are overweight, your plastic surgeon may suggest that you stabilize your weight before undergoing surgery.
There are several ways to make the incisions used in breast lifting. The traditional method involves three incisions: one around the areola, the second vertically from the areola to the bend below the breast and the third which follows the natural curve of the breast.
Your plastic surgeon will discuss with you about incisions that best suit your case.
Once the excess skin removed, the nipple and areola are lifted. The skin that was above the nipple before surgery will be pulled down. These maneuvers will give breasts new shapes. It will sometimes call for liposuction to improve the contour under the patient’s arm.
Because the link between the nipple and the areola is preserved, the surgery often succeeds to keep the feeling in the area. But the result is sometimes a loss of sensibility.
Some of the possible complications with this surgery are bleeding, infection and reactions to anesthesia; both breasts could be of different sizes or areoles can be uneven.
It takes a few days after the surgery to move without any pain. The patient may have to wear a compression bra for a few weeks, until the swelling and bruising decline. The incisions will be red for several months after your surgery.
Normally, it is possible to return to work within a month.