Think of having a facelift as a journey that begins with your initial consultation and ends after a few weeks in recovery, when you’re back to your normal self and enjoying the dramatic results.
During your journey, Rafael C. Cabrera, MD, FACS, at Plastic Surgery Specialists of Boca Raton talks with you about the best options for achieving your desired results, explains what happens during surgery, and supports your health throughout your recovery.
This blog gives you the basics about what’s involved in having a facelift, but remember that the details of your facelift depend on the extent of the work you want performed.
During your initial consultation, you talk with us about the changes you want to make in your appearance. Based on our experience, we explain the results you can expect from a facelift. We show you plenty of before and after photos so you can feel confident about the surgery.
After evaluating your medical history and skin, and considering the results you want to achieve, we recommend the procedure that will work best for you. We may be able to suggest other options, such as The SmarterLift™, that can achieve your desired results without a full facelift.
A traditional facelift, called a rhytidectomy, focuses on the lower two-thirds of your face, improving problems such as:
If you want other improvements — such as eyelid surgery to eliminate sagging eyelids or a brow lift to deal with wrinkles on your forehead — we can talk about including additional procedures along with your facelift.
We perform facelifts in our on-site surgery center. We’re fully accredited to perform major surgeries, completely equipped with advanced technology, and staffed with highly trained professionals to provide exceptional care for each patient.
We typically perform facelifts using a local anesthetic combined with sedation. However, we offer every level of sedation in our surgery center, including general anesthesia.
When it’s time for your surgery, we make an incision in the hairline near your temples, running the incision down along the hairline, in front of each ear and then going a little behind the ears.
We remove or reposition excess fat and tighten the underlying muscles to provide a firm foundation. After pulling the skin taut and removing excess skin, we close the incision and your facelift is finished.
During your recovery time, it’s important to get plenty of rest, consume the nutrients you need to support healing, and simply take care of yourself.
You’ll come in for a checkup in about two days. We look at your incisions, make sure everything looks fine, and re-dress the area. Everyone heals at a different pace, but on average, here’s what to expect during your recovery.
Bruising and swelling are typically the worst around days three and four; it takes about a week for most of the swelling to go down. Most people don’t need pain medication after about 4-5 days, and by the end of the first week, you should feel more like yourself.
During the second week, you still have some visible swelling and bruising. You may also experience numbness or tingling, which is common and eventually goes away. By the end of the second week, however, most people feel ready to return to work.
The third and fourth weeks are when you start to see the improvements in your appearance. Though you may have a little swelling or tightness, most people won’t notice any outward signs of your surgery.
After a month, you should be back to all your normal activities and loving your results.
If you have any questions about a facelift, don’t hesitate to call Plastic Surgery Specialists of Boca Raton or use the online booking tool to request an appointment.
