The patient is a 68 year old woman who noted laxity of the lower half of her face. The looseness was especially prominent about the jowls and neck line. She also noted two vertical bands in her neck that ran from the jaw-line down to the chest.  She wanted face lift surgery to correct the skin laxity.

Face Lift Before and After Photos

As can be seen from the patient’s before and after photos, the effect of the standard face lift is to lift the lower part of the face and should really be called a “lower face lift”. This lower lift has a beneficial effect on the neck, all the way down to the chest. At this procedure, fat can be removed from the neck, the muscles that are separated can be brought together to treat banding and the skin can be released so that it can be tightened from the top.

Another area that benefits from a standard face lift is the jowl, which is the loose area of skin at the jaw-line and on either side of the mouth. The deep tissue lift used in face lift surgery can render a strong lift effect on the jowl to not only raise it to fill the hollow beneath the cheek bone but also soften the marionette line and the fold inside the cheek fat pad. These strong lift effects can be done during a face lift and the pull not seen because the deep lift spreads the tension across the entire cheek and jowl as a sheet with the result of an even and harmonious pull. So no darts or pulls are seen in the skin because there is no pulling of the skin.

Types of Face Lifts

There are two basic types of face lifts performed today and they are termed standard face lift and mini-face lift. When face lifts are performed with attention to detail, it is very difficult to see the scar because it is hidden mostly within the hair and around the ear, taking care at each area to hide the scar within the ear canal and in transition areas where one might expect a color change. But when one looks very closely, the scar can be seen and in a mini face-lift, the scar is only in front of the ear and around the ear lobe but not up the back of the ear.

In a standard, or what some patients call a “full” face lift, the mini-face lift incision is carried up the back of the ear and into the hairline.

Mini-Face lift versus Face Lift: Which Should I have?

When patients have jowling and other signs of facial laxity, some kind of face lift is necessary to elevate the loose skin and underlying soft tissue. Then, it is simply a decision about whether the mini or the standard face lift is a better choice.

And it all comes down to the neck. For patients that excess skin of the upper neck and just under the chin, a mini-face lift is the better choice. When patients have more looseness of the neck skin and the looseness goes down further into the lower neck, a face lift is best. As always, consult your facial plastic surgeon to tend to your specific needs and anatomy.

Face Lift Cost

Face Lifts are among the most expensive cosmetic surgeries. Most well trained plastic surgeons are performing face lifts with procedure times in the three to four hours. And since the patient must stay in the recovery room a significant time before going home, most patients who have face lifts are at the surgery center for most of the day.

Face Lift Threading

Threading is a minor procedure where the patient can be awake or under mild sedation. Permanent threads are placed through the skin to lift tissue of the face. The benefit of this procedure is that it’s a quick and less costly way to have a face lift. The downsides include a lift that is often not even or harmonious, and the chance for nerve injury which is relatively uncommon but actual face lifts have an extremely rare chance for nerve injury. Another issue is the longevity of thread lifts which can generally be in the months to a couple of years but some patients can have more.

How Long Does a Face Lift Last?

The deep lift that most well trained plastic surgeons perform today generally lasts from ten to twenty years. And some parts of the face tend not to change with time whereas others can relapse. The neck is an area that tends not to become more loose and especially if the superficial neck muscle is repaired so it cannot cause further damage to the overlying skin. The jowl can relapse and it depends on weight changes, muscle activity and genetics but generally 10 to 20 years with the current techniques.

How Long Does It Take to Look Normal After a Face Lift?

A lot of the swelling goes away in three to five days but for all the swelling to go away it takes most patients five months. When patients have the laser to remove wrinkles, it can take three to five extra days in the short term till patients are presentable. Therefore, and for most patients, one week is a general time when patients can socialize. Remember that the morning after a face lift, patients are instructed to walk outside.

Is a Face Lift Painful?

Face lifts are not generally painful. There can be some discomfort, especially under the neck.