Face Lift

Of all the scars you may have from plastic surgeries, scars on the face are the best of the whole body. They are not only well hidden, but also settle inefficiently. For most healthy people, surgical scars of a well-performed facelift do not cause any issues. Even for patients who produce keloid scars can consider having a facelift, even though they will require extra Cadogan scar aftercare treatment.

Facelifts are becoming less invasive and scars fewer. Nevertheless, the standard scars themselves are short and hidden around the contours of the face, in the front of the ear, under the earlobe and in the crease behind the ear. Most will be hidden by the hair from day one, and make-up can be applied immediately after the sutures have been removed. Majority of clients find that the scars are fine with make-up after a week or so, and that they are happy with the visibility of scars without wearing any make-up after a month or so. 

We have a Cadogan Clinic scar aftercare regime using applications twice a day, and a laser treatment for the scars from the third week. Very rarely, for patients that tend to form keloids, we have stronger scar aftercare treatment options available. 

Your surgeon will give you detailed advice which may include preparation of the skin by applications for a few weeks prior to surgery. The most important advice is for smokers to stop smoking for a minimum of two weeks, but four weeks or longer, if possible. They should not recommence until the wounds are well healed, two weeks after surgery. Haematomas or haemorrhage under the skin was common in the past but now with our more refined techniques, is rare. You do need however, to avoid drugs such as aspirin and anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal supplements as these all increase the risk of bleeding. High blood pressure is another risk and should be well-controlled at the time of surgery. Bathe and wash your hair the night before surgery, and stop eating 6 hours prior to the operation. You may drink water up until 2 hours before surgery. Arrange for a responsible person to collect you from the clinic and stay with you overnight. You will need to return to the clinic for a dressing the next morning. If you live at a distance, it may be wise to book into our local hotel, via our advisors to obtain preferential rates. If you are nervous, we can arrange for a nurse from the clinic to stay with you.

A facelift is not painful, and it is unlikely that you will need anything stronger than paracetamol, if that. There are dressings overnight and you will need to return the next morning to have the wounds checked and dressings reduced or removed. Healing is better and swelling reduced if activity is kept to a minimum. For the first few days keeping the head higher than the heart, also reduces pressure in the vessels and reduces bruising. Add a few extra pillows for the first night.

The visible stitches are removed a week after surgery, and a few more behind the ear later. During that first week, you will be perfectly able to work from a computer, but avoid the commute into work.
The stitches are easily hidden, but once they are removed, you will look perfectly good, indeed much better than before surgery, but still a little puffy. It is the smokers that may have slower and less satisfactory healing. It will be wise to avoid the gym for four weeks.

Make-up will hide the early pink and well-hidden scars and the Cadogan post-operative scar treatment will be helpful for those that have had difficulty with scars in the past, or are anxious to get the earliest possible resolution. For most people however, the pink scars become pale and mature within a month or two.

There is not a ‘one size fits all’ answer regarding the cost of facelift, as there are so many versions and many patients elect to have further fat grafting of the face or treatment to the forehead and eyelids. Depending on what different options you decide to go with for your customized treatment, the pricing will change.

We will be able to quote accurately after you have seen your surgeon, but prices begin at £9000 for a full regular facelift. But first, there are lesser, and not necessarily less effective, options to consider.

It is perfectly possible to carry out a facelift under a local anaesthetic, but most of our patients prefer the type of general anaesthesia we give at the Cadogan Clinic, which is Total Intravenous Anaesthesia (T.I.V.A.). Oxygen is the only gas you receive, and the anaesthetic is given intravenously using a computerised pump. You are kept only just asleep with a modified encephalogram monitoring your consciousness so that you are kept unaware and only lightly asleep. There is no sickness after the procedure and you wake up immediately after the procedure is finished. This allows you to go home an hour or two after the surgery is completed, even if the surgery has taken several hours.

Your anaesthetist will see your medical history when the operation is booked and may ask for blood tests, an electrocardiogram or respiratory tests. All being well, you will not see your anaesthetist until the day of the operation when he/she will discuss any medical problems. If you do have particular issues you can meet your anaesthetist earlier.

You will always retain the benefits from your facelift surgery. What is done, cannot be undone. However, you are up against the continued ageing process. It would be fair to say that, if a facelift makes you appear 10 years younger, you will always retain that 10-year advantage. The trick, of course, is to delay the effects of ageing with aesthetic treatments, which are non-surgical.

The Cadogan Clinic has a full range of advice available from not only our surgeons, but also our dermatologists and aestheticians. Most patients will only need one facelift in their lives and there are some who 10 years later look as fresh as immediately after their facelift feeling fresh and youthful.

Recovery from a Cadogan facelift is rapid, as you will not feel ill or be in pain. You will need to avoid exercise for a few weeks, but you will be back in front of a computer the next day. All our patients are treated as a day case. If you live at a distance, it may be wise to book into one of our local hotels, via our patient advisor who can obtain preferential rates. We will need to see you the day after surgery to change or remove dressings. You may well hear or read about patients, who are in pain with considerable swelling for weeks or months following a facelift. This is unusual but is probably the result of poor technique or the result of a deep plane facelift, where all the soft tissues are lifted off the bone and placed at a higher level. This can give good results, but we at the Cadogan Clinic, do not feel that the discomfort and long recovery time of this deep plane technique, is worth it.

Non-surgical facelifts are being touted as a viable alternative to a surgical facelift, but is it a better option? What are the main differences?

Non-Surgical Facelift

Plastic surgeons tend to be sceptical of non-surgical treatments. However, at the Cadogan Clinic we have been monitoring developments and are now highly impressed with non-surgical treatments and heartily recommend them particularly for younger patients.

 There are limits, however. It is very difficult to fix drooping, sagging older skin. with a non-surgical facelift. You simply cannot expect a 100% improvement of deep wrinkle lines and drooping skin with fillers and injections. And over time, fillers fade and need to be replenished with touch-ups.

For non-surgical facelifts, dermatologists and aestheticians at the Cadogan Clinic will recommend maintenance and anti-ageing creams as a routine. There are various laser treatments for red blood vessels, brown patches and wrinkles, chemical peels and the skin tightening Ultherapy. These treatments can be sufficient for some patients, depending entirely on the condition of the skin.

We should not forget that non-surgical treatments can help to maintain the good effects of surgery.

Surgical Facelift

With a surgical facelift, you can be sure that you will have incredible, lasting results. When it comes to drooping, sagging skin and deeply set wrinkles on the face, a facelift is the best option. Nowadays our cosmetic surgeons often suggest fat transplants for a fuller, more youthful face. This fat containing stem cells also improves skin quality.

Most patients never need to have another facelift after their first treatment. The results will be a natural, youthful look of 10-15 years younger.  If you are an actress playing Juliette, you may need a second lift to keep the part.

In the past, facelifts have received a bit of a bad reputation for giving clients a ‘wind tunnel’ or tightly pulled back look, an example of this would be certain American movie stars. However, those issues have long been a thing of the past, our cosmetic surgeons use only cutting-edge technology to ensure you have beautiful results that keep you looking natural.

Overall

The treatments available for non-surgical facelifts will delay the effects of ageing to a certain superficial level, but the emptiness of the face and folds of loose skin will require surgery. There are many different versions of surgery, which would be tailored to your condition. 

Facelift surgery as carried out at the Cadogan Clinic is relatively risk free, we do not carry out the deep plane surgery, which is associated with medium term pain and swelling.

Bleeding haematoma, or bleeding under the skin is a risk and we therefore ask patients to avoid any drugs that might increase this tendency. This would include the usual anti-coagulants, aspirin, anti-inflammatories and certain herbal remedies.

We keep scars to a minimum and scars of the face are better than elsewhere in the body. Patients who tend to get hypertrophic or keloid scars need to be very carefully advised and treated with our Cadogan scar treatments post-operatively. Your surgeon will discuss these risks with you very carefully.

As we age our skin loses its elasticity, and the underlying tissues lose their volume, as well as bone losing its structure. A facelift works by repositioning the soft tissues and skin to its former level and plumping out the soft tissues to give the refreshed look of natural youth.

A facelift is regularly done as a Day Case procedure, under local or TIVA, our gentler version of general anaesthesia. The procedure may take several hours, but you, the patient, will be able to go home to rest on the day of the surgery.

For a full standard facelift, the surgeon creates an incision in the front of the ear, up towards the hairline and behind the ear into the scalp. He or she will then lift the skin up off the face, gently pulling it into an upwards direction and removing any excess skin.

Depending on your individual case, the surgeon is likely to also tighten the SMAS, the deeper tissues on the face, or perform a neck lift to tighten the skin around the chin and jowls. Once the procedure is completed, the incision will be closed with staples or sutures, and dressings will be applied.

These days we generally use fat grafting in association with non-surgical procedures to help fill in concaves in the face that occur with age. There are numerous types of facelifts, depending on the results you’re looking for, and the condition of your skin, your surgeon will decide what is best for you and make recommendations.