What Is the Facelift Procedure Like?

NEW YORK, NY, June 28, 2012 (Press-News.org) Are you unhappy with the symptoms of aging that are beginning to appear on your face, such as hanging jowls, deep facial folds, and a poorly defined jawline? If so, then you might be considering a surgical facelift, one of the oldest and most powerful facial rejuvenation procedures in cosmetic surgery.

And if you're considering a facelift, you are probably wondering what happens during the procedure.

Types of Facelifts

The standard facelift procedure is what is described as the SMAS lift. SMAS stands for superficial muscular aponeurotic system. This is the network of muscles, nerves, and connective tissue under the skin. The SMAS lift is different from older facelift techniques that were skin-only. In the SMAS lift, much of the facial tissue is lifted up to achieve facial rejuvenation.

In a skin only facelift, as implied by the name, only the skin is tightened and lifted for facial rejuvenation. Not only does this put too much tension on the skin, leading to shorter results, it often gives faces a stretched, tight appearance. Nevertheless, this type of facelift is still used and often presented as a weekend facelift or other similarly appealing name that emphasizes the main benefit of the procedure: the procedure is short and recovery is quick.

The SMAS Facelift Procedure

In recent versions of the SMAS lift, incisions made in front of the ear are used to access the tissues under the skin. The SMAS is separated from the skin and from underlying tissues. The SMAS is elevated and secured in a more youthful position. Then the skin is elevated separately and secured using sutures at the incision sites as well as using some permanent sutures under the surface. Sometimes, additional lifting is achieved using the platysma muscle in the neck, which is accessed through another incision, typically under the chin.

The Facelift Experience

Often, general anesthesia is used for a facelift procedure, so most facelift patients don't really experience the surgery itself. They wake up after the procedure and are generally groggy for a while before they become aware of the procedure.

Once anesthesia from the procedure wears off, facelift patients typically experience significant discomfort. Often an 8 or more on a 10-point scale. This may last for several days. Swelling and bruising are expected, and can often be extreme.

Many patients are terrified about the outcome of their procedure based on the short-term recovery, but in a couple weeks the bruising and swelling go away and some of the results are immediately visible. These will continue to improve for about six months to a year.

The best way to learn more about what a facelift procedure is like is to talk to a doctor about it.

If you want to learn more about the facelift procedure and whether it is right for you, please visit the website of Juva Skin & Laser Center in New York City at http://www.juvaskin.com.