Facelift, also known as Rhytidectomy, is a surgical method used to remove excess facial skin to improve visible signs of ageing. Facelift may also be combined with eyelid surgery or other procedures and is usually performed under twilight sleep or general anesthesia.

Facial areas under facelift include:

• Sagging in the middle of the face

• Deep creases under the eyes

• Deep creases joining the nose to the corners of the face

• Fallen or disappeared fat

• Areas of uneven skin tone

• Excess fatty deposits or loose skin, giving the appearance of a double chin

Process of facelift surgery

A number of different procedures of facelift surgery exist, depending on the type of incision, area of face or invasiveness.

The conventional facelift surgery is performed through incisions made from the hairline to the temporal region (in front of the ear). The incision curves behind the back of the ear and ends near the hairline at the neck. The underlying tissues are then separated from the skin of the cheek and neck with scissors or a scalpel.

At this stage, deeper tissues are constricted through sutures, with or without the removal of excess deeper tissues, the amount of which is determined by the know-how and judgment of the surgeon. Finally, the excess skin is removed and the skin is redraped and incisions closed through staples and sutures.

Surgical techniques that invade deeper tissues, rather than just the skin or fat, also show similar results.

Types of Facelift Surgeries

SMAS lift: Re-suspension and securing of the Superficial Musculo Aponeurotic System layer, by counteracting gravity caused by laxity and aging.

Deep-plane facelift: A modification of the SMAS lift in which deepening of the nasolabial fold is corrected more accurately by freeing cheek fat and muscles from the bone implement.

Composite facelift: Characterized by the extra repositioning and fixation of the muscles of orbicularis oculi.

Mid-face lift: Improves lines between nose to mouth and roundedness of the cheek muscles.

Thread lift: Used in treating sagging eyes, folded regions of the forehead and nasolabial areas.

Ref : Lybrate