Contact our office in Nashville, Tennessee to speak with a facelift surgeon.
The Plastic Surgery Center of Nashville
Office Location: MAP
1915 State Street
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone:
615.467.6777
Fax:
615.467.6778
Nashville, Tennessee Facelift by a Skilled Surgeon
What is a Facelift?
Gravity, sun exposure, stress, and genetic factors contribute to creases formed between the nose and mouth, a slack jawline, and loose skin around the neck. At some point in your life you may look in the mirror or see a photograph of yourself and decide that the face that you see does not reflect the way you feel about yourself.
Available at The Plastic Surgery Center of Nashville in Tennessee, a facelift will not stop the aging process, but it will slow it down, tightening underlying muscles, removing excess deposits of fat, and adjusting facial and neck skin. A facelift can be performed alone, or combined with procedures such as eyelid surgery / blepharoplasty, brow lift, rhinoplasty, or other facial rejuvenation procedures.
Most patients at our Nashville, Tennessee practice who receive facelifts are between the ages of 40 and 60, though a facelift surgeon can successfully operate on patients in their 70s and 80s as well. Good candidates for a facelift are healthy individuals with loose skin, wrinkles, excess fatty tissue in the neck, deep wrinkles in the cheeks, or sagging skin in the jowl area.
Facelift Surgery
At our plastic surgery practice in Nashville, Tennessee, a facelift can be done on an outpatient basis. In most cases, patients stay in the hospital for one day when using general anesthesia. The actual facelift procedure takes several hours or sometimes longer if you are combining facial rejuvenation procedures. For more extensive facelift surgeries, two separate surgical sessions may be necessary. There are many variations to the facelift procedure. Your hairline and your individual anatomy will be examined to determine where incisions can be most discreetly placed. Many patients are candidates for a mini facelift procedure to achieve their desired result. "Mini" refers more to the length of the incisions, as the impact on appearance may still be quite dramatic.
At our Nashville, Tennessee office, the facelift surgeon often begins incisions above the hairline around the temples, extending along the contour of the ear, and continuing behind the earlobe. If neck work is required, a small incision may be placed under the chin. In general, the skin is separated from the fat and muscle and excess fat may be removed from the chin and neck area. The underlying membrane and loose muscle tissue is then tightened, and the skin is pulled back into place. The facelift surgeon will remove any excess skin tissue.
After Facelift Surgery
After a Nashville, Tennessee facelift surgeon has completed the surgery, a small tube may be placed behind your ear in order to remove excess fluids following the surgery. Your head may also be loosely wrapped in bandages to minimize swelling and post-surgical bruising. Pain following a facelift is often minimal. Numbness following facelift surgery is normal and will fade after a few weeks.
If a facelift surgeon has placed a fluid drainage tube, the tube will be removed two days after facelift surgery. Any bandages are usually removed the morning after the facelift. Your face will initially look puffy, bruised, and pale but will return to normal in a few weeks. Stitches will be removed approximately five days after the facelift surgery; sutures along your hairline may need additional time to heal.
Recovery
After visiting our Nashville, Tennessee practice for a facelift, you should not engage in any strenuous activity for at least a week after surgery. You must be especially gentle with your hair, hairline, and face. Your skin will be numb and tender and may not respond to stimuli as it normally did. Make sure you get plenty of rest so that you heal quickly.
After a facelift, your face may look and feel strange. Bruising may persist after a facelift for two to three weeks and you may experience fatigue rather easily. By the third week after your facelift, you should look and feel much better. Most facelift patients return to work 10 days to two weeks after their surgery.
Potential Risks
Although usually minor and infrequent, complications that can occur following a facelift include hematoma (a collection of blood under the skin that must be removed), temporary or very rarely permanent injury to the nerves that control facial muscles, infection, and negative reactions to the anesthesia. Poor skin healing or abnormal scarring is also a potential risk after facelift surgery; it is seven times more likely in smokers compared to non-smokers.
To learn more about facial rejuvenation surgery and other cosmetic surgery procedures, contact a Nashville, Tennessee facelift surgeon today.