Face Lift
Serving Beverly Hills, Los Angeles,
Newport Beach, & Orange County, California
A face lift, also called rhytidectomy, is a procedure in which the skin of the face is pulled taut, and the underlying muscles and tissue are tightened and rejuvenated, recreating the appearance of a more youthful face.
Learn more about facelifts that are customized for your lifestyle.
Unlike the face lifts of the past, modern face lifts do not just pull the skin tight over the features, leaving the patient with a pulled back look and the unnaturally tight skin we often associate with facelifts. Modern cosmetic surgery has perfected the procedure so that plastic surgeons are able to restore the features to a more youthful appearance, including lifting tissue that has begun to sag and droop, tightening muscles that have started to look tired and worn, and filling in hollowed areas and deep furrows.
Traditional face lift procedures use what is called the SMAS (sub muscular aponeurotic system) technique. This technique involves tightening the skin of the face as well as the underlying muscles and fascia, eliminating wrinkles and sagging of the tissue.
Many modern facelift procedures combine these traditional techniques with newer techniques that allow the cosmetic surgeon to resculpt the facial features, restoring features that have hollowed out, sharpened, and lost fullness due to age. To create this effect, your surgeon may rearrange the tissue underlying the face rather than simply pulling back and trimming loose tissue.
Each face lift is different and designed to address the individual patient's needs and goals. The modern customized face lift might incorporate a number of different techniques, and be combined with other procedures, to create the best possible result. In some cases, for example, your face lift procedure might incorporate adding implants such as cheek or chin implants to restore and improve the facial proportions.
The face lift procedure
The first step in a face lift is to make an incision to access the facial muscles. To provide sufficient access to the area, this incision is made behind the hairline, and inside the front of the ear, following the natural contours of the face, to minimize the potential for visible scarring.
The surgeon can then pull the skin back from the incision area, carefully separating the skin and underlying tissue to expose the area.
From this incision, the surgeon is able to work directly, tightening the facial muscles, repositioning tissue, and recreating more youthful, vibrant proportions to the facial structure.
Frequently Asked Face lift Questions
Learn more about facelifts that are customized for your lifestyle.
To learn more about the face lift rhytidectomy procedure and whether it's right for you, call or email our cosmetic surgeons today to schedule a consultation.
