Face Lift Surgery

Facelift surgery is a surgical treatment applied to improve the appearance of the aging face. In the aging process, some critical proteins such as collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid in the structure of the skin decrease, and a decrease in the number of cells and intercellular substance is observed. As a result of these processes, the skin loses its thickness, elasticity, surface structure and beautiful appearance. Aging skin wrinkles and sags. Sagging skin is most noticeable on the cheeks, neck and outer parts of the eyebrows.

Although there is no way to stop or reverse the aging process, it is possible to improve the unwanted changes that occur in our face during the aging process with aesthetic facial surgeries.

Facelift surgery tightens the facial skin, recovers the sagging facial skin, and moves the soft tissues of the face to an anatomical position closer to that of youth. Facelift surgery does not cover the entire face. It is mainly effective on the cheek area and the neighbourhood of this area. In cases where the entire face is aging and more holistic treatments are required, it may be necessary to combine facelift surgery with other procedures such as eyelid aesthetics (blepharoplasty), forehead lift surgery, neck lift surgery, mid-face lift surgery. In summary, facelift surgery is a member of the family of facial rejuvenation surgeries.

"Facelift surgery is the most effective and permanent treatment of signs of aging around the cheeks"

Who is Face Lift Surgery Suitable for?

Facelift surgery is suitable for individuals who look older than their calendar age. When analysed in terms of facial aging, each age group has individuals who look younger or older than the average of that age group. The goal of facelift surgery is to make individuals who look older than their age average in terms of cheek sagging to have an appearance below the average age.

The most suitable patients for this surgery are individuals between the ages of 40-60, who have a good skeletal structure, are healthy, socially active, and have realistic expectations. Facelift surgery most effectively corrects the cheek area, lower parts of the face, chin/neck line. For this reason, it is a suitable treatment option for patients where aging is concentrated in these areas.

Face Lift Surgery Preparation

When preparing for facelift surgery, you should fully inform your doctor about your medical history. Before facelift surgery, it is necessary to review any conditions or treatments that increase blood clotting, especially blood thinners or diseases. You should stop smoking at least 3 weeks before facelift surgery. During the preparation process before facelift surgery, your standardised photographs will be taken, your examinations will be performed and you will meet with the anaesthesiologist. It is very important for you to match what the facelift surgery can give you and your expectations of the surgery so that you can leave the surgery satisfied. During the preparation process before facelift surgery, you will be informed about the procedure in writing in a very detailed manner. Facelift surgery is a procedure performed under general anaesthesia and requires hospitalisation. While preparing for facelift surgery, Assoc. Dr Ozan Bitik will inform you in detail about the process.

Face Lift Surgery Techniques

Facelift surgery can be performed with different techniques. There are some common features in all facelift techniques. In all techniques of facelift surgery, there is a surgical incision starting from the front of the ear and progressing along the groove behind the ear. After starting the surgery with this incision, the soft tissues of the face are removed from the floor. This stage is called dissection. After dissection, the soft tissues of the face gain more flexibility. Taking advantage of this flexibility, the facial skin and sagging soft tissues are stretched upwards and slightly backwards to a position that will provide a younger appearance. The excess skin that forms when the skin is stretched and overflows behind the incision in front of the ear is removed and the soft tissues are fixed in their new places with surgical fixation techniques. In the final stage of the operation, the incisions made in the skin are carefully repaired with aesthetic sutures.

These incisions used in facelift surgeries leave behind a surgical scar. These scars never disappear and are always visible when viewed carefully. However, since they are hidden in the anatomical transition lines, behind the ear, in the hair, once the healing process is completed, they do not attract attention at first glance in social life.

In almost all facelift surgeries, we use drains to reduce blood accumulation under the skin, postoperative swelling and bruising. Drains are thin and soft tubes that drain the blood in the tissue into an external reservoir.

In different types of facelift surgeries; factors such as incision lengths, separation planes, extent of separation, tissue movement directions, tissue fixation styles, how deep tissues are treated vary. In this respect, it is very important to plan the facelift surgery according to the person.

Commonly used facelift surgery techniques include the following options.

Classical Subcutaneous Face Lift

In classical facelift surgery, a surgical incision is used that starts in the hair, descends along the fold in front of the ear, turns from the earlobe, goes up along the groove behind the ear and opens backwards from here and ends in the hair on the neck. This incision provides the most suitable skin workmanship for patients in the advanced stages of facial aging. How to distribute the excess skin is one of the most important details in facelift surgery. The most powerful aspect of classical surgery is the ability to distribute excess skin in a wide and comprehensive manner. For this reason, skin gathering/distribution/potting disorders, which are frequently seen in ‘mini facelift’ variants, are not seen in the classical approach.

In the classical approach, only the skin is stretched and no intervention is made in the deep tissues. This technique is a suitable option for elderly individuals where the skin is extremely loose, sagging and loose, but the deep tissue layers (SMAS) are structurally thin. Since there is high tension on the skin in this technique, it creates a taut cheek contour. It is the most effective option in the treatment of superficial wrinkles. However, the surgical scars may expand slightly due to this tension. In the classical technique, the further the skin separation is advanced to the centre of the face, the more effective the result will be and the more it will be reflected around the mouth. However, advancing the separation also brings the risk of deterioration in the blood supply of the separated skin. In classical facelift surgery, the degree of separation and tissue tension should be adjusted very well. Although it is a classical surgical technique, it requires serious surgical experience. Due to the risk of deterioration in skin blood supply, this surgery is not performed in patients who actively smoke.

Subcutaneous Face Lift and Smas Plication

This technique is suitable for patients with severe looseness and sagging of the facial skin as well as subcutaneous tissues. The SMAS plication surgical technique is almost identical to the classical facelift surgery. The most important difference is that the laxity in the deep tissues of the face is corrected with suture techniques (plication) that fold the tissue over itself. In classical facelift surgery, skin tension corrects the deep tissues to some extent. In cases where the deep tissues are bulky and excessively loose, relying on skin tension alone may be insufficient. Because the skin will stretch over time and deep tissue laxity will recur. In order to overcome this problem, in SMAS plication surgery, after the skin and deep tissues are separated from each other, plication sutures are applied on the surface of the deep tissues that hold the tissue together. The rest of the procedure is the same as the classical facelift surgery.

Double Level Smas Plication

This surgical technique was developed by Assoc. Dr Ozan Bitik and entered the medical literature. The bi-level SMAS plication procedure is performed along two different lines on the outer and inner parts of the face, significantly increasing the effectiveness, permanence and strength around the mouth. Dividing the plication into two levels has two main advantages. The first of these advantages is that the plications are made narrower and more elegantly, preventing irregularities on the floor as a result. The second advantage is the elimination of negative effects such as muscle dysfunction, nerve compression, deep tissue circulatory disorders due to the balanced tissue pressure in each plication line.

Mini Face Lift

Mini facelift surgery is a facelift surgery technique with shorter scars and more limited separation. As a result of the limited surgical procedure in mini facelift surgery, scars are short, the healing process is fast, swelling and bruising are less common. However, the effect of mini facelift surgery is also limited, limited and relatively short-lived. Mini facelift surgery can be performed under local anaesthesia and patients can return home the same day. The most suitable candidates for mini facelift surgery are female individuals in their 40s who are only bothered by the relaxation in the cheek-neck transition, who cannot tolerate a longer recovery period due to work intensity. Although the scar is short in mini facelift surgery, the most visible part of the scar is present in front of the ear.

Deep Plan Composite Facelift

In deep plan facelift surgery, tissue separation is performed in the deep plane of the face. The facial skin and the superficial muscle-connective tissue layer (SMAS) under the skin are lifted, mobilised and fixed as a whole. Since the skin and SMAS remain integrated in this procedure, the skin does not have a taut appearance. In deep plan facelift surgery, the soft tissue mass of the face is raised to a younger position as a whole. Since the deep tissues carry the fixation load, the scar quality is quite high. Since a thicker tissue mass is formed in deep plan facelift surgery, tissue blood supply is better. Although we do not recommend any patient to smoke before and after surgery, this surgery is the only suitable option for smokers in terms of tissue safety. The most suitable candidates for deep plan facelift surgery are individuals who are in the early stages of facial aging, who have few signs of aging and wrinkles on the skin surface, and who complain of deep tissue sagging. Since the surgical separation in deep plan facelift surgeries is in close relationship with facial nerves, these surgeries should only be performed by plastic surgeons with advanced experience and specialisation in facial aesthetics.

Facelift with High Smas Flap (Hıgh Smas)

In this surgery, the skin is separated and prepared as a separate layer and the subcutaneous superficial connective tissue and muscle layer (SMAS) as a separate layer. According to the individual needs of the patient, both layers are moved in different directions, advanced and fixed. It is perhaps the most effective and permanent option among facelift surgeries. This surgery is the main subject that Assoc. Dr Ozan Bitik focused on during his facial aesthetics upper speciality training and is the first treatment option he prefers in suitable patients. Facelift surgery with high SMAS flap treats both superficial and deep tissues at the same time. Since the deep tissue is removed as a layer (flap), it is smooth. Facelift with High SMAS flap (High SMAS) is a technically difficult surgery to learn and perform. Facial nerves can be injured in inexperienced hands.

Recovery Process After Facelift Surgery

Hospitalisation is required for 1-2 days after facelift surgery. For the first 48 hours after the surgery, you will have a protective mask on your face to prevent bleeding. In the postoperative period, patients can take a bath and maintain their personal care on days 1-2. The stitches on your face will be removed around the first week. It is expected to have a tense appearance, swelling and bruising on your face in the early period after facelift surgery. These problems will gradually decrease in the following 10-14 days and it will be possible to return to social life around the third week. Patients can shorten this period even more with the help of hairstyle, make-up and various accessories after surgery. You can drive a car in the first week after the operation and return to sports activities in the 6th week. In the third month of the operation, you will reach a level of recovery where we will evaluate the aesthetic result with standardised photographs for the first time. We will be able to see the final result around the first year.

Alternative and Concurrent Treatments

There is no alternative to facelift surgery in the treatment of the aging face. Unfortunately, non-surgical applications cannot provide the benefits that can be obtained with surgery. Since facial aging occurs in a holistic manner, we usually combine facelift surgery with other facial rejuvenation surgeries. The most frequently combined surgeries with facelift surgery include upper and lower eyelid surgeries, forehead lift surgery, neck lift surgery, mid-face lift surgery, aesthetics around the mouth, facial fat tissue injections, chin tip aesthetics and rhinoplasty. In order to maintain the result obtained after facelift surgery, we apply complementary procedures such as chemical peeling, fat tissue transfer, botulinum toxin and filling.

"The alternative to facelift surgery is not to have surgery. No medical aesthetic procedure can produce results equivalent to facelift surgery."

Face Lift Surgery Prices

Facelift surgery prices are affected by many factors such as patient factors, hospital fees, doctor experience and technique selection, and other combined surgeries. You can contact us for detailed information about facelift surgery prices.

For more detailed information about Facelift Surgeries, you can access www.yeniyuzyenihayat.com, which is one of the most comprehensive Turkish resources on the internet in the field of facial aesthetics, created by Assoc. Dr Ozan Bitik by clicking on the BLOG section of our website.