A grandmother? It is not about you. Although you might already have grandchildren. You are an active woman who definitely does not become invisible with age in brown clothes and in a claret beret.
Although you still feel young, your face tells a different story. Reveals more than it should. Years of laughter, sadness, grief and other emotions have gathered on your face in the form of deep wrinkles. Gravity added its own and resulted in a blurred facial oval, drooping cheeks, jowls, too much loose skin and volume loss. With time you probably developed fillers, lasers and other skin tightening devices fatigue. No longer do they bring you the same rejuvenation effects as they used to.
It is time for a face lift.
Face lifting effectively fights all these signs of aging and has the power to rejuvenate your face so that it accurately reflects your inner youth. This is the most effective method of restoring a younger facial appearance. With its help you can turn back the clock by up to 15 years. Results are spectacular and long-lasting. The surgery is recommended to mature people and patients who have lost weight. Both groups typically have excessive skin on their faces. SMAS face lifting may involve a whole face and neck or be limited to selected parts such as eyebrows, eyelids, forehead or lips.
How it looks like?
The procedure is performed under sedation or general anesthesia and lasts 3-6 hours, dependent on its scope. The surgery is customized to each patient’s needs and expectations. An incision may proceed from the hairline at the forehead and in a crease around the earlobe, to the back of the hair. The surgeon separates the skin from the muscles, removes excess skin and tightens SMAS, an underlying muscular system and fascia. Afterwards you can enjoy refreshed face with uplifted cheeks and more defined jawline.
It is important to know that tightening limited to skin only, without touching muscular system is insufficient to achieve such effects. That is why skin tightening devices such as HIFU, Ulthera and others fail as we age. Only surgeon’s work on deeper soft tissue brings about the desired effect of rejuvenation of up to a dozen years.
SMAS facelift is very often combined with fat grafting to restore volume in the area of cheeks, lips and nasolabial folds. Face lifting can also be combined with blepharoplasty, forehead or eyebrow lift. It makes most sense for mature people who developed substantial amount of sagging skin, gravitational drooping and “turkey neck” under the chin.
Because the procedure lasts a relatively long time during which the patient remains under sedation or general anesthesia, qualification for a facelift requires positive results of laboratory tests, proper blood coagulation parameters, and a stable situation with chronic diseases. An absolute prohibition on smoking is binding for several weeks before and after the procedure.
Before-after SMAS face lifting
This woman in her fifties wanted to have her young and full face back. To treat her drooping cheeks, smooth out nasolabial folds and improve her jawline, SMAS facelift was performed. As a result, the fallen cheeks were lifted, jawline more defined, and face oval improved. These results were achieved only through SMAS facelift, without additional treatments such as fat grafting. She looks great, refreshed and rejuvenated but not too pulled or tight.
This lady in her mid-sixties came to us as she found out that non-invasive treatments do not resolve her issue with drooping cheeks, deep wrinkles, nasolabial folds and marionette lines. Her jawline also needed plastic surgeon’s attention. Combined face and neck lifting was chosen to restore her face oval and make her look substantially younger while preserving her face characteristics. No additional treatments were done, but generally such surgery is possible to be combined with lip lift link to shorten the philtrum or fat grafting to add volume to cheeks area.
Patient in her early sixties was interested in refreshing her face especially in the lower part. She also wanted to address her neck as it made her look substantially older than she felt. Under general anesthesia Dr. Osuch performed neck and lower face lifting. This was combined with own fat transfer to cheeks to restore their volume.
The second picture was taken 7 days after her surgery. Her face oval was greatly improved, fallen cheeks raised, jawline more defined. She is totally satisfied with the result, now feels much younger.
Krysia, in her early sixties had a lot of sagging skin which made her look older than she felt. To get her face back, she needed to have the most complete version of a SMAS facelift – the one that included face, neck, brow, forehead and neck. All was done combined under general anesthesia. No additional procedures such as fat grafting, lip lift or blepharoplasty were performed.
This is the effect two months after her surgery. She looks substantially younger but at the same time she maintained her natural facial characteristics. Her main objective which was to re-design facial oval, was achieved. After recovery she told us: “On these pictures I look as I did on my graduation”. Cannot get more rewarding comment from a happy patient!
Patient in her mid-fifties was concerned with her lower face. She was looking to improve appearance of her jowls and neck. Dr. Osuch was able to address these issues by a SMAS face and neck lifting. The excessive tissue from cheeks and jawline was removed, and slightly tightened.
As a result, she got a new face oval which made her face look younger by 15 years. This is the effext of a face lifting only. No additional surgeries were performed, but if you were looking for a bigger makeover, you can combine SMAS lifting with a lip lift to make lips more defined or fat grafting to give more volume to cheeks or lips.
Recovery and the scar
SMAS facelift ends with the placement of a dressing in the form of a post-op elastic mask that covers the face and the neck. It applies pressure on the face and supports recovery process. The mask should be worn 24/7 for roughly 2 weeks.
After the surgery the patient remains in the clinic up to 24 hours under medical care. Two weeks off work are required for full recovery. Sutures are removed in two stages: after a week, then 10-14 days post-op, but the timetable may vary from patient to patient. Sport can be resumed 2 months post-op.
The scar depends on the extent of the procedure. It may appear above the forehead at the hairline, in front of and behind the ears. Length of scars and their location depends on the surgical technique. To make the scar the least visible Dr. Osuch uses top quality fine surgical threads. The appearance of a scar depends on individual features as well. A patient herself can also influence its appearance by proper care post-op – by using creams with arnica, vitamin C, and, at a later stage, a silicone gel. Scars should not be exposed to the sun for at least a year post-op.
Price
Full price list is available here. The price depends on the scope as well as patient wish to combine a facelift with other procedures such as blepharoplasty, eyebrow or forehead lifting, own fat grafting to cheeks/ lips/ nasolabial folds. As there are some variables, and there are no two exact face liftings, each procedure is priced individually. In each case the price comprises anesthesia, surgery, overnight stay in the clinic, post-op mask, post-up visits, stitches removal.
Questions?
Please have a look at most frequently asked questions about face lifting.
Consultation & surgery price
Under the same anesthesia the following can be combined:
- Face lifting and eye lifting
- Face lifting and eyebrow lifting or forehead lifting
- Face and neck lifting
- Face lifting and chin liposuction
- Face lifting and face lipofilling (fat grafting)
- Face lifting and lip lift
Stitches, scar & anesthesia
No. For all types of a face lifting we use high quality non-dissolvable stitches.
Stitches are generally removed in two steps:
1. After a week post-op we remove first portion of stitches. During this visit you have your hair washed by a nurse, a surgeon removes the stitches and puts on post-op face mask again.
2. After two weeks second part of stitches is removed. This is general protocol, but it is usually adapted to individual patient needs.
Scar location depends on the type of a face lifting. In case of:
1. Mini face lifting, the scar is located in the ear area.
2. Full face lifting – in the area of temples and ears.
3. Eyebrow and forehead lifting – in the hairline.
No. A face lifting always leaves a scar. For stitching Dr. Osuch uses fine, high quality sutures which are one of the factors which influence scar appearance. The final look of the scar is also affected among others by the following: surgeon’s technique of stitching, individual, genetic factors and post-op care, especially sun protection. With time scars get whiter and less visible, but never do they disappear.
If you are afraid of a scar, please consider other less invasive treatments such as Pelleve or PDO threats. They will not give the result comparable to a surgical face lifting but will definitely contribute to rejuvenating your face. Never will they leave a scar.
Yes, but it depends on the surgery scope. Dr. Osuch performs face liftings under local, general anesthesia or a twilight sedation.
Post-op mask & the results
Also, please check our general FAQ. If you don’t find answers, please e-mail us: recepcja@drosuch.pl or call: +48 501 093 653.
SMAS face lifting candidate?
To find out if you are a good candidate for SMAS face lifting, please send us here a few current pictures of your face – facing front plus both profiles. We will review your case and suggest the best solution, together with a cost estimate. Please remember that this is only an initial recommendation which is always re-confirmed during a traditional consultation in the clinic. Possibility of combining consultation and surgery in one visit to Poland will be confirmed by e-mail.
Contact
Dr Osuch
Plastic Surgery Clinic
ul. Wiktorii Wiedeńskiej 9a lok U2
02-954 Warszawa
