FACE AND NECK LIFT OR
THE CERVICO FACIAL LIFT
THE CERVICO FACIAL LIFT
The evolution of the ageing of a face and its treatment : Presentation
In order to fully understand the ageing of a face, we must first of all know the anatomy and its evolution over time. The face is anatomically made up of 3 planes from the depth to the surface :
- The muscles (which are never modified)
- A greasy mattress (SMAS) covering the whole face and in continuity (which constitutes the volumes of the face, thicker at the level of the cheekbones and cheeks)
- The elastic skin that covers the whole.
This greasy mattress, under the effect of gravity, gradually slides down over time, distorting the relief of the face. From this comes the various surgical or medical techniques for correcting facial ageing. To regain a younger but above all natural face, it is therefore very logical to do the opposite of time by moving the fat mattress upwards, as it was a few years ago.
Raising this fat mattress upwards by means of a face-lift or suspending threads, allows you to avoid pulling on the skin, and thus maintain a natural face without tension. Do the test in front of your mirror, raise your face upwards and slightly backwards with your hands, you will find that you will regain the tonicity and the reliefs that you had without any novelty !
The neck is made up of 2 very fine muscles on each side, which start under the edge of the angle of the mandible on the right and left to meet in the middle of the neck. It is called the neck skinner because it adheres to the skin. As we age, the muscle and the skin gradually distend and the two muscles separate in the middle of the neck, creating the unsightly neck “cords”.
Thus the correction of the face and neck is done by :
- Surgical face lift to raise the fat mattress (SMAS) to the position it was in a few years ago by fixing it by a few points. The resection of the excess skin must be very small (just the part that has distended over time, a few millimetres) so that your face appears neither stretched nor modified but the same as it was before.
- The surgical neck lift will, given its horizontal position, tighten the skin and muscle complex horizontally towards the back, naturally recreating the angle of the neck and the oval of the face.
Before a
face lift operation
A consultation with Dr. Diacakis plastic surgeon in Paris is necessary.
A preoperative check-up will be prescribed to you as well as possibly a “press-lift” type compression garment to be worn for a week at home. A consultation with the anaesthetist is obligatory and must take place at least 48 hours before the operation. You will be asked to wash your body and hair with betadine the day before and the morning of the operation.
You will have to fast (without drinking, eating or smoking) 6 hours before the operation.
Any medication containing aspirin must be banned 2 weeks before the operation.
What happens during a face lift or
mini-face lift operation?
On the morning of the operation, Dr Richard Diacakis, a plastic surgeon in Paris, makes drawings that will serve as reference points during the operation. Photos are systematically taken.
A face lift must be programmed according to the patient’s wishes. Thus one can distinguish :
- A temporo cervico facial lift : to treat at the same time the look (raising of the eyebrow), the face and the neck.
- A temporal facelift which essentially treats the gaze by raising the eyebrows, the temple and the external part of the eyes, also known as a “dummy lift”.
- A cervico-facial lift treating the face and neck.
- A lower face or oval facelift or mini facelift which essentially treats the oval and neck.
- An on-demand facelift that can be combined with suspension threads, lipofilling or hyaluronic acid injections.
Two types of anaesthesia can be proposed: A neuroleptic-based anaesthesia which allows the patient to be awake but insensitive to pain thanks to or most often a general anaesthesia under which you are completely asleep.
First of all, Doctor Richard Diacakis, a plastic surgeon in Paris, is used to almost systematically perform liposuction of the neck and jowls (cf liposculpture of the face). Indeed, removing the fat from the neck and jowls not only refines the result of a facelift with a right-angled neck and a drawn oval, but also makes it possible to preserve the aesthetic result of the facelift longer. In fact, once the fat has been removed, it will no longer distend the lower part of the face (jowls) by its weight after several years.
The incisions, of variable extent depending on what has been decided in consultation, are always hidden in the hair and around the ear. Thus the scars will be almost invisible after healing.
After the incision and removal of the skin, a re-tensioning of the fat pad (SMAS) is performed. In order to achieve a natural, “unpulled” appearance, the excess skin removed is often minimal. Indeed, the secret to obtaining a refreshed and “not lifted” appearance is to above all lift and tension the fat mattress (SMAS), located under the skin, without pulling or stretching the skin. In this way, only the excess skin will be removed.
The closure will be done by staples in the hair and absorbable threads around the ear.
The operation of a facelift lasts on average 2h30 to 4 hours depending on the chosen facelift and the possible associated gestures: upper and lower blepharoplasty, liposculpture of the neck and jowls, liposuction of the malar pockets, eyebrow lift….
A compression bandage will be applied in the operating theatre.
The patient is usually discharged the next day with a press lift type compression bandage to be worn at home.
Hospitalisation lasts 24 hours.
After a
face lift operation
It is strongly recommended that someone accompanies you home.
Tightness related to the scars as well as a significant decrease in the sensitivity of the cheeks and neck persists throughout the first month.
It is rare that pain is not relieved by the prescribed painkillers.
Doctor Richard Diacakis, a plastic surgeon in Paris, will see you again for a check-up at D15, D1 month, D2 / 3 months, D 6 months, D 1 year and every year.
Stitches and staples will be removed by Dr Richard Diacakis between the second and third week.
You will be able to shampoo from the 2nd day and you will be able to apply make-up from the 7th day. Colouring or perms are not permitted for 4 to 6 weeks after the operation.
Aesthetic result after a
face lift operation
From the 15th day you can resume an active life.
From one month onwards the result is estimated at 40/50% and already gives a real “rejuvenation”.
At 3 months the estimated result is 80% with a radiant skin tone and a refreshed face.
At 6 months the result is considered definitive.
In some cases, it is necessary to wait more than a year for all the small sensations such as complete sensitivity, tightness, tingling or others, to disappear.
The price of a face lift operation
The price of a consultation with Doctor Diacakis, a plastic surgeon in Paris is 100 euros.
The price of the operation depends on many factors which will be defined in consultation.
This operation is aesthetic, it is neither reimbursed by social security nor by the complementary mutual insurance company.
During the consultation you will be given an estimate including :
- The clinic’s costs (operating theatre costs, accommodation in a single room)
- Surgeon’s fees
- The anaesthetist’s fees
- Assistance costs.
- The application of 20% VAT.
Only the first consultation is charged. All other pre- or post-operative consultations are free of charge without any notion of time.
For all cosmetic surgery the patient has a minimum reflection period of 15 days.
