Rhytidoplasty - Face Lift in Perth

Rhytidoplasty – Facelift plastic surgery is designed to address sagging skin on the face and neck, as well as fat pads that may have moved downwards.

A face lift, a mini face lift, or a lower face and neck lift can potentially make you look younger and fresher.

Suitable candidates for a facelift

Wondering if you should undergo a face lift? The best candidate for the surgery is a candidate who would like to target sagging face and neck skin, but the skin still has some elasticity and bone structure that is strong and well-defined. The age demographic for facelift plastic surgery is often between 40 and 70 years.   Before you decide to undergo the procedure, think carefully about your expectations and discuss them with your surgeon. Ideal candidates will have realistic expectations for the results of the surgery.

Your consultation: Planning your procedure

Whether you’re undergoing an extensive face lift, minor face lift procedure, or a lower face and neck lift, a face lift is a very individualised procedure.

During your initial consultation, Our surgeons will evaluate your face, including the skin and underlying bone and soft tissue structure, and discuss your goals for the surgery. Computer simulation using your image is extremely helpful in the consultation, allowing you to envisage the end result prior to undergoing any surgery.

Advice regarding pre and post-operative skin care is available from our aesthetic nurse. Smoking is a contraindication when considering face lift surgery, as it can significantly delay the healing process. You may be asked to quit for a set period of time before and after the procedure. Carefully following these instructions will help your surgery go more smoothly, help you to heal faster and raise your chances of getting the best results. Don’t hesitate to ask your doctor any questions you may have, especially those regarding your expectations and concerns about the results.

Evolving trends in facelift plastic surgery

Modern trends in face lift surgery include minimising scars and repositioning facial soft tissues to avoid the stigmata of an “operated look”. Patients are also having procedures at a younger age when surgery can be less invasive. If you’re after a mini face lift, or a face lift which is less invasive, our experienced team can work with you and your needs to achieve your desired look. During your consultation, we recommend discussing these trends with your surgeon to find out more about what can be achieved.

The procedure: What is involved

A facelift is performed in hospital under general anaesthesia. Usually, an overnight stay is recommended after the procedure.

The surgery usually takes three to four hours to perform, or longer if you’re having other procedures completed at the same time. Other procedures that may be performed in conjunction with a facelift include fat augmentation, brow lifting, laser resurfacing, blepharoplasty and rhinoplasty.

The specific details of your procedure will depend on the type of lift that you need, and your individual aesthetic concerns and features. All of these factors and steps will be discussed during your consultation with your facelift surgeon.

During the procedure, incisions usually begin at or above the hairline in the temples, extend in a natural line in front of the ear and continue behind the earlobe to the lower scalp. If the neck needs work, a small incision may also be made under the chin.

Your facelift surgeon will separate the skin from the layer below. Fat may be trimmed or suctioned from around the neck and chin to improve the contour. The surgeon then tightens the underlying muscle and membrane, pulls the skin back, and removes the excess. Stitches secure the layers of tissue and close the incisions.

Following surgery, a small, thin tube is temporarily placed under the skin behind your ear to drain any blood that might collect there. The surgeon will also wrap your head loosely in bandages to minimise bruising and swelling.

Facelift recovery: What to expect

It is normal to experience some minor discomfort after a facelift. Some numbness of the skin is also quite normal and will disappear in a few weeks or months.

If you have had a drainage tube inserted, it will be removed the day after surgery. Bandages are usually removed after one to two days, after which you will be able to shower and wash your hair. 

You should be up and about in a day or two, but we recommend taking it easy for the first week after surgery. It is important to avoid strenuous activity for at least two weeks, such as intense exercise and heavy lifting. Walking and mild stretching should be okay. Your surgeon will give you more specific guidelines for gradually resuming your normal activities.

Most of your stitches will be removed after about five to seven days. Your scalp may take longer to heal, and the stitches or metal clips in your hairline could be left in for a few days longer.

At the beginning, your face may look and feel rather strange. Your features may be distorted from the swelling, your facial movements may be slightly stiff, and you may feel self-conscious about your scars. Some bruising may persist for two or three weeks after surgery. It is important to let these initial, normal signs of healing subside, before assessing your final results of the procedure. Full results of the facelift can take about six to nine months to show, once swelling and bruising has completely subsided.

Facelift costs at Rodin Clinic, Perth

After you have read our procedure section above, you will be familiar with the fact that the surgery steps can differ greatly from patient to patient. Since these steps can vary, so can the total procedure costs.

Factors to consider

Factors such as anaesthesia fees, specific procedure steps, total surgery time and the complexity of the surgery can determine the costs of a facelift, and generally any other individualised plastic surgery. Surgeon fees can also influence the costs – usually, the more qualified and experienced the surgeon, the higher the fees – however, this is an important factor to not avoid when it comes to financing your procedure. For the best results, lowest chance of complications occurring and highest level of support and care, it is worth investing in a plastic surgeon who understands the ins and outs of the procedure, expected results and recovery steps.

An additional factor can be the costs of medication and other items that you may need during recovery, but this will also vary per patient.

Your consultation

Before making the final decision to undergo a facelift, you will have the opportunity to discuss your aesthetic concerns, expected results, health history and general lifestyle. With consideration to all of these factors, Our surgeons can create the most effective procedure plan for you, which will then determine the details of your costs.

We recommend not to use other patients’ procedure costs as an accurate guide to what your costs may be, as it can be misleading. To avoid confusion and misinformation about surgery costs, please book a consultation as soon as you are ready to discuss the details of your procedure.

If you have any further questions about procedure costs in the meantime, you can also contact our clinic so that one of our friendly team members can assist you.

Risks and complications

The risks of a facelift are an important factor to consider before surgery, particularly when evaluating a candidate’s suitability for the procedure.

These potential complications can be discussed in further detail during your consultation. Choosing a highly experienced and qualified plastic surgeon can help you to minimise these risks.

Risks of the procedure that are quite normal and not serious can include pain, discomfort, swelling, bruising and a sensation of numbness. These issues can generally be managed with medication and by following both compulsory and recommended recovery steps.

More serious complications can include infection, scarring, reactions to anaesthesia and asymmetrical results. Nerve injury is an infrequent complication that may become apparent after the operation. It can affect the sensory or motor nerves (involving the lower lip or forehead muscles). If such a complication occurs, it usually resolves within the first few months after your surgery. Hematoma (bleeding) is a complication that can occur in the early postop period and rarely may necessitate a further operation to drain the collection.

Many patients are concerned about visible scarring after the procedure. Your surgeon will aim to place incisions in areas that will make any potential scarring easily concealable, when possible. Before your procedure, you will be informed of the placement of these incisions, and how to care for the incision sites after your surgery to avoid the appearance of noticeable scarring.

As for the results, an unsatisfactory outcome is always a risk of plastic surgery. However, carefully selecting the right surgeon can combat the chance of this occurring. Throughout the surgery, ultimate care is taken to avoid the stigmata of a face lift such as raising the sideburn, pulling the ear lobe down or a step off in the hairline behind the ear. Your facelift surgeon will aim to create effective, natural-looking results.

Every surgical procedure involves a certain amount of risk, and it is important that you understand these risks and the possible complications associated with them. In addition, every procedure has limitations. An individual’s choice to undergo a surgical procedure is based on the comparison of the risk to potential benefit. Although the majority of patients do not experience these complications, you should discuss each of them with your plastic surgeon to make sure you understand all possible consequences of face lift surgery.

How to choose a facelift surgeon in Perth

For the finest, most effective and most natural-looking results, the best surgeon of choice when it comes to performing your facelift will be a qualified and experienced plastic surgeon. The higher qualified the surgeon, the higher the chance of minimising the potential complications of the procedure as much as possible.

Note that, not only does your choice impact the results and the effectiveness of your recovery, it can also influence the level of care, support, empathy and thorough advice that you receive.

It is also important that you feel comfortable with your facelift surgeon. Always discuss your expectations of the procedure openly during your consultation, and don’t hesitate to ask any questions you may have.

At Rodin Clinic, Plastic Surgeon Dr Cooper’s principal areas of interest are facelifts, rhinoplasty and breast surgery. He has had training in all aspects of plastic and reconstructive surgery, responsible for mentoring over 40 plastic surgeons in Australia.

The difference between a plastic Surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon

While anyone who has the status of a doctor can call themselves a cosmetic surgeon, it requires at least seven years of extensive postgraduate study to become a qualified plastic surgeon.

Facelift Before and After

Face Lift FAQ's

Usually, we recommend that the patient undergoes recovery at home, with familiar surroundings and in the most comfort. If you do choose to go away for your recovery, you will have to make sure that you have access to wound care, assistance with daily chores and can contact your surgeon in the case that you need any guidance.

You may be prescribed pain medication that may be an analgesic or an anti-inflammatory, or a combination. This prescription will be given to you by your anaesthetist. Further guidance on how and when to take the medication, as well has how you may need to take it for, will be provided during your consultation.

Thread lifts have been popularised as a relatively non-invasive, low cost, minimal downtime alternative to facelifting. However, they are far from low cost and are not effective in the long term. When the costs, downtime, risks and shorter-term nature of the results of a thread lift are compared with a surgical facelift, the cons can generally outweigh the potential pros. Most face lift surgeons do not offer to perform them for a number of reasons. If you wish to find out more about why we don’t provide thread lifts at our clinic, your facelift surgeon will explain the reasons, and can help to tailor a more minor, non-invasive approach to your face lift procedure.

Book a consultation

Whether you want to learn more about the type of face lift procedures we provide, or to simply find out whether surgery is right for you, book a consultation by calling us on (08) 9389 9522.

Get In Touch with our Surgeons

If you would like to book a consultation with Dr Timothy Cooper or Dr Robert Choa, get in touch with us or fill out the form below and one of our helpful staff will be in touch shortly

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