Information About Face Lifts
If you have decided you want a facelift, there are some important steps you need to take and things you should know before lay down on some surgeon’s table and give someone with a knife access to your face.
Your first priority is to find a plastic surgeon with a good reputation for being an expert in his or her field, great with his or her hands and for being trustworthy. Choose someone who is a member of the ASPS. These surgeons have to have at least five years of surgical experience and at least two years of plastic surgery experience. They are trained in every type of procedure, practice in accredited facilities, continue to educate themselves and are board certified by the ABPS - American Board of Plastic Surgery.
At your consultation, your doctor will ask you questions about your health in general, discuss all of your options including possible alternatives to facelift surgery, examine and take measurements of your face, take your picture, inform you of complications that can arise, tell you about the anesthesia.
Before Surgery
Get an okay from your family physician. Your doctor should run some tests to be sure that you don’t have an underlying condition that could complicate your facelift surgery.
Either take certain kinds of medications, stop taking some medications, or change how you take your prescriptions. (As suggested by your doctor(s))
If you smoke, you MUST stop several weeks before you have facelift surgery. Because of what smoking does to the tissues underneath, a facelift surgery can cause necrosis of the skin (skin death).
Don’t take any anti-inflammatories or herbal supplements as these thin the blood.
Follow the doctor’s orders without failure.
After Surgery
Follow your doctor’s instructions and expect to be recovering for a few weeks. It can take months before the swelling is gone completely.
When you go out in the sun, stay well protected. What good does it do to have surgery to look younger and then go out and let the sun age your skin?
Keep a list of possible complications with you (this should be given to you by your doctor). If you notice anything troubling, call your doctor.
