Face Lift / Rhytidectomy

"I am barely into my 40s and I have developed deep wrinkles by the side of my mouth and my eyes. How can I look young again?" asks a 43 year old, actor.

You could go in for a face-lift a surgery that will remove wrinkles and any telltale evidence of age in your face.

Face-lift also known technically as rhytidectomy is an operation that is normally performed by plastic or cosmetic surgeons who work on the skin and muscles of the face and neck to iron out the wrinkles and creases.

This surgery can remove lines under the lower eyelids, wrinkles beside the nose, lines along the sides of the mouth and nose, improve muscle tone in the face as well as correct double chin, sagging jowls etc. It is aimed to make one look young again.

There are many modifications to this operation, which include S-lift, Mini face-lift and so on. It could be combined with Laser re-surfacing, Fat redistribution, BOTOX injection, Implants etc to achieve better results. It could be complemented with a neck lift or brow lift to smoothen furrowed foreheads and double chin etc.


The operation requires a general anesthesia or deep sedation along with local anesthesia. Before the operation one must stop smoking, stop other medications that may affect the clotting mechanism in the post-operative period and go through a proper discussion with the surgeon and to have all the doubts clarified. In fact most surgeon encourage you to have a discussion and express any apprehensions to them so that they know that you mentally prepared for the surgery and your expectations are not far beyond what is possible.

One must take all precautions as for any operation and report, if coming on the morning of the surgery on an empty stomach. Preliminary blood tests like blood sugar and hemoglobin are usually done before the surgery.

The operation starts with an incision that commences underneath the hair next to the temple and then runs along the hairline to the front of the ear. The incision continues over and behind the ear, again along the hairline to the back of the neck. The tissues and muscles along the incision are stretched and tightened and the skin is then draped back over the tightened tissues, if necessary even trimming off excess skin.

This gives the skin a smooth and tightened look. The lines of incision are usually well concealed within the hairline and once healed are barely visible. Generally one will look younger and feel youthful and confident after the surgery.

Risks- like with any other surgery there are some inherent risks including those due to anesthesia.. Bleeding, bruising, skin necrosis, fat necrosis, hematoma or clot formation, pain and prominent scars ( if one has such a tendency) hair loss have all been known to occur after a face lift. But many of them are temporary.

Results of the facelift surgery will be evident after about 4 weeks once the swelling and bruising settle down. One must avoid direct injury to the face and follow carefully the doctor's advice in the post-surgery period. So…. without further delay, go ahead and treat yourself to a scientific method of rejuvenation and rejoice!

Cost of surgery – This will vary from one country to another. For example the operation is more affordable in India or S.Africa than Unites States or Europe. This anti-ageing surgery is one of the popular types of cosmetic surgery.