Rhytidectomy

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Rhytidectomy

A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (literally, surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure used to give a more youthful appearance. It usually involves the removal of excess facial skin, with or without the tightening of underlying tissues, and the redraping of the skin

Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
on the patient

Patient

A patient is any person who receives medical attention, care, or Therapy. The person is most often illness or injured and in need of treatment by a physician or other Health care provider, although one who is visiting a physician for a routine check-up may also be viewed as a patient....
's face

Face

The term face refers to the central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head and can depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, tooth, skin, and chin....
and neck

Neck

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Skin

Patient

Face

Neck

The neck is the part of the body on many limbed vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The scientific term signifying "of the neck" is nuchal....
. The first facelift was performed in Berlin in 1901 by Eugen Holländer. According to the most recent 2007 statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, facelifts were the seventh most popular aesthetic surgery performed after liposuction

Liposuction

Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty , liposculpture suction lipectomy or simply lipo is a plastic surgery operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body....
, breast augmentation, blepharoplasty

Blepharoplasty

Blepharoplasty can be both a functional and cosmetic surgical procedure intended to reshape the upper eyelid or lower eyelid by the removal or repositioning of excess tissue as well as by reinforcement of surrounding muscles and tendons....
(eyelid surgery), abdominoplasty

Abdominoplasty

Abdominoplasty or "tummy tuck" is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to make the abdomen more firm. The surgery involves the removal of excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen in order to tighten the muscle and fascia of the abdominal wall....
(tummy tuck), breast reduction

Breast reduction

Breast reduction or reduction mammoplasty is an outpatient Surgery procedure which involves the reduction in the size of breasts by excising fat, skin, and glandular Biological tissue; it may also involve a procedure to counteract drooping of the breasts....
, and rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is a surgical procedure which is usually performed by either an Otolaryngology, maxillofacial surgeon, or plastic surgeon in order to improve the function and/or the appearance of a human nose....
.

In the traditional facelift, an incision is made in front of the ear extending up into the hairline. The incision curves around the bottom of the ear and then behind it, usually ending near the hairline on the back of the neck. After the skin incision is made, the skin is separated from the deeper tissues with a scalpel or scissors (also called undermining) over the cheeks and neck. At this point, the deeper tissues (SMAS

SMAS

SMAS is an acronym for Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System. It refers to an area of muscle of the face. This muscular system is manipulated during facial cosmetic surgery, especially rhytidectomy....
, the fascial suspension system of the face) can be tightened with sutures, with or without removing some of the excess deeper tissues. The skin is then redraped, and the amount of excess skin to be removed is determined by the surgeon's judgement and experience. The excess skin is then removed, and the skin incisions are closed with sutures and staples.

Facelifts are helpful for eliminating loose skin fold

Skin fold

Skin folds are areas of skin where it folds. Many skin folds are distinct, heritable anatomical features, and may be used for identification of animal species, while others are non-specific and may be produced either by individual development of an organism or by arbitrary application of force to skin, either by the actions of the muscles of...
s in the neck and laxity of tissues in the cheeks. The areas not well corrected by a facelift include the nasolabial folds and perioral mounds marionette lines

Marionette lines

Marionette lines are long vertical lines that laterally circumscribe the chin. They are important landmarks for the general impression of the face....
which are more suitably treated with Botox or liposculpture, respectively. A facelift requires skin incisions; however, the incisions in front of and behind the ear are usually inconspicuous. Hair loss in the portions of the incision within the hair-bearing scalp can rarely occur. In men, the sideburns can be pulled backwards and upwards, resulting in an unnatural appearance if appropriate techniques are not employed to address this issue. Achieving a natural appearance following surgery in men can be more challenging due to their hair-bearing preauricular skin. In both men and women, one of the signs of having had a facelift can be an earlobe which is pulled forwards and/or distorted. If too much skin is removed, or a more vertical vector not employed, the face can assume a pulled-back, "windswept" appearance.

Facelifts are effectively combined with eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) and other facial procedures and are typically performed under general anesthesia or deep twilight sleep.

The most common complication can be bleeding which usually requires a return to the operating room. Less common, but potentially serious, complications may include damage to the facial nerves and necrosis of the skin flaps, or infection.

Contraindications to facelift surgery include severe concomitant medical problems. While not absolute contraindications, the risk of postoperative complications is increased in cigarette smokers and patients with hypertension and diabetes. Patients should abstain from taking aspirin or other blood thinners for at least one week prior to surgery. Patients should consult either an otolaryngologist

Otolaryngology

Otolaryngology is the branch of medicine that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders. The full name of the specialty is otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Practitioners are called otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons, or sometimes otorhinolaryngologists ....
, maxillofacial surgeon

Oral and maxillofacial surgery

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is surgery to correct a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region....
, or a plastic surgeon

Plastic surgery

Plastic surgery is a medical :Category:Surgical specialties concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. While famous for aesthetic surgery, plastic surgery also includes a variety of fields such as craniofacial surgery, hand surgery, burn surgery, microsurgery, and reconstructive surgery....
for more information.

Costs

Cost varies by country where surgery is performed (2008):

India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
- US$4,800
Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
- US$6,400
Panama
Panama

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on an isthmus connecting North and South America, some categorize it as a transcontinental nation....
- US$2,500
Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
- US$7,500
South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
- US$6,650
Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
- US$8,500
Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
- US$5,000
United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
- US$4,000-$6,000

Rhytidectomy

Costs

See also

Footnotes