Circumferential facelift

Many women, and some men, are interested in various methods of surgical rejuvenation, but not all of them know what a circular facelift is. We are talking about a whole range of surgical procedures, the purpose of which is to correct age-related changes. And not only of the skin, but also of deeper facial structures (for example, subcutaneous fat).

Plastic surgeons conditionally divide the facial area into segments: upper, middle and lower zones. The upper conditional dividing line runs through the eyebrows, and the lower one – through the nostrils. If it is assumed that all three of these zones will be lifted at once, then in this case we speak of a circular facelift. [ 1 ]

Indications for the procedure

Indications for performing a circular facelift are the same for both female and male patients:

• drooping of facial soft tissues, eyebrows, outer corners of the eyes;
• formation of “sagging” soft tissues along the edges of the lower jaw;
• strengthening of the folds of the nasolabial triangle;
• formation of wrinkles, crow's feet, and fold defects;
• stretched skin (so-called "excess skin");
• "double chin.

At what age is a circular facelift performed?

It is generally accepted that a circular facelift is optimally indicated for patients in the 40-50 age category. This is precisely the age at which pronounced age-related changes are already visible on the face, and the condition of the epidermis is still good enough for high-quality postoperative recovery.

However, there are many cases when the intervention is carried out much earlier – even at 30-35 years of age. Of course, if there are appropriate indications for this. For example, even young facial tissues can suffer as a result of too intensive and unnecessary cosmetic procedures, as well as from excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation or bad habits. Finally, the hereditary factor also plays a large role, due to which a person may appear older than their age. The surgeon takes into account and weighs all these nuances, determining the optimal procedure for the patient. [ 2 ]

Preparation

Before prescribing a circular facelift, the doctor must determine the factors that can cause complications at the stage of the intervention itself and subsequent tissue recovery. The surgeon will ask the patient about the medications he or she is taking, bad habits and lifestyle. Additionally, he or she will prescribe a comprehensive diagnosis - as before any other operation. Such diagnostics may include general tests (blood, urine), blood clotting quality analysis, fluorography, and blood sugar level assessment. The purpose of such measures is to determine possible contraindications.

After receiving the diagnostic results, the doctor should carefully examine the patient's face, paying attention to the following factors:

• condition of soft facial tissues (muscle tissue, epidermis, subcutaneous fat);
• facial contours, its shape and structural features.

The doctor and patient should discuss together all the nuances of the intervention, as well as expectations, expected results and possible complications.

All preparations last at least two weeks. During this entire period, you should:

• abstain from drinking alcohol;
• no smoking;
• do not take medications.

The day before the operation, you are allowed to eat only light food and drink juices. It is better to skip the evening meal. On the day of the procedure, you cannot drink or eat anything.

It is necessary to take into account that facelift (and this is the term for the circular facelift operation) can last up to 4-5 hours, and it is performed under general anesthesia. As a rule, this is inhalation anesthesia: intravenous anesthesia is used only when correcting individual areas of the facial area, but not for a full circular lift. Therefore, the preparatory stage occurs in full, as before any other serious surgical intervention.

Technique circular facelift

Many people do not quite understand how a circular facelift is performed. Meanwhile, this is a full-fledged, and even complex operation that requires serious preparation and long-term rehabilitation.

How is the intervention performed?

1. The surgeon makes an incision that starts from the temple area and reaches the anterior contour of the auricle. If a simultaneous neck lift is planned, the incision is also made in the chin area.
2. The doctor peels off the skin, starting from the temporal region, as well as on the cheeks and chin.
3. The skin is redistributed by moving the soft tissues, then the “excess” areas are removed (cut off).
4. The doctor fixes the connective and muscle tissue by applying stitches (for SMAS lifting).
5. The skin is pulled back and upward.
6. The surgeon applies a compression bandage.

Thus, the circular facelift operation can be divided into the following stages: tissue redistribution, removal of "excess" skin, tissue fixation, and formation of the correct facial contour. In some cases, additional plastic manipulations are performed, depending on the desired effect. This may include plastic surgery of the subcutaneous fat and aponeurosis of the facial muscles, circular eyelid lift, blepharoplasty, and circular facelift. Usually, the scale of the intervention is discussed in advance, even at the preparation stage. [ 3 ]

Types of circular facelift

There are two types of such intervention:

• Circular SMAS lifting – this method is recommended for patients with strong external age-related changes that cannot be corrected only by redistribution of epidermal tissue.
• Subcutaneous type of lifting - this method is practiced in patients with relatively small age-related changes that can be corrected by redistributing the skin.

Important: a true circular facelift, or facelift, is always an operation. All other non-surgical techniques called circular lifts are not such, but only imitate the corresponding effect. [ 4 ], [ 5 ], [ 6 ], [ 7 ]

Contraindications to the procedure

A circular facelift, contrary to the opinion of many, is not a harmless cosmetic procedure, but a full-fledged surgical intervention. Therefore, it has its own number of contraindications:

• impaired blood clotting;
• severe decompensated pathologies, malignant processes;
• mental disorders;
• tendency to hypertension;
• epilepsy;
• diabetes mellitus;
• infectious diseases, dermatological diseases affecting the skin of the face.

Circular facelift is not performed on pregnant and lactating patients.

Consequences after the procedure

Most patients of plastic surgery clinics are concerned not only with their own appearance: they are also worried about the possibility of unpleasant consequences after the operation. In particular, the obvious disadvantages of a circular facelift are the following consequences:

• Swelling: it will “flaunt” on the face for quite a long time – about three weeks, and you need to be prepared for this.
• Transient effect: a circular facelift only provides temporary rejuvenation. Meanwhile, the aging process continues to do its work, and after just five years, there may be a need for a second correction.
• Bruises, dark circles under the eyes: such unpleasant symptoms disappear after a couple of weeks, if the recovery period is carried out correctly.

Today, there are many clinics, many practicing plastic surgeons are known who can offer circular facelift. But when choosing a clinic and a doctor, you should definitely make sure of the experience of the specialists and the equipment of the institution, and the positive reviews. If you do not pay attention to the level of service and the experience of the surgeon, the operation may end with the development of various complications.

Complications after the procedure

Sometimes you have to deal with unexpected complications, for example, in situations like these:

• due to inexperience or incompetence of the operating surgeon;
• if the patient is not examined sufficiently before surgery;
• due to improper preparation for surgery and improper management of the rehabilitation period.
• What complications are we talking about? Most often, these are the following pathologies and phenomena:
• facial nerve injury with disruption of muscle innervation;
• violation of facial symmetry, incorrect fixation of the skin and muscles, incorrect redistribution of tissues;
• incorrect placement of sutures, which leads to noticeable postoperative scars;
• formation of keloid cicatricial changes as a result of incomplete preoperative diagnostics.

It is important to remember: a circular facelift is a complex operation that requires a special approach and competent preparation. In order to avoid complications, you need to carefully select the clinic and surgeon who will perform the lift. In addition, you cannot ignore the doctor's recommendations, violate his instructions regarding diagnostics and postoperative management. Unfortunately, there are often cases when the culprit of complications is not the doctor, but the patient himself, who was negligent in his medical appointments. [ 8 ]

Care after the procedure

After the operation, the patient can stay in the clinic for 24 hours, under the supervision of doctors. However, this issue is decided individually, depending on the person's condition, as well as how the lifting procedure went. The postoperative period after a circular facelift usually lasts up to one month, and recovery occurs at home.

The postoperative bandage is removed approximately on the second day, and the stitches are removed 1-2 weeks after the procedure. Absolutely all patients need to know when the stitches are smoothed out after a circular facelift, what to apply to the stitches, and how long to treat them. The healing of the stitches can be different: in some patients, they can completely smooth out in two months, while in others this happens only after six months. This can depend on both the state of the immune system and the person's age.

Following the doctor's recommendations will speed up tissue recovery:

• After a circular facelift, you should avoid any thermal procedures (hot showers or baths, baths, saunas, solariums, prolonged exposure to sunlight or hot conditions) for at least three months.
• No physical activity or lifting heavy objects should be allowed for at least three months.
• A light warm shower is allowed no earlier than 2-3 days.
• The first days after a circular facelift, the skin should be treated with Chlorhexidine, and starting from the 3rd-4th day, the solution can be replaced with warm water and baby soap.
• If pain occurs, you can take a tablet of Ketonal, Ketanov or Nise.
• The sutures are treated with 0.05% Chlorhexidine up to three times a day. If the sutures are red, you can additionally use Baneocin or Levomekol ointment. It is also allowed to make light compresses with a fresh Furacilin solution (room temperature) for a week after the operation.
• Attention: the suture area should always be dry! If wet discharge appears, you should see a doctor immediately!
• To speed up healing, you can apply a mixture of Traumeel C and Bepanten ointments (50:50) to the face three times a day for three weeks.
• You should try to limit facial expressions for 20-25 days after a circular facelift.
• You cannot sleep on your stomach, use a high pillow, massage your face or feel it for a month after the operation.
• You can take Traumeel tablets 1 piece sublingually, 8 tablets per day (for ten days), then switch to taking one tablet three times a day (for five days). Additionally, take Ascorutin (1 tablet three times a day), Detralex (1 tablet with breakfast), Lymphomyosot (20 drops three times a day).
• About a month after a circular facelift, the sutures can be treated with silicone-containing products (Dermatix, Kelocot). This treatment continues until the scars turn white.

During the entire rehabilitation period, you must refrain from drinking alcohol and smoking: these bad habits increase swelling and slow down recovery processes. You cannot take any medications without first consulting a doctor.

Follow-up visits with the doctor are conducted one week after the operation, then after 2 weeks, three weeks, one month, one and a half and two months, three months and six months.

Alternative to a circular facelift

Surgical intervention with general anesthesia scares many people, so not everyone who wants to change their appearance for the better decides to undergo the procedure. In addition, for some people, a circular facelift is contraindicated, or simply “unaffordable”. Alternative facelift methods have been created for this purpose – they may be somewhat inferior in effectiveness, but they are no less popular and also have their fans. [ 9 ]

A non-surgical facelift is not a true facelift, but in many cases it can easily replace surgery. What non-surgical methods does cosmetology offer today?

• Hardware procedures:
  • Cryolifting - involves low-temperature influence on the skin, or so-called thermal shock, which activates collagen synthesis processes, improves local blood circulation, eliminates swelling and intoxication (a course of cryolifting usually includes up to ten sessions).
  • RF-lifting is the effect of energetic radio frequencies, which cause skin warming, contraction of collagen fibers and provide tissue compaction and tightening. At least 4-5 procedures are required to obtain results.
  • The fractional photothermolysis method is a type of hardware facelift that involves the renewal of collagen fibers, which contributes to a significant improvement in the condition of the skin. The minimum course should consist of 3-4 sessions.
  • Ultrasonic SMAS lifting is a method that provides an impact on the deep layers of the facial and neck area. For the effect, sometimes one procedure is enough, the effect of which lasts from three to five years.
• Injection procedures:
  • 3D circular lifting with self-absorbing threads, which are injected subcutaneously using a special elastic needle. The threads form a kind of new facial "framework", outline the oval, and eliminate skin folds. The lifting is performed under local anesthesia, the effectiveness is monitored for 1.5-2 years after the manipulation.
  • The contour plastic method involves injections of hyaluronic acid, a special compatible material that fills wrinkles and improves the facial contour. The manipulation is performed under local anesthesia, and the effect lasts for about 1-1.5 years.
  • The Swedish soft-lift method (volume modeling) has much in common with contour plastic surgery, but involves deeper injection of fillers. Thanks to the procedure, it is possible not only to tighten the face, but also to improve the relief, correct symmetry and shape. The result can last up to one year.
  • Biorevitalization method – involves the introduction of low-molecular hyaluronic acid. Especially recommended for patients aged 25 to 35. Allows you to moisturize the skin, provides tone, stops the natural aging process. The period of visible results is about 12 months.
  • The bioreinforcement method is similar to biorevitalization, but involves the use of a gel that is denser in consistency. The manipulation is recommended for patients aged 40-45 years. The result will please for about a year.
  • The plasma lifting method is a method of improving the appearance of the skin using blood plasma, additionally enriched with platelets. Such injections optimize intracellular metabolic processes, improve tissue oxygen saturation, which leads to natural restoration of the skin. The procedure is suitable for almost any age, from 25 to 40 years.
  • Mesotherapy is a manipulation that involves injections of special bioactive substances (mesococtails). The composition of such solutions is individual and may contain vitamins, acids, etc. To achieve the effect, at least four procedures are required.

Another surgical alternative to a circular facelift is lipolifting. This is a method of rejuvenation, prevention of age-related changes, and contour correction. Microlipolifting is practiced for the facial area using the patient's own fat tissue. The prepared tissue is injected in small quantities using special instruments. After the procedure, the facial contour becomes clearer, wrinkles are smoothed out, and contours are evened out.

Low-traumatic methods of rapid rejuvenation also include spice lifting, or the so-called Mendelson lifting (named after the author of this method, Australian doctor Mendelson). The basis of this method is the identification of specific voids between the facial muscles, their subsequent displacement and fixation. The operation is performed under intravenous anesthesia and lasts about two hours. This intervention is minimally invasive and virtually bloodless.

Exercises for circular facelift

There is a facial rejuvenation practice that can be successfully used at home. We are talking about specially designed exercises that many call rejuvenating facial gymnastics. Such gymnastics are accessible, simple, and the results of regular exercises will really please: facial muscles are toned, the appearance of the area around the eyes is improved, the natural contour of the cheekbones and chin is restored.

Gymnastics is represented by the following typical techniques:

1. They lift their head up and try to touch their chin with the tip of their tongue. The facial muscles need to be relaxed and tense.
2. They make the following simultaneous movements: they press the bridge of the nose with their thumbs and bring their eyebrows together.
3. They smile without opening their mouths, then purse their lips and suck in their cheeks. They repeat this several times.
4. They take air into their mouth, move it from left to right and vice versa, and then from the lower lip to the upper.
5. They clench their teeth tightly and bare them, slightly lowering their lower lip.

The exercises are repeated in the mornings and evenings, on average one exercise should last up to 20 minutes. You cannot do gymnastics without first applying a moisturizing cream or milk: the skin should not be dry.

Before starting the session, warm up your face a little by lightly rubbing and patting. Do not use rough movements, squeeze or stretch the skin.

Circular facelift with massage

You can gradually tighten flabby skin with a light massage, which is performed along the lines of the muscles, improving their tone. To do the massage correctly, you need to prepare not only the face area, but also your hands for the procedure: wash or wipe the skin with a toner, then apply a special massage or moisturizing cream. Kneading movements and vibration are performed with the index and middle fingers of both hands. Stroking can be done with all fingers, from the midline of the face to the auricles.

Do not forget about the massage of the neck and chin: tapping and stroking with the back of the hand are used. Each technique should be repeated at least 7-8 times.

To ensure the effect, massage can be performed daily or every other day, or at least three times a week.

You cannot do a massage if there are signs of inflammation or rashes (including herpes rash) on the surface of the face.

The massage should be light, without stretching or squeezing the skin. The predominant movements should be tapping and stroking.

Circular facelift price in Korea

Today, a circular facelift can be performed in almost any country in the world. However, Korea is especially popular with patients: this country ranks fourth in the world ranking for the frequency of plastic surgeries. Facelifts are performed more often only in the United States, Brazil, and Japan.

Why do patients choose South Korea? Firstly, it is closer than the USA or Japan. Secondly, Korean specialists focus on minimally invasive and gentle methods, with a minimal rehabilitation period. In addition, operations can be performed anonymously here.

There are many clinical institutions practicing plastic surgery in Korea. Such diversity dictates different prices for such services. The average price for a circular facelift in this country is from 7 to 10 thousand US dollars. But we should not forget: the popularity of plastic surgery centers in Korea is explained not only by affordable pricing policy, but also by the high level of skill of specialists and high-quality medical service.

Effect and results after a circular facelift

The final result of a circular facelift can be seen approximately three to four months after the operation. The full effect with smoothing of all scars is noted no earlier than six months later.

The degree of visible rejuvenation depends on a number of indicators, so it is not the same for everyone. The optimal result is achieved if the operation is performed correctly and the recovery period is managed correctly.

As a rule, the overwhelming majority of patients note a clear rejuvenation of the face (by 10-15 years), as well as firmness and freshness of the skin. The face acquires a rested, cheerful appearance, and even the look becomes more interesting and self-confident.

However, we must not forget that rejuvenation with the help of a circular facelift is a temporary measure, the effect of which will last no more than 5-10 years. Age-related changes in the body will inevitably continue, and after a certain time, the need for such an operation may arise again.

To maintain the rejuvenation result for as long as possible, consult with your plastic surgeon. Perhaps your skin requires additional skin care or the use of hardware methods.

Reviews of the circular facelift operation

A circular facelift is a long and invasive procedure, so it is very important to prepare for it properly. Moreover, preparation should include the right mental attitude. Unfortunately, some patients are not so much prepared for the surgery as for the long rehabilitation period. Therefore, most of the not very positive reviews are related to recovery: patients complain about prolonged abstinence from their usual social interactions, etc. Well, miracles do not happen: only in movies does a person wake up after plastic surgery and see himself in the mirror as a completely different person, young and beautiful. In life, there is no such editing, and the rehabilitation period should be endured in full. And only after a few weeks, or even after 1-1.5 months, can you begin to enjoy your renewed appearance.

If we continue to consider negative reviews, unsuccessful circular lifting most often occurs in those patients who resort to such a measure too often, or do not maintain the recommended time interval between operations. In addition, problems can occur if you do not follow the doctor's recommendations for the recovery period.

And yet, reviews of such an operation as a circular facelift are generally positive. The main thing is to choose the right clinic and the operating doctor, trust him and follow all his recommendations and appointments.