Facelift / Neck Lift
(Rhytidectomy)

Many factors cause the skin to wrinkle and sag; i.e., exposure to the sun, genetics as well as the natural aging process. Children and young adults have smooth, round faces due to fatty tissue that is evenly distributed throughout the contours of the face. As you age the skin sags and fits more loosely. These folds become prominent, especially around the chin, the jaw line and along the neck.
a woman with a long neck
Dr. Louis Bourget at Atlantic Oral Surgery & Facial Reconstruction Centres performs rhytidectomy, or facelift, to enhance your appearance and correct these conditions. A facelift involves tightening of the facial and neck muscles as well as the removal of any excess skin. The procedure is often performed in conjunction with additional cosmetic surgeries such as blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), forehead lift, chin augmentation, liposuction and/or rhinoplasty (nasal surgery). These procedures can be performed any time after signs of aging appear in order to attain a more youthful appearance.

Before Facelift or Neck Lift Surgery

We will evaluate your medical history in order to determine your overall health. Dr. Bourget will discuss with you how your face can look and what you can expect from surgery. Our objective is to create a natural appearance that is pleasing to you. Photographs and computer imaging are performed to determine the amount of improvement after surgery.
We will provide you with preoperative instructions that may include the elimination of specific drugs containing aspirin several weeks before surgery to minimize excess bleeding. Antibiotics may also be prescribed to prevent infection. You may be instructed to shampoo your hair the night before surgery. A small amount of hair may be shaved around your ears and temples.

Surgery

A Rhytidectomy can be performed under IV Sedation or general anesthesia in our state-of-the-art surgical facility. These options will be discussed in detail with you. Premedication is administered for relaxation. Incisions are made inside the hairline at the temple, running in front of the ear then around the earlobe and behind the ear, ending in the hair of the scalp. The loose skin is separated from underlying tissue and is pulled up and back. Excess skin is removed.

Sagging muscles and connective tissues are tightened. In some cases, fatty deposits are removed from beneath the chin and neck. Small sutures are used to close the incisions. The procedure may take up to five hours depending on whether any other procedures are performed at the same time.

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Postoperative Care After Facelift or Neck Lift

  • After your surgery, the nurses will go over all instructions with the person that will be accompanying you at home.
  • Don’t be surprised at the pale, bruised, and puffy face, neck and ears you see. This is normal and will last around 10 days.
  • A feeling of tightness, especially in the neck, is frequently experienced. It subsides gradually over the first few weeks.
  • There is usually no significant discomfort after surgery; pain medication will be prescribed by Dr. Bourget to lessen any discomfort you will have.
  • A dressing may be applied (and should not be removed). Patients are seen the next day, the bandages are removed and the wounds redressed.
  • Some numbness of the skin is quite normal; it will disappear in a few months.
  • The sutures or staples will be removed in a week to 10 days.
  • Hair may be thin for some time around surgical sites.