A facelift treats the sagging skin and wrinkles of the cheeks, neck and jowl area. It will create smoother, more pleasing contours to your face and neck but cannot correct conditions such as sagging eyebrows, excess skin and fatty deposits in the upper and lower eyelids, or lines around the mouth.

Dr. McLean will assess the thickness, texture and elasticity of your skin and the severity of wrinkles and folds. Your hairline will be examined to determine where incisions can be placed. The structure of your face will also be considered so that surgery can be tailored to you individually.

The incisions are hidden in the contours of your ear and by your hair. The length of the incision depends on whether you require a full incision lift, or a short scar lift that involves an incision of half the length of a traditional lift. Following surgery, incisions can be concealed by your hair or with makeup.

After the skin has been pulled up and back, the excess is removed. In most instances, the deeper tissues are also repositioned. A small incision beneath the chin may be used to aid the removal of fatty tissue in that area and smoothing of the cord-like structures of the underlying muscle in front of the neck.

Hematoma (an accumulation of blood under the skin), infection and reactions to anesthesia are possible though infrequent. While facelift incisions are designed to be inconspicuous, this cannot be entirely predicted due to individual patterns in healing.

Most people return to normal activities within a few days to one week for the short scar procedure and two weeks for a classical lift. Dr. McLean will instruct you to avoid exposure to direct sunlight both temporarily and in the long term.

Since the healing process is gradual, you should expect to wait several weeks for an accurate idea of the way you will look.

Patients are usually happy with their appearance for many years following a facelift, though some patients may find they want to make additional improvements later on.