Facelift for Those in Toowoomba & The Gold Coast

Since this is a highly personalised procedure, costs will differ for every patient. Not all patients consider a full facelift, sometimes a lower or mid-facelift is enough to achieve their desired outcome. All facelifts include a neck lift however sometimes this is extended to include incisions under the chin and a corset platysmaplasty. Similarly brow, eyelid, lip lift, autologous fat grafting and laser are variable elements of the procedure. All of these factors will affect the final cost. Anaesthetist, assistant surgeon and hospital fees also need to be considered which is why a consultation is required before an accurate quotation can be obtained. Since this is usually an elective cosmetic procedure, the costs will not be covered by health insurance in most instances. When searching for a facelift surgeon even more importantly than some other procedures, make sure that your surgeon is qualified and capable. It is your right to ask about experience and see outcomes before choosing your surgeon.

Discomfort, bruising and swelling is common after a face and neck lift. Pain is not usually a significant factor of facelift surgery recovery although early tightness in the neck is a common comment. Bruising and swelling increase with the complexity of the surgery and this alters the time to recovery from presentable at 2 – 3 weeks to 6 – 8 weeks fro a full face, corset neck, facial fat grafting and laser. Significant exercise should be avoided for at least a month after surgery. During your recovery there is a neck brace and dressings for 4 days however this is removed to shower normally and apply vaseline to your wounds from the day after surgery – A/Prof Magnusson. Following laser resurfacing there are more involved and specific skin care regimes in the first week. Numbness is noticed in the neck and cheek in front of the ears and lasts up to 12 months. Nerves to the facial muscles can be bruised during surgery leading to some temporary differences in facial muscle movement that may last 4 days to 4 weeks and less commonly longer. These changes settle in due course but do prolong the visible recovery if they occur. To maintain the results of the procedure, patients are encouraged to follow a healthy lifestyle, must stop smoking prior to surgery and in the initial recovery and limit stress and sun exposure especially if laser is part of the treatment plan. A/Prof Magnusson also recommends non-surgical treatments that can be used to enhance and maintain your results. In the short term we use LED lights to enhance the early recovery.

Some scarring can be expected in the areas where the incisions were made but facial scars are usually far better than those in other areas of the body. In combination with scar location and good wound care, almost scars are hard to identify in normal daily lift after a year. Protecting your skin from harsh sunlight, avoiding smoking and using products that may be suggested if scars are misbehaving such as gel silicone strips can also help minimise scarring after your surgery. Most people need no specific care other good initial wound care and time.

A mid-face lift from a lower lid approach does not include a neck lift; however, an extended deep plane facelift is A/Prof Magnusson’s usual procedure, and this includes a posterior platysmaplasty. It is common for patients to initially consider only a neck lift when they are happy with their face; however, a combined face and neck lift, which pulls backwards in the neck and obliquely upward and backward in the cheek, has a more powerful impact on the neck and jaw-line than an isolated neck lift. When only one area is addressed, the balance in the face and neck can be upset, especially when skin laxity and solar damage is greatest. It’s for this reason that most patients undergo both a face and neck lift, but this can be discussed in your consultation with A/Prof Magnusson.

A facelift is not designed to alter the upper third of the face, which means excess skin and lines around the eyes will not be affected. If your eye area and brow are also a concern, you may need to incorporate a brow lift or blepharoplasty into your surgical plan. It’s common to schedule these procedures together so that you only need to plan for one recovery period, and facial harmony is maintained.