Although getting old rewards us with collecting good memories, unfortunately every situation and circumstance of getting old may not make us as happy as collecting good memories. The loss of elasticity in the skin that comes with aging and the melting of skin tissues over time can make us look older than we are in some cases, as well as showing our own age.
Face lift surgeries are among the ideal operations for those who want to look the best of their age, especially from the age of 40. In addition to providing effective results in a short time, it is possible to look almost 10 years younger when it is planned correctly and a personalized protocol is followed.
Facelift surgeries contain operations performed with different techniques. In facelift surgeries, which are divided into three main groups as mini facelift, mid-facelift and facelift surgeries, mid-facelift is a commonly preferred operation for people in their early 40s.
The region we call the middle face; cheeks on the sides, under the eyes in the upper part and the end of the nose in the lower part. The middle face is the part that emerges when we draw an imaginary line from the point where our eyebrows end, to cover the under-eyes and the lower part of the nose. It is one of the most evident areas of aging in our facial area.
What Is Mid-Face Lift Surgery?
Mid-face lift surgery is an operation that involves reshaping the tissues in the mid-face area described above. With mid-face lift surgery, a combined intervention is performed on the lower eyelids, cheeks and nasolabial region.
With aging, bags on the lower eyelids and downward drooping, volumetric losses in the cheeks and subsequently sagging occur. Depending on these deformations, the midface area becomes flattened. Especially with the drooping of the cheeks, the oval face line, which is considered to be the ideal face form of youth, disappears and the face takes on a shape that we can call a rectangular shape. Here, mid-face lift surgery is an operation that removes all these deformations and gives the person a younger appearance.
What Should Be Done During The Preparation Process For Mid-face Lift Surgery?
Although mid-face lift is a comfortable operation, it is performed under general anesthesia and we host our patients in the hospital for 1 day. For this reason, we request some examinations during the preparation process from our patients to find out if they have a medical condition that prevents them from receiving anesthesia. In addition, it is important for our patients to share their medical history with us and the medications they regularly use, if any, during the preparation period.
Although mid-face lift surgery is a safe operation, it has some risks in its own right, as in any aesthetic surgery. For this reason, during the preparation, the use of all drugs, especially blood thinners, vitamins and supplementary foods, should be stopped 10 days before the mid-face lift operation.
In addition to blood thinners, herbal teas, especially green tea, should also be interrupted during this period.
Smoking is another habit that should be stopped during this period. Taking a break from smoking 10 days before mid-face lift surgery will contribute to the healing process.
How Is Mid-Face Lift Surgery Performed?
Aging causes subcutaneous tissues to begin to melt and deform. After the deformation of the subcutaneous tissues, the skin begins to sag and the effects of aging become visible on the face. As we age, our cheeks sag in our mid-face area, resulting in a rectangular face shape, bags on our lower eyelids, and partial grooves and collapses between our cheeks and eyelids. In addition to these deformations, with the effect of sagging cheeks, a deep groove-shaped collapse occurs in the area called the nasolabial region between the lip edges and the nose wings. Mid-face lift surgery to eliminate all these deformations is performed under general anesthesia in a full-fledged hospital.
As in almost every aesthetic surgery operation, you will be visited by your surgeon in the hospital room in the first place. We share with you general information about the surgery and the last details. At this point, it is very important that you come to the hospital with an 8-hour fast on the day of surgery.
After the guide lines are drawn for the interventions to be made on your face in the hospital room, your surgeon leaves you to prepare and you are brought to the operating room in the company of the hospital staff.
More than one incision technique and more than one incision site can be used in midface lift surgery. The lower eyelid is one of the most commonly used places. The operation is performed by intervening in the mid-face line with the incision made from the bottom of the eyelashes on the lower eyelid. If the lower eyelid will not be intervened, then the operation is performed endoscopically with the help of a small incision from the scalp.
When it comes to mid-face lift surgery, there is another technique, although it is not used as much as the technique made from the bottom of the eyelashes. It is a mid-face lift surgery performed with minimal incisions of 2-3 cm in the temples and also in the mouth. In this technique, there is no intervention under the eyes. It is mostly focused on the cheek area. Thanks to the incisions made from the scalp in the temporal region and the mucous in the mouth, the midface tissue is removed.
During the consultation, we decide together with the patient which technique will be used.
What Is The Recovery Process Like After Mid-Face Lift Surgery?
The recovery process of mid-face lift surgery is a process that requires attention and we expect our patients to fully comply with our directions. In cases where the operation is performed under general anesthesia, our patients can get up and have a light snack approximately 4 hours after the operation in mid-face lift surgery, where we host our patient in the hospital for 1 day. After being discharged, on the second day of the operation, our patient can take a bath with warm water and not wash the face.
Bruising, swelling and even edema in the face area is an expected situation after mid-face lift surgery. One month after the operation, our patients recover to a large extent.
In mid-face lift surgery, which is a procedure in which the soft tissues, especially the fat tissues in the mid-face area, are intervened and the skin is stretched, the sutures are removed within 1 week after the operation.
You can partially return to social life within 3 weeks after mid-face lift surgery, but our patients must protect themselves from sunlight for the first 3 months.
In mid-face lift surgery, which helps the person to look younger by removing sagging, nasolabial grooves and under-eye bags to a large extent, partial swelling may occur not only under the eyes but also on the cheeks, since the soft tissue between the lip edges and the lower eyelid is lifted as a whole.
If an incision from the oral mucosa is preferred as the surgical technique, it is of great importance to perform oral care correctly and regularly during the healing process. Mouthwashes should never be neglected during this period. However, if an incision is made from the bottom of the eyelashes, then there may be a partial stinging sensation in the eyes during the recovery period, especially during the first 7-10 days. These are expected side effects and can be minimized with eye drops, antibiotics and mild pain relievers.
The first control is 1 week after the operation. During this control, the stitches in the lower eyelid and hair are removed. Controls after the 1st week are at the 1st and 3rd months.
Those who have mid-face lift surgery should avoid heavy sports activities for 2-3 weeks after the operation and should take care not to lie on their face for the first 3 months. In addition, it is important to keep the head higher than the heart level during the first 3 weeks and to use the appropriate pillow. Applying ice compresses to the face during the healing process will reduce both possible bruises and edema.
After 1-1.5 months, sports such as fitness can be started.