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Face/neck lift

What is it?
Operation to tighten and remove loose and sagging skin, and improve the appearance of face and neck.

Timings
If done together, can take 3-5 hours. Results last up to 10 years.

Cost
Neck lift £3,500-£4,000. Face lift £4,000-£8,000.

What is a face/neck lift?
These operations tighten the muscles of the face or neck and remove loose or sagging skin. The procedures have been greatly refined since the early days of this type of surgery, and results can look very natural.

What a face/neck lift can do.
A facelift tightens and lifts sagging cheeks, eases the grooves beside the nose, makes lips fuller and perks up a down-turned mouth. A neck lift can re-sculpture a softening jaw line and remove jowls and 'wattles' (fleshy bands on the neck). Best results are achieved with people who have a well-defined bone structure, and loose skin on their faces which is still reasonably elastic.

What a face/neck lift can't do.
A face lift won't alter the brow, or the area around the eyes. These areas can be treated with a brow lift or eyelid surgery. Normal ageing continues after the operation, and your general health, lifestyle and genetic make-up all contribute to the results and how long they last.

What happens during treatment?
As with any cosmetic treatment, you should consult a qualified practitioner before deciding to go ahead.

You will probably have a general anaesthetic, although sometimes a local anaesthetic plus sedation is used. Face and neck lifts can be done together, or as two separate operations.
For the facelift, incisions are made along the hairline, starting at the temple and going round, behind each ear. The surgeon pulls the facial skin up and back. Sometimes underlying tissue is repositioned, and fat removed from under the chin with liposuction. Facelifts are sometimes performed using an endoscope, which does not leave scars.
For a neck lift, incisions are made behind or under the ear and skin is lifted into place. Fat and muscle may also be removed from the neck. Wounds are stitched or clipped shut. With a neck lift, the wound is dressed with a pressure bandage, which wraps round the head and under the chin.
After surgery you will have some pain and discomfort for several days. Swelling is at its worst after three days, and may take several weeks to completely disappear. There will also be bruising and numbness, which fade gradually. Most people return to normal daily life 10-14 days after the operation.

Results
After about a week you'll start to get an idea of how you will look once fully healed. The full effect will be more defined, and emerges gradually as swelling and bruising subside. There will be small scars from the incisions, but these fade slowly, and may be hidden under the chin or in the hair. How long the results last depends on your age, and could be up to 10 years for people in their forties, five to eight years for people aged 60-plus.

Risks
All surgery and anaesthetics carry risks. There may be an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic, a post-operative infection, nerve damage, numbness or bleeding. The results may be asymmetric, so that the face or eyes look lop-sided. Scars sometimes get wider and thicker in the months following the operation, instead of fading. Skin can appear mottled or lumpy. The neck could look corded, or the skin may become loose again.

Where to get treatment
Face and neck lifts must be performed by a qualified surgeon.

Cost
Neck lifts cost £3,500-£4,000 and face lifts are £4,000-£8,000.

Improving face and neck without lifting.
Watch your weight, have a healthy diet, stop smoking and stay out of the sun. All these factors affect your skin condition. Facial massage can help to reduce and prevent effects of ageing. See also holistic face lift.

Face/neck lift help and info
Channel 4 Television takes no responsibility for the content of any third-party sites.

Organisation
British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS)
c/o The Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields
London WC2A 3PE
Advice Line: 020 7405 2234
E-mail: info@baaps.org.uk
Website: www.baaps.org.uk

Offers information about aesthetic plastic surgery; its website features a search facility for accredited surgeons.

Links
Choosing a Cosmetic Surgeon
www.embarrassingproblems.com/pages2/cosmeticsurgery.htm
If you're considering any form of cosmetic surgery this information is invaluable. It explains how to check the qualifications of anyone purporting to be a plastic or cosmetic surgeon.

The Consulting Room
www.consultingroom.org
Good UK site that provides a wide range of impartial and independent cosmetic and medical information and demystifies the world of cosmetic treatments.

Books
The 5-Minute Facelift by Robert Thé (Sterling Publishing, 1997)
Offers exercises and fingertip massage techniques to improve skin tone and texture.
Get this book from Amazon

Eva Fraser's Facial Workout by Eva Fraser (Penguin, 1992)
As we grow older our facial muscles slacken through under use and the skin droops, forming pouches, bags under the eyes and wrinkles. The facial muscles need exercises in the same way the rest of the body does. Supporting this theory, the author offers a step-by-step programme towards a firmer, fitter face.
Get this book from Amazon

The New Facercise: Give yourself a natural facelift by Carole Maggio (Pan Macmillan, 2002)
Offers a programme of facial exercises and claims that, if done on a daily basis, they should make you look 10 Years Younger.
Get this book from Amazon

Plastic Fantastic: A complete guide to safe cosmetic surgery by Dai Davies FRCS and Judy Sadgrove (Metro Publishing, 2002)
Discusses different types of cosmetic surgery and considers both the desired outcome, and the risks involved, in undergoing the various operations. It also features interviews with people who have undergone surgery.
Get this book from Amazon

Diary of A Facelift by Toyah Wilcox (Michael O'Mara Books, 2005)
It's not often a major household-name star admits to having had facial surgery. It's even rarer when she decides to make public a detailed, personal diary which gives a blow-by-blow account of the whole process, from the initial decision and the search for the right surgeon, to the nerve-wracking waiting period, the surgery itself, the recovery, and on to the final transformation. Yet this is exactly what Toyah Willcox has done. In an astonishingly brave, honest, occasionally gruesome and frequently hilarious account, Toyah lifts the lid on a subject which has never been hotter, yet is still shrouded in secrecy and hypocrisy. In doing so, she has given us a fascinating exploration of the nature of celebrity, ageing and beauty in the 21st century.
Get this book from Amazon

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