If your face has started showing signs of aging and you are no longer feeling too confident in your appearance, a facelift could be exactly what you need. The procedure can provide you with a more youthful look and help you regain your lost confidence.
What’s a Facelift?
A facelift is a plastic surgery procedure offered in Montreal that focuses on the tightening and smoothing out of sagging skin on the jaw and face. The procedure is aimed at providing the patient with a more youthful appearance. During the facelift in Montreal, incisions will be made in different areas of the face, excess soft tissue removed, and the remaining skin tightened.
What Should You Expect After a Montreal Facelift?
Prior to committing to a facelift procedure, however, you need to consider the recovery and gain an idea on how to recover the right way. Here us a facelift recovery guide that will give you an insight into what you should expect.
Immediately After the Procedure
Once the facelift is completed, a large bandage may be applied around the face to reduce swelling and you may have a drainage tube inserted through an incision behind the ear. The drainage tube is used for removing excess fluid and ensures that blood does not collect underneath the skin.
In the hours immediately after the facelift is done, you may experience some pain and discomfort as well as some bruising and swelling around the incision sites. The surgeon will administer pain relief to keep discomfort to a minimum and the pain will dissipate over the next few days.
Try keeping your head elevated and still in the days after the surgery since this will help reduce swelling and will prevent any stitches from being pulled out.
In the First Week of Recovery
You are likely to experience the most discomfort and pain the first day after undergoing the procedure because the body will have started the healing process and the skin on the face will start feeling tender. Besides pain medication being provided for the first few days of recovery, your surgeon may also prescribe antibiotics to reduce your chance of getting an infection.
The surgeon will come and visit you about 24 hours after the procedure to check on you and ensure that everything has gone well with the procedure. He/she will also supply you with a recovery plan that’s customized to your specific needs. It will outline what you need to avoid during recovery, how to ensure that you heal properly, and any problems you need to look out for.
You should avoid all strenuous movement, heavy lifting, and you need to get plenty of rest too. Sleep helps improve healing, so being properly rested should reduce your recovery time. Stitches are usually removed between 5 and 7 days after the procedure and the results will start being visible.
2 Weeks After Surgery
A facelift only consists of a few incisions, but adequate time for healing is still necessary to allow the body to heal properly. That’s because, during the recovery period, you may still experience swelling, numbness, tightness of skin, and bruising in the first 2 weeks following the surgery.
For at least 2 weeks following the procedure, you should keep any dressings applied to the incision sites dry and you should generally avoid showing unless the surgeon explicitly approves it. Pain and discomfort should have dissipated and the swelling should have completely diminished.
In the vast majority of cases, patients who have undergone a facelift are able to continue with daily life and even return to work and within 2 weeks. Slight bruising might still be available, but the results of the procedure will be clearly visible.
Book a consultation for a facelift in Montreal today!
