Facelift

With aging and the effects of the environment, especially the sun, the facial skin loses its elasticity and youthful plumpness and tends to sag. You may have developed jowls and deep creases between the base of the nose and the corners of the mouth and wrinkles on the face and neck.

A facelift is designed to give a more rested and youthful appearance to the face and neck, Facelifts are a range of procedures from a "mini" or MACS lift to "standard" or SMAS lift depending on particular patient concerns. Both procedure tighten the layer beneath the skin and remove small amounts of excess skin. More simple ‘skin only’ facelifts do not last and have to be repeated. In most cases the combination of fat grafting and facelift leads to a better overall result. The incisions are placed in areas where they are minimally visible, just in front of the ears. The mini lift can be performed as a day case, whereas the standard lift involves overnight stay. Dressings cover the face and neck and the discomfort is mild to moderate and controlled with oral medication. Sutures are removed within 10 days. Bruising and swelling are expected but improve over 1-2 weeks. As with any plastic surgery, the healing process is gradual and final results may not be apparent for a few months.

Summary

Thread Lifts

With aging and the effects of the environment, especially the sun, the facial skin loses its elasticity and youthful plumpness and tends to sag. Some patients are looking for a subtle change without involved surgery and prolonged recovery time. In these, select group of patients a ‘thread lift’ may be the answer. The procedure is relatively new and with current materials is more reliable then previously. It is minimally invasive and quicker than a traditional facelift. It is most useful on the brow and midface area. Effects should last about 1 year.

The incision is limited to access points behind the ear and in the temple area or on the forehead hair line. A special suture with 'barbs' or 'cones' is placed under the skin and it is used to subtly pull on the tissues. The procedure can be done under sedation and you can go home the same day. Bruising and swelling are minimal as the tissues do not have to separated as in a surgical facelift. The cost is less than a traditional facelift and depends on the number of ‘threads’ placed. As with any plastic surgery, the healing process is gradual and final results may not be apparent for a few weeks.

Summary

Eyelid Surgery

The eyes are your most important facial feature and the first thing people focus on when they meet you. Ageing can lead to tired look and a blepharoplasty is a procedure to remove excess skin and sometimes fat, from the upper or lower eyelids. The effect is to give the eyes a more rested and youthful look. Eyelid surgery can also correct drooping upper lids and the puffy bags under the eyes.

The procedure on the upper eyelids can be performed under a local anaesthetic, but Mr. Rayatt prefers a general anaesthetic for the lower eyelids as the surgery can be more involved. It is usually as a day case. The incisions are made in the eyelid fold for upper blepharoplasty and just under the eye lashes for lower blepharoplasty. You can expect bruising and swelling and this resolves within 1-2 weeks. Mild discomfort can be controlled with oral medication. Eyelid scars heal extremely well and are usually barely perceptible after healing.

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Fat Transfer

Using fat to improve appearance has available for many years, but one of the problems encountered had been variability of the results. However, recent advances have led to much more reliable results. The fat restores volume and youthful shapes of the face and other parts of the body, and improves quality of the skin.Mr Rayatt uses this technique for both aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. Fat transfer can be done under either general or local anaesthesic depending on the amount needed. The fat is removed from the body in a manner similar to liposuction but in a much gentler manner so as not to damage the cells. It is then concentrated using a centrifuge and injected back into areas to be treated. Smaller areas can be treated in one session but larger amounts may take 2-3 sessions, about 3 months apart. Most common use is on the face, but also has good success on other areas including breast, for scars and the back of the hands.

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Ear Reshaping (Pinnaplasty or Otoplasty)

If you feel that your ears are prominent or stick out too far from the side of the head.or have an undesirable shape, then you may be a candidate for a Pinnaplasty. The goal is to create ears that have normal folds and shape with a normal protrusion from the side of the head.

Pinnaplasty is performed on an outpatient basis under local or general anesthesia. An incision will be made behind the ear, to get to the gristle or cartilage which is responsible for the shape of the ear. The cartilage is reshaped and the shape is retained with the aid of special sutures in the cartilage. The ears are bandaged with a head band type dressing for 1 week after surgery. Initial mild postoperative discomfort is easily controlled with oral medication. The procedure is more commonly performed in children but can be performed at any age after about 6 years. The ears will look corrected after surgery but will remain swollen for about 3-4 weeks. Contact sports should be avoided for about a month.

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Anti-Wrinkle Injections

Wrinkles appear when we smile (dynamic) or they are present at rest (static). The dynamic wrinkles can be improved with antiwrinkle injection wheras the static wrinkles need fillers. Botox® is the trade name for Botulinum toxin, produced by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. The toxin was first used in 1978 to weaken chronic eye muscle spasms and was accidently found to reduce wrinkles. It acts by blocking acetylcholine, a chemical transmitter in nerve endings that is responsible for transmitting electrical impulses that cause muscle contraction. This results in temporary muscle paralysis. It can also be used to prevent and treat migraines and hyperhidrosis (excess sweating).

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