Typical Performance: The fullness of youth passes dimly with time, the wrinkles of time creep up on your once gorgeous face, and the beauty is no longer there. As we age, some natural substances in our body are decreasing, these substances include collagen (the main structural protein of the skin), elastin (the protein that makes the tissue stretch), hyaluronic acid (which makes the tissue full), etc.. Together with environmental factors (such as sun exposure), smoking, and stress, these contribute to the development of wrinkles and folds. More and more people are turning to cosmetic surgeons to make their faces look as young as they wish, and facial wrinkle reduction (commonly known as a facelift) is one of the fast and effective ways to do so. What is a facelift? A facelift is not just a tightening of the skin. A surgical procedure for facial wrinkle removal is called a facelift, which is mostly known as a “facial lift” abroad. The procedure is carried out by the surgeon. The surgeon separates your aging skin and subcutaneous tissues and lifts them upward to remove excess skin, reduce wrinkles and eliminate sagging skin. The effect of this method is a two-way lift, lifting both the surface skin and the deep surface sagging fascia and muscles, correcting many tissues associated with aging changes, such as fat, muscle and other deep tissues of the face and neck, while tightening the skin. After undergoing wrinkle reduction, the face and neck can be rejuvenated. For many people, the results of the procedure are long-lasting and there is a limit to the re-sagging of fat and re-laxation of muscles, but the skin can recur and sag over time. Who is a candidate for facelift surgery? Those who have the following manifestations are the indications for facial wrinkle surgery: 1. Increased or deepened facial wrinkles, such as the appearance of head-lift lines, crow’s feet, horizontal lines at the root of the nose, longitudinal lines between the eyebrows, etc.; 2. Sagging eyebrows and deepened nasolabial folds; 3. Deep wrinkles in the cheeks or sagging neck skin laxity or excessive fat tissue in the cheeks. For heavier, deeper and larger wrinkles, wrinkle correction is necessary, but it cannot completely correct sagging eyebrows, excessive skin and fat deposits on the upper and lower lids and nasolabial folds, longitudinal lines around the mouth, which need to be solved by other cosmetic surgeries such as brow lift and blepharoplasty. In addition to this, the age, general health, motivation and psychological condition of the patient are some of the factors that affect the procedure. What are the methods of facelift? In order to correct different aging areas, wrinkle removal by area can be divided into forehead wrinkle removal, temporal wrinkle removal, face and neck wrinkle removal and full face wrinkle removal. Different wrinkle removal procedures can be chosen according to different aging areas. In addition, the hotter ones are endoscopic wrinkle removal and small incision wrinkle removal. Endoscopic wrinkle removal is currently limited to people who do forehead wrinkle removal and have light to moderate skin laxity. The surgical incision is chosen in a hidden location as much as possible. Specifically, the forehead is 2-3 cm behind the hairline or the hairline margin; the temporal region is 2-3 cm behind the hairline; and the ear is at the anterior and posterior inferior margins of the ear. Endoscopic wrinkle removal only requires 3-5 small incisions within the hairline of the forehead and temporal area. Does the surgery hurt? The surgery is performed under anesthesia, both local and general, and post-operative general analgesia can be administered. How long does the surgery take? Do I need to be hospitalized? The duration of surgery varies from 2 to 3 hours. Patients with a large surgical area will need to be hospitalized for 1 week and then recover for 1 week. The area will be bandaged for 2-3 days after surgery, stitches will be removed in 6-10 days, and swelling will go down in 2 weeks. How long does it take to recover? The recovery time required after surgery varies widely for each individual. Post-operative pain is usually insignificant, and post-operative swelling is most severe 24-48 hours after surgery and gradually decreases thereafter. The bruising usually disappears 2 weeks after surgery. There may be some numbness in the face after surgery, which can last for several weeks or longer. Return to work is usually possible 2-4 weeks after surgery. What are the results of the surgery? In general, facelift surgery is popular among patients because of its obvious results, which can make patients look 5-10 years younger after surgery and continue to maintain the rejuvenating effect for 5-10 years. However, it is important to emphasize that the procedure can improve the current condition, but it does not mean that the procedure can be used to “rejuvenate” the face, nor can it fundamentally stop the aging process. What are the risks? Common complications include: hematoma, scar formation, baldness around the incision, bilateral asymmetry, etc. Serious complications include damage to the facial nerve, which can cause sensory impairment and unnatural facial expression. Doctor’s advice: Facial wrinkle removal is a delicate surgery and carries certain risks. Therefore it must be done at a regular hospital with an experienced surgeon.