Why Are Adjunct Treatments Needed After A Facelift?
What do we learn by looking at these photos?
These two photos are of the same person. In the first photo, the person is lying down. The skin appears homogeneous in its tension and appearance.
In the second photo, the person is standing. We notice that the skin is much smoother closer to the groin where it attaches. The skin loosens as we move away from its point of attachment and we move towards the knee. This is an important observation.
The conclusion is that as we move away from the point of attachment, the greater laxity that is revealed.
For example, in a facelift situation, after surgery no matter how tight the skin is pulled, the skin always relaxes to a “natural” tension. When the skin relaxes, the wrinkles will show further away from where the skin is attached around the ear. That is why recurrence may appear around the mouth and jowls particularly if the elasticity is poor.
Let's make another observation. Look at this beautiful sailboat. The sails are as taut as possible along the mast and boom. Despite that, they have a bulge. This is simply because the sail is designed to have a bulge and not be completely flat. Similarly, the skin of the face is wrapped around the neck so it is designed with a bulge, inherently having a curve.
Sometimes, no matter how tight you leave the face after a facelift, a bulge can appear due to loss of skin elasticity.
Due to these two natural phenomena, we can now understand why a small element of recurrence might occur. It becomes necessary at times to do a complementary treatment. Additionally, general maintenance is required after surgery to preserve the results for as long as possible.
