Types of anaesthesia. Two options are possible; local anaesthesia deepened by sedatives or traditional general anaesthesia. The choice between these techniques will result from the discussion between you, the surgeon and the anaesthetist. An appointment with the anaesthetist will be schedule at the least 48 hours before the surgery. Hospitalisation. The surgery can be practised requires 24 to 48 hours of hospitalisation. However, in very selected cases it can be performed in a “day surgery” basis and the patient can be discharged the same day.
A cervico-facial facelift, although primarily carried out for aesthetic motivations, it is a nevertheless surgical procedure, which implies the same risks as per others surgical acts.
Although extremely rare we have to distinguish the complications related to the anaesthesia from those related to the surgery.
Concerning the anaesthesia, the anaesthesiologist will explain the risk and answer the patient’s questions during a pre-op consultation. Today’s technology allows the practice of anaesthesia under the best safety conditions for the patient and the surgical team.
With regard to the surgical procedure: choosing a qualified surgeon minimizes any risk. Fortunately, the serious complications are very rare and the patients are fully satisfied with their result. However, the possible complications are:
Post-operative bleeding; haematoma formation which often needs to be evacuated; infection (very rare); scar abnormalities and localised alopecia (areas without hair) are very rare; nervous lesions, related to sensitive branches responsible for certain insensitivity with improves in few weeks. A paralysis of motor branches of the facial nerve is rare and fortunately temporary in the majority of cases.