Facelift Surgery

Before you undergo any cosmetic surgery procedure at Karidis Clinic, you will have a consultation and a pre-operative assessment with your plastic surgeon. They will listen carefully to your concerns and what you expect to achieve and discuss which procedure, or combination of procedures, is appropriate.

At this stage, they will also ensure you are fully aware of the potential risks and complications inherent in that specific procedure and explain to you what you can expect immediately after surgery, throughout the recovery process, and when you will likely see the final results.

During the pre-operative assessment, the surgeon may take measurements of the area to be operated on and assess your skin tissue quality and the degree of skin laxity. The position of the incisions will also be decided upon.

A full medical history will be taken to ensure you are fit and well and can undergo surgery at this time.

After the initial consultation, there will be a two-week ‘cooling-off’ period before you can decide to proceed with surgery. You are welcome to return for further consultations with your Karidis Clinic surgeon, free of charge, if you have more questions.

If you make the decision to proceed with surgery, you’ll be given advice on how best to prepare for your operation, and you will have a dedicated Patient Coordinator who can answer any queries you may have.

Any pre-surgery tests can occur at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth, a leading London private hospital where Karidis Clinic is based. The hospital has recently built a new wing including a diagnostic department with the latest X-ray, MRI, CT and ultrasound technology.

We advise patients to stop smoking as soon as possible as nicotine acts as a vasoconstrictor, which impedes the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the surgical site. This can slow down healing, increase the chance of infection and even cause tissue to die. Smoking also increases the risks of a general anaesthetic, and smokers are more likely to suffer ill effects from an anaesthetic.

You will also be advised when to discontinue taking aspirin or other blood-thinning medication in advance of your operation. You will be asked to fast six hours before surgery.

All Karidis Clinic procedures are performed at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth. When you arrive, you’ll be greeted and taken to your stylish and luxurious private room with its spacious ensuite bathroom.

The nursing team will take your blood pressure and relevant vitals, and you will see your Karidis Clinic surgeon, who will make the final mark-ups. Our anaesthetist will also visit you.

Clinical photography will be taken to assist in your care and to enable clinical assessments to be made. These become part of your confidential medical record. These include photographs of the operation site and any distinguishing features and will be taken pre-op and post-op. 

Your procedure will be performed under a general anaesthetic, and once the surgeon has sutured the incision site, you will be taken to a specialist recovery room.

Once the hospital nursing team has ensured your recovery is complete, you will be taken to your hospital room for your overnight stay. The hospital nursing team will be on hand throughout the night, and you will be fitted with compression stockings and a compression device if required.

The following day, you will be visited by your Karidis Clinic surgeon or nurse and then discharged into the care of a friend or family member by the hospital nursing staff.

The pain and discomfort experienced after surgery are unique to the individual patient and the extent of their procedure. However, it should start to subside in the first week and should be easily managed with over-the-counter painkillers.

If necessary, you’ll be advised to wear a specially designed surgical support garment for approximately six weeks after surgery to support you during the healing process.

Depending on the nature of your job, you can usually expect to be able to return to work and normal activities between one to two weeks.

You’ll be given a comprehensive plan for the recovery process, including dates for your cast or suture removal and your check-ups with your Karidis Clinic surgeon. However, we are always on hand throughout this period, and you have access to our dedicated surgical nurse 24/7 if you have any concerns.

Yes. The facelift, in general, can be separated into three different types depending on the area of your face being treated. The ‘standard’ or ‘classic’ facelift (which most people refer to) usually addresses your jawline, jowls and neck region. This is also called a lower facelift or neck lift and is by far the most common type of facelift that’s performed.

Another type of facelift is the brow or forehead lift, which addresses the sagging of your forehead and brow tissues. 

A less common type of facelift is called the mid-facelift. This facelift primarily addresses any flattening or sagging in a very specific area of your face: the cheek region below your eyelids and the area adjacent to your nose and nose-to-mouth lines.

Although a mid-facelift may be performed as a stand-alone procedure, this is usually performed in combination with a ‘regular’ or lower face or neck lift.

A full facelift is usually applied when more than one area of your face is lifted, i.e. a lower facelift and a brow lift. Whereas a partial facelift addresses a specific part of the face, i.e. just your neck region. In addition, many people include any eyelid surgery performed simultaneously in the term ‘full facelift’.

Of course, depending on your circumstances, it’s not necessary to have a full facelift when you only want to address issues in your neck area. At your consultation, your surgeon will analyse your requirements and discuss this accordingly.

This depends on whether you could benefit from a full facelift or if you could just do with a lower facelift. This will be determined and discussed with you at your consultation. Should it seem appropriate to perform a full facelift, some people prefer to have this done in one surgery.

This is because they will have only one recovery, and one hospital admission, and there will also be a financial saving due to one admission. However, not everyone is happy with the thought of doing everything at once — some prefer to do it in stages. 

Everybody has seen bad plastic surgery. You can spot it immediately. Instead of enhancing someone’s looks, the results almost certainly detract. Nobody wants to look like they’ve had plastic surgery. All surgery carried out by our highly skilled surgeons is performed to bring a patient within a broad range of average or normal criteria.

Karidis surgeons avoid the overcorrected or ‘designer’ look. They take pride in achieving natural, well-balanced results and will not leave a patient looking contrived or artificial. However, it’s still very important that during your consultation, you make your requirements clear so that your expectations are realistic.

Your facelift surgery requires the skills of a surgeon, the hospital theatre team, an anaesthetist and the safety and care provided by a great hospital team and setting.  

Our fees for the day of your surgery include all of these as well as telephone access to a dedicated patient journey app and post-operative nurse once you are home. The price also includes all of your pre-operative and post-operative care and you can call us or come to see us as many times as you like with your questions relating to this procedure. We also give you access to our Practice Coach who will help you through your journey and prepare you for a successful and speedy recovery.

Should you require additional care we can offer that too and factor in everything that you need to make your journey the smoothest and the best for you. Let us know what you need and we’ll give you a detailed quotation after you have seen your surgeon and discussed exactly what you need at your consultation.

For more information on what our surgical fees cover, please click here.