Spacelifting - lifting the neck, middle and lower face area

Who is this genius?

The surgical technique, which has become an alternative to the classic circular facelift, is the brainchild of Australian plastic surgeon Brian Mendelson. He believes that we look older not so much because of wrinkles, but because of the age-related loss of elasticity of the skin and the structures located under it. The swollen oval of the face reveals years more than wrinkles. Mendelssohn introduced the concept of physiological space - the same “space” that gave technology its name. The spaces in the facial structure (in the area of ​​the cheekbones, cheeks, chin) allow muscles, ligaments and skin to move freely depending on our facial movements. But over time, the tissues sag and lose their elasticity. The result is an uneven and unaesthetic facial contour. Microsurgical pinpoint work in the area of ​​these spaces without affecting other tissues makes it possible to restore youth.

Spacelifting (Mendelssohn lifting) in St. Petersburg (SPb)

Space lifting or Mendelssohn lifting is an innovative surgical technique that allows you to get maximum results from plastic surgery with a minimum level of trauma.
Today, this technique is widely used in the United States of America and the countries of the European Union. Experts and patients note a number of significant advantages of this technique over classical methods:

• allows you to restore youth without disturbing the natural features of the face;
• after 14 days it is possible to return to working mode;
• eliminating the risk of damage to vascular tissues or nerve endings;
• maintaining the result for more than ten years.

This is a fairly young and fundamentally new method of plastic facial skin tightening by surgical operation, which allows you to carefully tighten the middle and lower part of the face with minor changes in the facial skin. The movement of tissues is carried out through physiological spaces, which are located under the muscles responsible for facial expressions and filled with fatty tissue. These spaces are formed due to the attachment of muscles at one end to the bone, the other to the skin and subcutaneous fat.

This innovative technique allows for correction at the level of empty spaces of facial tissue. The procedure is carried out using endoscopic technologies - the descending tissues are tightened and fixed.

As a result of surgical intervention, it is possible to recreate a clear and most natural facial contour, identical to the state of youth.

The technique is characterized by increased safety, since this procedure does not involve skin peeling or other aggressive influences. Based on the above, the possibility of damage to large vessels or effects on the nerves of the face is excluded.

Minimizing trauma allows you to perform other plastic surgery procedures in combination with spacelifting.

Preparation for surgery:

The Mendelssohn lift is performed under general anesthesia, so in addition to a set of standard blood and urine tests, you need to do an ECG and obtain permission for the operation from an anesthesiologist. At the first meeting, the plastic surgeon will assess the condition of the skin, the severity of ptosis, decide which areas need correction, show where the stitches will be located and give the necessary recommendations for preparing for the intervention. If the patient wants to perform several operations at once “with one anesthesia” - for example, to correct the tip of the nose, the shape of the lips or make corrections on the body - this should also be immediately discussed with the doctor, because spacelifting can be combined with other manipulations. It is also important to inform about the medications that the patient takes on an ongoing basis - then an individual dosage regimen will be selected for him.

Benefits of Space Lifting

• Rough scars are not formed;
• The operation is bloodless, with minimal trauma;
• Suitable for patients of all ages;
• Can be carried out for both women and men;

• Combines well with other facial plastic surgeries;
• Fast and effective results;
• High speed of rehabilitation.

Spacelifting technique:

The patient enters the clinic in the morning on an empty stomach, checks into the ward, and changes clothes. He is given preliminary markings and escorted to the operating room. The surgeon performs spacelifting through several short incisions - no more than 1-3 cm. They are needed to provide access for the endoscope. It is under the control of technology that correction is carried out in the deep layers. The incisions and, accordingly, the sutures will be located along the preauricular groove and in the postauricular fold, protruding literally 1-2 cm into the temporal region. But this area is hidden by hair, so very few people will soon understand that the patient even resorted to surgery. The inserted endoscope allows the surgeon to locally, without touching large vessels and nerves, gently tighten and fix the tissues in the position in which they were before. That is, there is a repositioning of all elements (fat packets, facial muscles), and not just the skin. They return to their original state and are no longer subject to age-related ptosis. In fact, the result is eternal. Moreover, this intervention can be combined with a forehead lift, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, facial implants or lipofilling. You can do a spacelift without waiting for obvious age-related changes and at a fairly young age. The advantage of the operation is that it is low-traumatic and preventative - it allows you to slow down aging for a long time in a minimally short rehabilitation period. And the intervention itself lasts a maximum of 3 hours in complex cases. Most often, no more than two are required.

Rehabilitation

For the first 2-3 days, doctors monitor the patient in the hospital, as complications may arise after surgery. After this you can go home. However, please note that during recovery you should strictly follow all the doctor’s recommendations:

1. The incision sites should be treated with antiseptic solutions twice a day until they are completely healed.
2. For 2-3 days after the tightening, you cannot remove the compression bandage and wash your hair. In the subsequent time, it is necessary to ensure that water does not get on the wounds.
3. Any physical activity should be excluded for a week, and in the next 20 days it should be strictly controlled and limited.
4. For the first seven days, it is best to keep salt intake to a minimum. The less it is in the diet, the faster the postoperative swelling will go away.
5. You will have to give up smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages for a month. This will reduce the toxic load on the body and promote rapid healing of wounds.
6. For the same period you need to avoid visiting the sauna and swimming pool. We replace hot baths with warm showers.
7. You can’t sunbathe or go to a solarium for two months. Ultraviolet light can cause connective tissue to grow, which leads to more pronounced scars.

The speed of rehabilitation and the final effect of lifting depend on how conscientiously the patient follows all the recommendations.

The first results can be assessed within a week, when the swelling and bruising disappear. But the final one will appear after two months. This is how long the full recovery period takes.

Rehabilitation after spacelifting:

A Mendelssohn facelift is a radical and very effective method of rejuvenation, but it does not entail long and painful rehabilitation. Immediately after the operation, the patient is put on a fixing bandage, similar to a bandage-mask, which is usually removed on the 2-3rd day after agreement with the surgeon. There is no need to install drainage tubes, as with classic braces. On the first day, it is better to be under the supervision of the clinic staff, then you can go home. Patients do not report significant pain or swelling after spacelifting. Slight swelling of the cheeks and neck, minor hematomas disappear approximately on the 5th day. In general, you can return to work life within 10 days after the operation. By this time, all stitches are usually removed. In the first 7-10 days, it is recommended to limit facial movements and sleep on a higher pillow than before, and - very important - on your back. This will prevent swelling, stress on the stitches and pain. It is also better to exclude mechanical and thermal effects on the face for about a month: massages, baths, aggressive cosmetic procedures and limit intense physical activity.

Features of the procedure

According to the principle of action, spacelifting differs significantly from other plastic methods. Therefore, it makes sense to get to know it better and find out what features and capabilities it has. We asked experienced cosmetologists to talk about this.

Impact zones

Spacelifting cannot be performed everywhere, but only where these fat-filled areas are located:

• in the periorbital region;
• along the eyebrow line;
• on the cheeks and cheekbones;
• in the neck area;
• under the lower jaw;
• in the nasolabial area.

But, in principle, this is quite enough to visually rejuvenate your face by 5-10 years. Moreover, the effect can last about the same amount of time, but this does not happen after every procedure.

Indications

If there is severe sagging skin or multiple small wrinkles on the face, space lifting may no longer be effective. Therefore, it is worth starting to do it for preventive purposes after 30-35 years.

Indications for this type of procedure are:

• deepening of nasolabial folds;
• bags and fatty hernias under the eyes;
• drooping eyebrows and upper eyelids;
• age-related soft tissue ptosis;
• loss of muscle tone;
• swelling of the oval of the face;
• appearance of a double chin;
• transverse stripes on the neck.

Sometimes surgery is performed after a classic facelift if it did not give the desired results or was performed unsuccessfully.

Advantages

The main reason why more and more doctors and patients prefer facial space lifting is that it is less traumatic and provides maximum safety for the client. But this is not all of its advantages. When rejuvenating using this method:

• there are no rough scars or scars;
• blood vessels are not injured;
• minimal risk of nerve damage;
• there is no serious bleeding;
• short rehabilitation period;
• the effect is quickly noticeable;
• no severe postoperative pain.

In addition, the procedure has no strict age restrictions and can be performed even after 65 years. The impact is almost targeted, and the degree of intervention and its expediency are determined by the doctor.

Preparation and execution

Before surgery, you must make sure that the patient has no contraindications to it. To do this, he will have to undergo a short examination, including:

• urine and blood tests;
• test for HIV and syphilis;
• clotting test;
• electrocardiogram;
• fluorogram.

If there are chronic diseases of internal organs or skin problems on the face, the surgeon may require the opinion of an observing specialist or dermatologist.

7-10 days before the procedure, the patient cannot drink alcoholic beverages or take anticoagulants. You need to try not to catch a respiratory disease and strengthen your immune system. General anesthesia is not required, so you are allowed to eat and drink 2-3 hours before the procedure.

While the patient is under intravenous anesthesia, the doctor inserts an endoscope into the voids through small incisions behind the ears, under the lower jaw or upper lip and performs all the necessary manipulations. The equipment even makes it possible to redistribute fat to fill the spaces again. Then the wounds are closed with cosmetic stitches, and the face is tightened with a gauze bandage.

Rehabilitation

Since the operation is gentle, there is no severe pain after it, and even bruises rarely form. Swelling is present, but this is quite normal when soft tissue is injured. Normally, it goes away completely within 3-4 days.

But if you remove the gauze bandage not after a day, as the doctor prescribes, but immediately, the “pleasure” can be prolonged, and the swelling will last up to a week.

Requirements for patients are standard. During the week you cannot:

• wash with running water and wet the wounds;
• take a hot bath or shower;
• actively engage in sports;
• use decorative cosmetics;
• return to bad habits;
• sunbathe and visit the solarium;
• swim in pools and open water.

If the operation was completed without complications, the hospital stay is a maximum of 48 hours. During this time, the doctor has time to understand whether there is a negative reaction of the body beyond surgical intervention.

A follow-up examination is scheduled after 2-4 weeks. The sutures are made of self-absorbing material, so they do not need to be removed.

results

For several days after surgery, you must wear a special bandage on your face. After which the postoperative sutures should be treated with an antiseptic. The patient is not required to take any auxiliary measures for recovery. There is no need to remove stitches because spacelifting uses self-absorbable threads. After 10-12 days the patient is fully able to work. During the rehabilitation period, full hair washing is allowed. You should return to an active lifestyle no earlier than after a month. After spacelifting, the face will look much younger and more attractive, and the scar will remain invisible because it will be located in a natural fold of the skin.

Contraindications

• Presence of renal and hepatic failure;
• Diabetes;
• Severe lung diseases;
• The presence of inflammation on the face;
• Oncology;
• Presence of infectious diseases;
• Presence of autoimmune diseases;

• Poor blood clotting;
• The presence of chronic diseases in the acute stage;
• Presence of diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• Menstruation;
• Pregnancy;
• Lactation period.

Author: Mamedov Elchin Velievich Plastic surgeon, associate professor of medical sciences He is considered one of the founders of endoscopic facial rejuvenation in the Russian Federation. He has performed many operations on endoscopic facelift, otolasty, rhinoplasty, platysmoplasty, liposuction and abdominoplasty.

Question answer

When will the effect of the procedure appear?

The lifting effect depends on the individual characteristics of the body and increases over 3-4 months.

What determines the price of the procedure?

The cost is calculated based on the number of lines, in other words, points of ultrasound exposure. Depending on the area being treated, a different number of lines may be required to achieve results. For example, up to 100 lines may be required for the preorbital zone, about 200 for the double chin area, and SMAS lifting of the entire face usually ranges from 500 to 700 lines.

What causes lifting during the Ultraformer procedure?

Instant lifting is provided by two factors. Firstly, due to a decrease in the volume of SMAS, it moves upward as a result of point coagulation. Secondly, due to compression and shortening along the length of collagen fibers.

Is the Ultraformer procedure suitable for weight loss?

Ultrasound in cosmetology is used as one of the methods for removing excess fat deposits. Ultrasound radiation is focused in tissues at a certain depth and leads to a local increase in temperature to 58–70°C, which leads to the destruction of adipocytes at the coagulation point. The skin is not damaged, and fat breakdown products are removed from the body independently: 90% through the lymphatic system and 10% through the circulatory system. HIFU therapy today is the most effective method of working with local fat deposits of any thickness.

Is it possible to combine the ULTRAFORMER facial procedure with other techniques?

Yes, it is possible to combine it with other methods of correcting age-related changes, such as contour plastic surgery, botulinum therapy, and plasma therapy.

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How is the operation performed?

Preparation for spacelifting is the same as for any other plastic surgery; there is no need to prepare specially. After you have decided to do spacelifting, you need to take tests 1-2 days before the operation and, if no contraindications are found, feel free to do rejuvenation.

An important feature of spacelift is the gentle anesthesia regime, due to which there are no side effects of anesthesia (such as headaches). Rejuvenation is carried out through short (3-4 cm) incisions, this is one of the factors in reducing visible traces of surgery. The postoperative suture is removed into the folds of the auricle.

Indications

Indications for the ULTRAFORMER procedure for the face:

• Deep nasolabial folds appeared;
• The corners of the lips drooped;
• You see deformation of the facial contour, blurred oval;
• The skin in the upper eyelid area “hangs”;

• Hernias are noticeable in the lower eyelid area;
• Paint bags in the cheekbone area have become pronounced;
• Flabbiness and wrinkling of the skin of the neck and décolleté;
• "Double chin.

Indications for the ULTRAFORMER procedure for the body:

• The need for body contouring (lifting in the knees, inner shoulder, thigh, abdomen, back, etc.);
• Decreased elasticity and firmness of the skin throughout the body.

Ultrasonic body lifting works on a similar principle to facial lifting.

Nozzles with the required depth of influence - 4.5 mm and/or 6 mm and/or 9 mm work in the deep layers of the skin and at the level of muscle fascia. High-intensity focused ultrasound creates microthermal zones, which triggers active tissue restoration processes.