Who Makes A Great Candidate For Facelift Surgery In Toronto?

Cosmetic Surgery Procedure: Facelift

When you begin planning to get a facelift in Toronto, it’s important to evaluate your own eligibility. Certain elements of your lifestyle, health, or skin quality can affect different aspects of the procedure such as ease of recovery and likelihood of getting optimal results. Review the qualities surgeons look for when determining if a patient is a good candidate for a facelift and see where you fall.

Smoking

Smoking interferes with the body’s ability to heal itself and will interfere with the recovery process. Smoking also affects skin quality and can negatively affect the outcome of your surgery. Every surgeon has their own policy about how long a person must abstain from smoking before treatment, but a general rule of thumb is for two weeks before and two weeks after the day of the facelift. Since nicotine is the primary culprit, certain anti-smoking aids like gum or patches will not help during this time.

Alcohol

Drinking can dehydrate the skin and can interfere with healing in a similar manner to nicotine. Patients should abstain from drinking for a few days prior to their Toronto facelift and should get the go-ahead from their surgeon before resuming. This is especially important if you are given prescriptions by your doctor to help in recovery since alcohol can provoke unwanted drug interactions.

Skin Quality

Facelifts give the best results when the patient’s skin retains a degree of flexibility. A supple tone and the ability to “bounce back” after being pinched are two ways to identify this quality. Unfortunately, skin tone is not always under our control and is largely determined by genetics. Fortunately, skin tone alone will not disqualify you as a patient.

Healthy Expectations

It is key for patients to have realistic expectations about what a facelift can provide. Expecting perfection will inevitably lead to disappointment and it’s also important to recognize the limits to the procedure itself. Facelifts cannot address skin discolouration, acne scars, fine lines along the mouth or eyes, or certain forehead wrinkles. These issues can, however, be addressed through other procedures and some of them can be combined with a facelift.

Healthy Motivations

Good candidates for facelifts are also those who have healthy motivations for pursuing cosmetic surgery. Undergoing a procedure because of pressure from someone else, a desire for career advancement or other reasons dependent on the actions or opinions of others is not likely to bring satisfactory outcome. Ask yourself the following: “If, after the facelift, nothing in my life changes besides my appearance, will I think this was a good idea?”. If the answer is ‘yes’, then you are in the clear.

Overall Health

The ideal candidate for a Toronto facelift is in good health, is not overweight, and has no significant medical conditions. Most surgeons will still treat someone who is a little overweight, but few will be comfortable working with obese individuals to unnecessary health risks. Conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease may also prevent someone from being a good surgical candidate, but this is decided on a case-by-case basis. Controlled conditions and medications that will not interfere with surgery may not be a problem.