Home > Encyclopedia of Medicine > Face Lift

Definition

Face lift surgery is a cosmetic procedure that involves redirecting some of the skin and muscle tissue of the face and neck to counter signs of aging produced by gravity.

Purpose

The purpose of face lift surgery, also known as facialplasty, rhytidoplasty, or cervicofacial rhytidectomy, is to improve the appearance of the face by repositioning the skin and tightening some of the underlying muscle and tissue. The procedure is designed to counter sagging and looseness in skin and muscle tissue caused by gravity as the patient ages. Face lift surgery will not erase all facial wrinkles, as the term rhytidectomy (which literally means "surgical removal of wrinkles") might imply. Wrinkles around the mouth and eyes, for example, may benefit little from face lift surgery. Other procedures, such as