The Alia Clinic Lift

As people grow older, they often become concerned by how heavy their face looks, the formation of jowls, a heavy or "turkey " neck and fullness beneath the jawline. One option is neck liposculpture. Sometimes this may not be enough and it is necessary to remove some excess skin and tighten the tissues underneath in order to substantially improve the definition of the lower third of the face.

At the Alia Clinic, Dr. Goyen has studied the numerous advances in facelift surgery that have become popular in the last decade and the clinic offers the latest in minimally invasive facelift surgery, the Alia Clinic Lift and the Alia Clinic PLUS Lift. In the Alia Clinic lift, a fine incision is made from within the hairline just above the ear and continued in front of the ear to just behind the earlobe. An area of the skin over this incision is gently undermined, creating a flap of skin. Following this, a strong sutrure ( which is reabsorbed after 6 months ) is used to tighten the tissue below the skin and above the facial muscles ( this is called the SMAS or superficial muscular aponeurotic system). The net result is a tightening of this deep tissue. Importantly, the majority of this lift is a vertical lift, avoiding the old-fashioned "wind-blown" look.

Once the tissue is tightened, the excess skin is carefully removed and the skin sutured neatly together. ( These sutures stay in place for about 10 days.) The result is a tightening of the lower third of the face and upper neck, reducing the jowls, taking many years off the facial appearance.

Sometimes the Alia Clinic Lift is combined with liposuclpture to the neck and jowls, reduction of upper eyelid skin, fat transfer to the cheeks and face and tightening of the neck muscles. The lift itself takes just over two hours and requires local anaesthesia and twightlight sedation, no general anaesthetic is needed. All of these are performed in the Crows Nest surgicentre. Most people take about 10 days off work following this procedure.

When there is a lot of loose skin in the neck, the best option is to remove this as well. This procedure is called the Alia Clinic PLUS Lift, This is particularly helpful for people with very loose neck skin as an extra 3 or so centimetres of skin is removed in front of the hairline via incisions made at the border of the hairline itself. This takes an extra 40 minutes or so and again no general anaesthetic is needed.

For more information on both of these procedures please call the clinic on (02) 99061555 or complete the online consultation.

Common questions about the Alia Clinic Lift

What is involved ?

There are a number of components to the treatment. Central to the procedure is careful, diligent assessment and marking of the skin incsion snd the skin to be undermined. Usually some liposculpture of the face and neck is performed first. Then the incision is made from within the hairline, along the front of the ear and down to the level of the earlobe. The skin in front of this is then elevated and sutures placed to draw up the SMAS tissue. Skin is elevated/ redraped, trimmed ,repositioned and finally sutured. Each side takes approximately 45 minutes ( 60 minutes for an Alia Clinic Plus Lift)

Is a general anaesthetic required ?

No, all of these techniques are performed under local anaesthetic. with sedation.

Who is a candidate for the Alia Clinic Lift ?

Many women and men are unhappy with the shape of their face. It may be too full, there may be a looseness of the skin over the jaw, they may have jowls or a double chin, or a sunken look in their cheeks or below their eyes. All these people can benefit.

How long will the improvement last ?

The improvement to the shape of your face will be long-term as fatty tissue is removed and skin has been removed and repositioned.

What support garments are required ?

A special elastic neck strap is used for 3 days after the procedure and then used at night for a further 2 nights.

Is there much bruising?

If there is bruising, this is usually minor, yellow in colour and limited to the base of the neck and around and below the scar.

How long does the procedure take ?

Most of procedures take from between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours .

How much time will I need off...?

In general you should plan on taking 7-9 days off work. It would be about 3 weeks before normal gym activities or jogging should be restarted.

And the cost ?

The cost of this procedure varies according to just what is required to achieve the best result. For an accurate costing, please use the online consultation or make an appointment by phoning (02) 99061555.

All of the "before and after" images used on this page have not been manipulated or enhanced in any way. There is no guarantee that other people will experience similar results to those shown here.

Example

Before	After