Facelift Surgery (Rhytidectomy)

Facelift surgery (rhytidectomy) by FRACS plastic surgeon Mr Ian Holten at National Capital Private Hospital, Canberra. Facelift surgery addresses jowling, mid-face descent, deep nasolabial folds, loose neck skin, and platysmal banding through surgical repositioning and tightening of the facial SMAS layer and overlying soft tissues. Results are natural and long-lasting, typically ten or more years. Performed under general anaesthesia at the NCPH facility in Garran ACT.

Facelift surgery at Canberra Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery is performed by Mr Ian Holten FRACS FRCS(Plast) — a dual-fellowship plastic surgeon whose credentials encompass the full scope of facial and reconstructive plastic surgery procedures — at National Capital Private Hospital, Garran ACT. Facelift surgery (rhytidectomy) is the gold-standard surgical intervention for mid-face and lower-face descent, jowling, deepened nasolabial and marionette folds, loose and lax neck skin, and platysmal band formation — signs of facial ageing that no injectable treatment or energy-based device can reliably address to the same degree or durability. The most widely performed contemporary facelift technique involves elevation of the SMAS (Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System) — the continuous fibromuscular layer lying beneath the skin and subcutaneous fat of the lower face and neck — to reposition descended facial tissues at the structural level rather than simply pulling the skin, which produces the unnatural tight or stretched appearance associated with older facelift techniques. SMAS plication, imbrication, or SMASectomy approaches allow the surgeon to tailor the degree of deep tissue repositioning to each patient's anatomy and degree of descent. Deep-plane facelift variants extend the release into the plane directly above the SMAS, allowing composite release and repositioning of the facial soft tissue as a unit. Mr Holten's FRACS and FRCS(Plast) training encompasses the full spectrum of facelift approaches, and the appropriate technique is selected at the detailed pre-operative consultation. Incision placement follows the natural contours of the ear (preauricular and retroauricular) and extends into the hairline, where scars mature to fine, well-concealed lines within twelve to eighteen months. Facelift surgery is commonly combined with neck lift (platysmaplasty), upper blepharoplasty, or fat grafting in a single surgical setting. Canberra and ACT patients seeking facelift surgery from an accredited specialist plastic surgeon benefit from Mr Holten's practice at NCPH, the territory's leading private hospital surgical facility, avoiding travel to Sydney for access to FRACS-level facial surgery expertise.