Facelift

Dr Richard Maxwell FRACS performs facelift and neck lift procedures from his Melbourne practice, addressing gravitational descent of the facial soft tissue, jowling, and platysmal banding in the neck. Adjunct procedures including brow lift, eyelid surgery, fat transfer, and submental liposuction can be combined in a single operative session. Approach and technique are selected based on the degree of facial ageing, skin quality, and the patient's recovery expectations.

Facelift surgery at Maxwell Plastic Surgery in Melbourne, Australia addresses the progressive changes to facial anatomy — soft tissue descent, skin laxity, volume redistribution, and jowl formation — that accumulate over decades and are not reversible through non-surgical intervention. Dr Richard Maxwell FRACS brings over 35 years of specialist plastic surgical experience to facelift procedures, with a deep understanding of facial anatomy and the principles of tissue repositioning that underpin long-lasting aesthetic results. The modern facelift approach employed by experienced Australian FRACS surgeons such as Dr Maxwell involves elevation and repositioning of the underlying SMAS — the superficial musculoaponeurotic system, a fibromuscular layer that transmits and distributes facial expression while also being subject to gravitational descent over time. By addressing the SMAS rather than merely redrapeing the skin under tension, the surgeon restores facial contour and volume distribution to the upper and mid-face and improves jowling and lower face definition in a way that avoids the stretched or operated appearance associated with older skin-only techniques. Neck lift components — including platysmaplasty for prominent platysmal banding and submental liposuction for submental fullness — are commonly incorporated when the neck is a prominent concern. Access incisions are placed within the natural hairline above the ear, within the anterior helical crease, around the earlobe, and into the postauricular hair-bearing scalp, allowing the final scars to be well concealed. Adjunct procedures that Dr Maxwell can perform simultaneously include endoscopic or direct brow lift for frontalis and glabellar ptosis, upper and lower blepharoplasty for periorbital rejuvenation, fat transfer to the midface and temporal hollowing, and chin augmentation with implant to define the jawline. Patients at the Melbourne Hawthorn East location are counselled on a two-to-three-week social recovery period, with the majority of visible bruising and swelling settling within three weeks and the final refined result appearing at three to six months.