Ptosis of the face and body: why the skin and tissues droop and sag

Since the elixir of youth has not yet been invented, one way or another, we are all subject to the influence of time. The skin of the face and body gradually loses its former youth and elasticity, it is no longer able to resist the force of gravity. It sags, deep wrinkles, folds appear, especially noticeable and pronounced in the nasolabial region, giving the face a sad, gloomy look and immediately betraying a person’s age. This phenomenon is called ptosis.

Our expert is a plastic, cranio-maxillofacial surgeon, one of the leading Russian specialists in cranioplasty Pavel Golovanev – talks about what methods of correction of age-related changes are effective in the fight against ptosis of the face and body.

Causes of facial ptosis:

• violation of blood microcirculation;
• spasm of facial muscles;
• violation of the outflow of lymph;
• deterioration in tissue nutrition;
• tissue fibrosis;
• lack of moisture;
• structural and quantitative changes in collagen fibers.

To date, the correction of ptosis of facial tissues and skin is not limited to one single method. There are a number of techniques that significantly help fight skin aging.

Conventionally, they can be divided into 2 categories:

1. Cosmetic procedures and injections. They are able to “erase” shallow nasolabial folds and wrinkles on the forehead, remove “crow’s feet” – wrinkles in the eye area.
2. Hardware procedures and plastic surgery. They are effective in solving problems such as ptosis in the cheekbones, deep nasolabial folds, excess fatty tissue in the neck and chin, etc.

Aesthetic procedures that help in the fight against age-related ptosis include face lipofillingthe procedure for introducing your own subcutaneous adipose tissue into problem areas on the face.

With the help of lipofilling, you can restore lost volumes in a certain area. Also, lipofilling perfectly copes with such problems as sagging skin, wrinkles, dark circles under the eyes.

plastic surgery allow you to quickly get rid of the effects of gravity on our skin and tissues.

Among them are:

• Blepharoplasty
  (plastic surgery to correct the eyelids). Eyelid surgery is one of the most requested surgeries. Wear on the skin of the eyelids becomes more noticeable over time, as this is the most mobile area of ​​the face. If we compare blepharoplasty of the upper and lower eyelids, then the first is carried out much more often than the second. Blepharoplasty allows you to get rid of excess skin, tightens it and makes the look open and beautiful.
• Thread suspenders (the use of special threads that have different fixation mechanisms (cones and notches). The threads are pulled in the subcutaneous tissue along certain trajectories, moving the tissues to the required position, thus prolonging the youthfulness and healthy appearance of the skin of the face.
• Endoscopic facelift. This is a plastic surgery by which the skin and soft tissues of the face are moved to a new position. For example, an endoscopic lift can lift the eyebrows that hang over the eyelids with age. Also, with the help of this operation, it is possible to eliminate depressions in the central region of the face and pronounced lacrimal grooves.

Elimination of ptosis of tissues and skin of the body

All of the above methods are aimed at restoring beauty and youth to the face. But what about our body? After all, tissues and skin of the body are also affected by gravitational ptosis. There is a solution to this problem with the help of modern cosmetology and plastic surgery.

• Cosmetic procedures – manual (massages, body wraps, etc.) and hardware techniques (for example, electrical stimulation, pressure therapy, etc.) – are able to correct ptosis of the skin and body tissues, this will require several sessions.
• Plastic surgery able to cope with ptosis in one operation.

The most popular methods in the field of plastic surgery:

• ultrasonic liposuction;
• lipofilling;
• skin tightening and others.

For example, with the help of ultrasonic liposuction (the impact of sound waves on adipose tissue), you can change the contours of the body, tighten the lines of the figure, get rid of ptosis of tissues and skin on the body. For a visible effect, just one procedure is enough, and the result will last for several years.

What method to choose?

It is important to understand that plastic surgery and cosmetology are two areas that are designed to complement each other, and not compete.

It is necessary to start, first of all, from the goals and objectives. A cosmetologist will help improve the quality and appearance of the skin, and a plastic surgeon will change the contours of the face and body. If cosmetic procedures, injections and hardware cosmetology can help you in the fight against fine wrinkles and slight ptosis of the body, then only plastic surgery can cope with deep wrinkles and deformation of body tissues. All this directly depends on the individual characteristics of the patient’s body, his age, skin condition.