It’s the latest beauty trend that has the internet both horrified and fascinated.
Patchwork-style facelifts, in which people are sewn up in intricate patterns, leave patients looking like something out of a horror film – but according to experts, such methods are extremely effective and significantly reduce recovery time.
One such procedure, the Firat facelift, has come to prominence since 90 Day Fiancé star Shekinah Garner, 43, showed off the results of her own surgery, sharing a video on Instagram in which she revealed she’d undergone a lower blepharoplasty as well as the lift – reportedly her third facelift in total, and what is believed to be her first Firat lift.
The clip left viewers reeling as it showed the enormous facial stitches left over from her surgery in all their gory detail.
She shared footage of her face in bandages, which were gradually removed to reveal large stitches, swelling and bruising on her face.
While it is to be expected that a major operation like a facelift will leave patients with some initial stitches and swelling, those used in this style of procedure – which also includes the hemostatic net facelift – are enough to make even the most hardened cosmetic surgery fan wince.
However, experts claim the technique – which started to emerge around a decade ago – is revolutionising recovery and reducing the risk of post-op bleeding.
The unsettling post-surgery look is created by a crisscross of fine threads, forming a tight ‘net’ over the patient’s face, which will usually be swollen and bruised from surgery.
The effect is undeniably graphic, prompting some to make comparisons to horror film characters such as Hellraiser.
But according to plastic surgeon Ms Monica Fawzy, who performs hemostatic net facelifts at The Private Clinic, Harley Street, London, there’s a very good reason for using this method.
The hemostatic net works by applying consistent pressure across the face which helps minimise internal bleeding, reduce bruising, and speed up healing.
In fact Ms Fawzy, who has over 20 years of experience in facial surgery, claims this method ‘decreases complication risks’ and also offers patients one of the most effective facelift recovery methods to date.
She said: ‘This [method] involves quilting sutures in the area where the skin has been lifted (rather than areas where the lift occurs in the deeper plane).
‘It ensures that the skin is firmly re-opposed to the underlying structures.
‘It was initially applied in the facelift setting by a Brazilian surgeon called Andre Auersvald to minimise a potential complication called a haematoma (collection of blood under the skin).
‘It has been consequently taken up by a large proportion of facelift surgeons and found to have other advantages such as minimising a potential collection of tissue fluid under the skin (seroma), as well as helping to re-drape the skin in certain cases.’
The plastic surgeon revealed that patients only look this way for ‘a couple of days’ and can be covered up if it makes some feel queasy.
She added: ‘It will generally be removed in a couple of days anyway so it is short- lived.
‘I tend to cover the areas with surgical tape to prevent any potential patient anxiety,’ she explained, adding that she always explains the process to patients ahead of performing the procedure.
‘The appearance of the sutures depends on the extent of the area involved and the surgeon’s approach.
‘For example, I tend to apply it in a limited fashion – as I believe it gives the best of both worlds (decreased complication risk, whilst avoiding over extensive suturing as you may sometimes see online).’
When it comes to plastic surgery, techniques are always being tweaked and updated in an effort to improve results and minimise risks.
And whatever method used, the facelift, described by the Mayo Clinic, as a ‘cosmetic surgical procedure to create a younger look in the face’, is a significant operation.
The Mayo Clinic’s website states: ‘The procedure can reduce sagging skin. It can also help smooth folds of skin on the cheeks and jawline. A facelift is also called a rhytidectomy.
‘During a facelift, a flap of skin on each side of the face is pulled back. Tissues below the skin are altered, and excess skin is removed. This gives the face a more youthful shape.’
Speaking in a YouTube video, double board certified plastic surgeon Dr Gary Linkov explained: ‘The term facelift is kind of a misnomer in that it’s not that you’re lifting the entire face.
‘It’s generally addressing the lower face, the neck area and sometimes the mid face, but it does not refer to lifting the brows, which is the upper face, and so that is a separate procedure.’
He added that there are a number of different types of facelifts, from the so-called ‘mini facelift’ to the ‘deep plane lift’.
And so the Hemostatic Net lift, and similar procedures which involve wrapping the face in a web-like pattern of stitches, are simply new additions to the list of existing styles of face lifts.
90 Day Fiancé star Shekinah Garner’s surgery was carried out by surgeon Dr Mirza Firat, who calls his technique the Firat Facelift, and says he developed the specific method he uses.
Speaking about the procedure in a video on Instagram, Dr Firat, who is based in Turkey, said: ‘The Firat Facelift is a surgery for facial beautification and rejuvenation. Why I coined it with my name is because I developed the technique on my own.’
He went onto say that the goal of the surgery is to ‘perform the surgery endoscopically through hidden incisions’.
The surgeon continued: ‘The difference from the traditional deep plane facelift is that I’m performing the procedure through hidden incisions like [in the] temporal scalp, or behind the ear, and performing a deep dissection of the forehead and temple, the mid face, and in more severe patients, in the lateral cheek to lift everything vertically.
‘This is the way we treat aging signs like nasolabial folds and jowls more effectively.’
However, as with any procedure, there are differing opinions, and US-based surgeon Michael Somenek spoke about why he is not convinced about the method on a post on Instagram.
He wrote: ‘Hemostatic nets. They are a real thing but here’s the deal!
‘They are used by surgeons throughout the world to minimize the risk of prolonged swelling and postoperative hematoma formation after various surgeries, such as facelift and brow lift.
‘The idea is that it compresses the space between the tissues, and minimizes the risk of the above complications. However, certain studies claim that their values are statistically significant at reducing the overall incident of hematoma.
‘The reduction is about a two to three per cent reduction, which out of 100 people that is only about two or three people when you put it into perspective.
‘For those reasons, I really can’t justify the need for this in my practice when performing deep plane facelift, nor am I convinced that my patients would really be up or open for this.’
