Introduction: Facelift or rhytidectomy is a surgical procedure which improves the appearance of the face. It corrects the natural signs of aging, smoothes the facial skin, tightens soft tissues and muscles of lower face and removes the excess skin. Surgical procedure surgery gives the patient a more youthful and attractive facial appearance. Purpose: The purpose of the diploma work is to present nursing care in the facelift surgery. The aim of the thesis is to describe the role of the nurse in the preparation to the surgical procedure and after that with an emphasis on the educational role of the nurse, to identify the most common complications after surgery and to find out the patients’ satisfaction about the facelift. Methods: The diploma work was based on the descriptive method with a review of professional and scientific literature. The literature search was performed by using remote access to the Digital Library of University of Ljubljana and National and University Library web portal of databases PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Literature in English and Slovene was included, from 2002 to 2022, we gave priority to the recent publications which met the inclusion criteria, purpose and aims of the diploma thesis. Results: The nurse takes care of the patient through the stages of the process, which include planning the procedure and the desired final appearance, preoperative preparation of the patient for the procedure and for the changes after that. In addition, the nurse advises and gives guidance in a variety of areas that include prevention of complications and skin care. In the postoperative period, the nurse must pay particularly attention to the prevention, recognition and management of complications. The role of a nurse is also patient counselling and teaching in various areas focusing on skin and surgical wound care, lymphatic drainage, management and resolution of complications. Facelift brings high satisfaction to patients and the results have a positive impact on the physical, psychological and social aspects. Discussion and conclusion: Despite the increased number and promotion of non-surgical techniques of facial rejuvenation and prevention of facial aging, the advanced technique of the surgical facelift brings a high level of patient satisfaction. Throughout the treatment, the nurse has the role of an educator in various fields, advises on a healthy lifestyle, skin and wound care and appropriate management in case of complications. In addition, the nurse also identifies potential mental disorders and monitors patient satisfaction after surgery.
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