A facelift, or rhytidectomy, is a plastic surgery procedure used to firm and smooth the skin around the jawline, cheeks, forehead, eyes, nose, mouth and neck. This type of plastic surgery reduces loose or saggy facial skin and wrinkles that are caused by aging

Your cosmetic surgeon will recommend the best facelift technique for you by assessing where the trouble spots are, how much sagging or wrinkling is present, your skin’s elasticity and the shape of your face. The goal is always to produce a lifting and sculpting of the face that looks natural and creates very little scarring.

Facelift surgery candidates should be physically and mentally healthy and have realistic expectations about the benefits and drawbacks of various facelift surgery techniques. Ideal candidates also have good facial skin elasticity and flexibility and well-defined underlying bone structure. That said, by using advanced techniques in facial rejuvenation, cosmetic surgeons can more easily correct problems related to bone structure or severe ptosis (sagging).

Traditional facelift surgery, when performed correctly by a qualified cosmetic surgeon, is by far the most effective way to address wrinkled and sagging skin on the entire face. This technique, though invasive, offers long-lasting and rather striking improvement. During the procedure, a facial cosmetic surgeon separates the skin from underlying tissue; excess skin is removed and sutures are used to hold the skin in its new position. Recovery can be long (several weeks or months), and patients may have permanent scars in the hairline and in front of the ears, although many patients can successfully hide them.

Performed on deep facial folds along the mouth and nose, the deep plane facelift involves sculpting the area through fat removal, the tightening of facial muscles and re-positioning of the skin. Surgeons advise that additional swelling may be a consequence of this procedure due to the deep incisions used.

Endoscopic (or “scarless”) facelift surgery can be used to correct saggy cheeks, frown lines, creases around the nose and mouth, and/or downturned lips. This minimally invasive face lift procedure requires only very small incisions to accommodate the endoscope and the long, thin instruments used to perform the surgery. The incisions are located above the hairline or behind the ears. Patients undergoing endoscopic facelift surgery enjoy quicker recovery times and fewer complications.

A procedure that cosmetic surgeons refer to as mid facelift is used to target cheeks, unsightly bags under the eyes, and wrinkles around the eyes, nose or mouth. Traditional mid facelift techniques, which use small deep incisions hidden in the lower lash line and/or the folds of the skin around the nose, are best for upward lift. Mid face lifts can be done endoscopically as well, using hairline incisions around the temples to create both a vertical and diagonal lift. Mid face lift recovery time is about one week, and there is often less swelling and bruising than with the traditional procedure.

Problems such as saggy skin and wrinkles in the lower third of the face can be corrected using lower facelift surgery. the S technique requires a very small, s-shaped incision just beside the ear.The SMAS lower face lift procedure repositions skin and the underlying muscle of the cheek with an incision that begins in the temples and loops around the ear. During both techniques, the surgeon separates skin from underlying tissue and removes excess fat while tightening muscles and skin.

The mini facelift, also known as a “weekend” facelift, can be used to reduce minor sagging around the neck, jawline and cheeks.As the name suggests, this procedure makes use of very small incisions, and has a short recovery period.

The thread facelift procedure reduces minor sagging in the cheeks, jawline and neck without the use of anesthesia.With this surgery, doctors use thin threads inserted into tiny incisions which are attached to the skin and then pulled back to create the lift.This procedure causes minimal scarring (if any), and the threads remain hidden beneath the skin.

Regardless of the facelift procedure performed, the best and most natural-looking surgeries tend to be done by specially trained facial cosmetic surgeons.

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