Mini-facelifts

Ahh...the allure of the "mini" procedure. It sounds so pleasant, with its implications of short recovery and a less invasive nature, so...cute.

Take for example, the "mini-facelift". It's been marketed under all sorts of clever names: the quick-lift, the mini-lift, the S lift, the life style lift, Dr. X's own lift - but they are basically all pretty similar. Use pretty standard incisions - sometimes a little shortened in length, and do only a little "work under the hood" - and call it a day.

Less involved surgery, of course, means less swelling and a quicker recovery. But it also leads to lesser results - and that's my point here. The results of a mini-facelift are simply not the same as a properly done full facelift. Think "minimal facelift". When you do less surgery, you usually get less of a result.

While mini-facelifts can work, and I certainly perform them in carefully selected patients, I think they are best suited to:
1) people that have had a previous standard facelift a few years ago, and now just need a little touch-up,
2) people with early aging changes in the cheek and jawline areas, but who still have an excellent neckline.

Wel'll talk more about facelifts in future posts. Have a nice weekend!