Facelifts and bedsheets

I love this question.  It's one of the most common ones I'm asked by people who don't feel ready for any "big surgery" but want to turn back the clock a few years.  Here's my take on a mini-facelift vs a full facelift:

Think of the face as a bed.  The muscles are your mattress and the skin is your comforter.  In between the mattress and the comforter are your bedsheets: the SMAS, a thick layer of firm tissue over the muscles. 

Now here is the main difference between a mini-facelift and a full facelift:  a full facelift tightens the comforter (the skin) and smooths the sheets underneath (the SMAS). A mini-facelift pulls the comforter tight but leaves the sheets rumpled underneath.  Which procedure do you think will have more lasting results?

Another difference is what the procedures do for the neck.  A mini-facelift doesn't address the neck skin, while a full facelift does.  The scar for a mini-facelift isn't much shorter than the scar for a full facelift, and the recovery for both procedures truly isn't that different. 

A mini-facelift is for a mini-amount of loose skin along the jawline.  If you've got anything else that bothers you, you should consider other options. 

Hope this helps!

Most patients age synchronously so benefit from a full facelift (takes care of all problems).  Less often, the upper face (eyelids to jaw) may descend with the neck holding its own.  In this case a minifacelift might be the best solution.  However, one must properly wed the operation to the problem.

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