As the popularity of cosmetic surgery has grown, so has the competition to attract more patients. This has created price competition as well as a thriving market in medical tourism. The expanded awareness has also spurred creativity in the marketing of "new" procedures designed to fill a certain price-point, which also can be marketed as "less-invasive" or "faster recovery" in order to appeal to patients who might be testing the waters of cosmetic surgery for the first time.
The Lifestyle Lift is one such procedure, marketed as a one-hour facelift, outpatient procedure. It is essentially a short-scar, limited facelift. Although under limited circumstances, this may provide an adequate improvement, for the majority of patients it is destined to fall short of expectations.
Most patients with significant signs of facial aging will require a more comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic approach to achieve an aesthetically-pleasing facial rejuvenation. The forehead and brow, upper and lower eyelids, mid-face cheek and jowls, and neck areas all should be evaluated. A harmonious improvement often requires treatment of all areas simultaneously, rather than a piecemeal approach.
A limited incision facelift like the Lifestyle Lift cannot address all these areas, and therefore while there may be some apparent improvement initially (often largely due to the appearance of enhanced facial volume due to post-operative swelling), the improvement will not be long-lasting, and the areas where necessary improvements were neglected will become more obvious.
A beautiful facelift should preserve and restore a patient's natural and more youthful appearance, and should never leave a patient looking "not like themselves."
It can be tempting to consider a low-cost procedure with a quick recuperation that bills itself as equal to a "traditional" facelift, but the cosmetic surgery market now more than ever requires a "buyer beware" approach. It is of no use to throw good money after bad, rather than making the correct purchasing decision in the first place.
Make sure you know the difference between apples and oranges. Remember that a procedure that costs more now but provides a longer-lasting improvement is a better value than a cheaper procedure that won't hold up over time.
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