Can you please tell me the difference between an SMAS facelift and a deep plane facelift? (Photo)

Question

Which one is safer? Has longer lasting results? Best for me? Sorry, my photos were upright when I uploaded them, don't know why they're rotated. I'm also looking for a reasonably priced surgeon in Canada, the US or Mexico. Unfortunately, haven't been able to find someone who meets all of my criteria . .

Ercan Karacaoglu, MD, FEBOPRAS · Answer

HelloBoth of the terms of SMAS lifting and deep plane lifting can be applieid to a great number of techniques, there is no one and the same method called  Deep plane lift and there is no very definite technique called SMAS. If try to describe in few words the difference between them, the deep plane face lift incorporates all three layers, skin, fat SMAS as one unit. And in deep plane lift  these three layers are lifted together.This is in contrast to the traditional facelift procedure wherein the skin and SMAS are lifted individually.   It can provide overall better results, as this technique allows the surgeon  to lift the looser tissues up. Besides, it is more complicated technically and has more inherent risk of facial nerve damage.In a SMAS technique  the skin and SMAS are lifted individually. The SMAS lifting  affords much greater control with respect to direction of pull. The SMAS lift will  give you a longer lasting result. A dramatic improvement in the neck and jowls  and cheek can be achieved with experienced surgeon with less injuries, less recovery time and less cost. That is why I think choosing the surgeon you can trust and  whose decision you can rely on, should be prior to choosing surgical method.  I would recommend  a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon for this procedure.  Facelifts requires expert skills and is worth spending the money for the optimal result. I wish you best of the luck!

Pravin Reddy, MD · Answer

A study performed several years ago involving different face lifting techniques on opposite sides of the same patient failed to prove significant differences in results.  The priority in face lifting is to offer the safest technique and match the proper technique to the patient's goals.  The surgeon you select may have trained in a particular technique and able to produce good/excellent results consistently with one technique alone.  I do not feel that the deep plane /composite face lift has much advantage over many of the SMAS techniques.  I rarely see the deep plane technique offered or presented at our society meetings.I would recommend finding a surgeon who is well trained (Board Certified in Plastic or Facial Plastic Surgery) with whom you are comfortable with and follow their recommendations.  I would not specifically seek out one technique over another.I hope this helps.

Jonathan H. Sherwyn, MD · Answer

The deep plane face lift incorporates  all three layers, skin, fat SMAS as one unit which are lifted together. This is in contrast to the traditional facelift procedure wherein the skin and SMAS are lifted individually. The latter affords much greater control with respect to direction of pull. The SMAS lift will  give you a longer lasting result. I would recommend  using a US Board Certified Plastic Surgeon for this procedure.  Facelifts requires expert skills and is worth spending the money for the optimal result.
Best of Luck to you!

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD (retired) · Answer

Hi, I have performed facelifts for over 30 years and have performed many minimally, invasive SMAS facelifts on women in their late twenties and early thirties.  From the photos your cheeks are flat in the front (more so on the left than the right and jowls are present.  These factors combine to create an elongated, rectangular shaped face. 
  Following my facial beauty principles, women look the most feminine, youthful and attractive with heart shaped faces.  Heart shaped faces have cheeks that are full and round in the front.  Cheek augmentation with a dermal filler or using cheek implants for a permanent enhancement will create full, round cheeks that will feminize the entire face.
 "Jowls” are sagging facial tissues and the main indication for some form of a SMAS facelift.  The underlying SMAS layer, of the face, must be dissected, lifted, trimmed and re-sutured (not merely folded or suspended with threads or sutures that will not last).  The excess skin is then removed and the facelift incisions closed.
My most popular facelift is the minimally invasive, short incision facelift that has all the benefits of more invasive facelifts (traditional, mid-face, deep plane, cheek lift and subperiosteal facelifts) but with these added benefits:
very small incisions and no incisions extend or are placed within the hair.minimal tissue dissection = less bruising and swelling = rapid recovery ( several days instead of weeks or months with the more invasive type facelifts mentioned)can be performed in 90 minutes or less, with or without general anesthesiano incisions within the hair = no hair lossexcess fat can be removedexcess skin removedcheeks, chin and jaw line can be augmented with dermal fillers (I prefer Restylane Lyft) or facial implantsmost patients fly back home to parts all over the world in as little as 3 days post-opI combine facial shaping with every facelift procedure.  When jowls are present, these should be done in concert and not alone or separately in order to create a naturally, more attractive face.
 The deep plane facelift is a more aggressive version of the SMAS facelift with longer surgery time (4 - 6 hours), general anesthetic, longer incisions including into the front and back hair, significantly longer recoibery time(months) and like "all" facelifts the "key" aesthetic facial features must still be shaped separately or in addition to this invasive type facelift.
Hope this helps.

Can you please tell me the difference between an SMAS facelift and a deep plane facelift? (Photo)

Answers (4)

More SMAS Facelift Questions

Could revision surgery help "tuck-up" my hanging skin? Who does revision facelifts in DC/Baltimore area? (Photo)

Could Facial SMAS be used in Augmentation Rhinoplasty?

Does SMAS facelift have an effect on lips? Can it make them smaller?

Why does my neck/jaw look like this 9 months after SMAS facelift? What can be done to make it better? Is this common?

Can a deep plane face lift (SMAS) be performed using only oral (valium or equivalent) meds and local injections?

WE SEND PRETTY
EMAILS