What is an Endoscopic Face Lift?

An endoscopic facelift is where an endoscope it introduced through the hairline and helps guide the surgeon to help reposition tissue. Generally speaking an endoscopic facelift is another term for an endoscopic browlift or an endoscopic midface lift. An endoscopic lift will have very limited effects on the neck and jowl region. A facelift is intended to lift the tissues of the face and neck in an effort to improve the jawline, neck and descended tissues of the face. An endoscopic lift can be performed independent of a facelift or in conjunction with a facelift.

The "regular" facelift will remove the excess skin and fat and tighten the underlying muscle/fascia, whereas the endoscopic approach does not do this! The tradeoff is that the incisions are hidden behind the temple hairline behind the postauricular hairline and behind the tragus (the cartilage bump in front of the ear. I believe that this will give you a better, longer lasting result.
It is imperative that, in addition to surgery, you use the best skin care possible to keep your skin healthy and tight!! There are many product lines available...I recommend to my patients alternatives such as: Sente, Epionce, SK Signature Skin Care, Skinceuticals.
I also give the patients to increase and improve healing such as microneedling with PRP (platelet rich plasma) and Fraxel Repair to face, neck, and decollete. Check these out.
Good luck! 

Thank you for your question. 
As we age the forehead, eyebrow, upper as wells lower lids, cheeks and related soft tissues of face  drops producing deep nasolabial grooves (grooves between the nose and mouth), and sunken eyes with eyeballs and doubled cheeks. The face goes from being heart shaped with the volume of the cheeks over the cheek bones, to being more square shaped and jowly. All of these are part of face aging. If you have only some of them or only one of them then you are a good candidate for endoscopic mid face lifting. These are as follows: forehead, eyebrow, upper and lower lids with or without eyeballs and cheek. On the other hand if your problematic area are jowls and or neck than you might be a candidate for endoscopic mid face lifting but definitely you are a good candidate for SMAS lifting. 
An endoscopic midface lifting approach is a minimal incision approach which works very well in the brow and mid-facial regions. It plays no role in repositioning of the jowls, addressing platysmal bands or SMAS elevation unless a surgeon wants to spend more time in the operating room than is necessary. 
I hope this helps
Best wishes

When a procedure is described as being
"endoscopic," it means that the surgeon performs it with the use of a
thin, lighted probe called an endoscope. An endoscope helps the surgeon
visualize the treatment area without making a large incision, minimizing scarring
and recuperation time. However, this method isn't typically used for
traditional facelift surgery. Because of the anatomical limitations of the
face, the endoscopic technique is typically used when a patient wishes to treat
the mid- to upper face. A traditional facelift treats the lower two-thirds of
the face, which is where most people see the most significant signs of physical
aging. Hope this helped!

An endoscopic facelift is performed
through small incisions in the scalp with the assistance of an endoscope.  The procedure is very effective for browlifts, but has limited applications for facelift surgery.

The major advantage of this
procedure is limited incisions.  In
most cases, this procedure doesn’t adequately treat excess skin.  For this reason, the procedure has
limited applications for facial rejuvenation and most patients therefore
require a traditional facelift. 

I always recommend a full facelift.  Best to consult with a board certified plastic surgeon.  Best of luck.

An endoscopic facelift is truly a misnomer. An endoscopic browlift works well, but an endoscopic facelift is technically not feasible. It does not work well for the lower face. It is considered a marketing hype.

Generally speaking, an endoscopic facelift is a procedure where small incisions are made behind the hairline and used to provide visualization (with an endoscope) and minimally-invasive access for dissection. This technique is excellent for the forehead/brow region and midface/cheek region. It is not designed to tackle heavy jowls or hanging neck tissue. As such, endoscopic facelifts are often selected by somewhat younger patients. Best of luck!

Many surgeries today take advantage of smaller incisions, less cutting and the use of lighted camera-attached endoscopes. In the forehead and face, endoscopically-assisted surgeries have helped produce good results in properly selected patients. Looking through the scope, a real time video is transmitted to a monitor (television-like) and part of the procedure is performed with delicate motions coming from the surgeons' hands.  This sometimes can produce less trauma and quicker healing.  But this is not magic, requires skill and expertise on the part of the surgical team, and is still a  "real surgery" with "real recovery".

An endoscopic face lift refers to using an endoscope which is a fiberoptic camera that can be inserted through a relatively small incision. The problem with this technique is that minimal if any redundant skin can be removed which compromises the over all result in many.

A Mini Facelift performed by a well trained plastic surgeon is a  good alternative to a full facelift for many
A full or "traditional" facelift addresses the sagging upper and lower neck skin and (platysmal) vertical neck bands, jowls,  lower and mid nasolabial folds and marionette lines. It involves incisions from the temple scalp, along the front of the ear (inside the mid part for women), behind the ear in the crease then along or into the scalp hair behind the ear towards the back of your neck with undermining of the skin and  tightening of underlying support tissues.

A mini-facelift, or "short scar facelift" or as I call it in my practice a LiteLift addresses all of the above except for the lower neck. The difference is that the incisions are shorter - basically the same description in front of the ear and temple scalp but ending at the level of the earlobe (in front or in back) - as much as 40% less scarring. We do most of these procedures with oral sedation and local anesthesia without IV's or general anesthesia. It sounds like you would be a good candidate by your description.

Face lift surgery refers to cosmetic surgery of the lower 2/3 of the face, which involves the area in-front of the ear, along the jawline, and the upper neck to improve the neck line or "turkey neck". Face lift surgery is commonly combined with a neck lift or submental liposuction. Face lift surgery may be performed via several types, such as SMAS lift, MACS lift, mini lift, deep plane face lift, etc.
Face lift surgery does not use an endoscope (video camera inserted via small incisions). Endoscopic cosmetic surgery is for the middle face / cheeks for a midface lift, or the forehead / eyebrow for an brow lift. An endoscope does not play a role for aging neck or jowls.
Cosmetic surgery for sagging jowls and to improve the neck line is better performed via a face lift, which does not use an endoscope. An endoscopic midface or brow lift may be performed in conjunction with, or separate from, a face lift procedure. Speak with a plastic surgeon to perform a comprehensive evaluation to help determine which aesthetic options are appropriate for you.