Isn't a Full Face Lift Riskier Than a Mini Face Lift with Respect to Complications, Etc?

The first thing that all should understand is that there is no standard definition of a "mini-facelift" and a "full facelift."  What each of those terms means may differ dramatically from one surgeon to the next.  Below, I will briefly outline what a Mini-Facelift and a Full Facelift means to John Bitner:

Full Facelift-


incision running from the hairline on the neck, behind the ear, through the earlobe, behind the tragus and up into the temporal hair

undermining 7-8 cm out onto the cheeks

removing a strip of SMAS from in front of the ear

elevating underneath the SMAS about an inch

repositioning the SMAS up and back

sewing the SMAS back down in its new position with a permanent suture

staples and sutures used to close skin are removed at 1 week after surgery


Mini-Facelift


incision running from behind the ear, through the earlobe, behind the tragus and up into the temporal hair (the incision is just shorter and ends behind the ear)

all the rest of the steps are the same as that for a full facelift


The recovery from both these procedures is about a week when sutures are removed and makeup can be put on.  Again, this depends on your definition of a recovery.  For the right person, usually younger, the minilift can get all the results of a full lift.  But, if a person has alot of heaviness, they need the full lift.  Cutting corners will leave the person unhappy with the overall results.  Find someone with lots of before-and-after pictures who does both a full lift and a minilift and they can help guide you to the best result.   

Hi and thanks for your question.  Although both procedures should have very low complication rates, the mini-facelift should have even fewer possible complications then the full.  The smaller procedure has less of a chance of any bleeding issues and a smaller chance of any skin healing issues.  In the right patient who doesn't have a lot of extra fatty tissue in the face and neck and doesn't have an extensive degree of aging, the mini-facelift is an excellent procedure.

It really depends on what your definition of a mini lift is. The problem with the mini lift is that it may not give you the correction you desire.  The risks, such as bleeding or infection are really about the same.

You are correct in that the less surgery you have the less the risk but also the less the improvement

In general, mini facelifts offer fewer complications than full facelifts simply because the procedure is less invasive, and performed in about half the time.  Most mini facelifts can be performed in an office setting under local anesthetic making it more safe than the higher risks of general anesthesia.  Risks of nerve injury and hematoma (bleeding), though rare, is higher as well.  I like to combine fat transfers with my mini lifts to get the best overall result.  For patients with more skin laxity and neck sag, a full facelift is often required in addition to a platysmaplasty. 

Well, more dissection and more surface area encountered in a full face lift probably translates to greater risk.  But you may be talking about raising the risk of, lets say hematoma, from 1 percent to 1.5.  Exposure (the ability for the surgeon to see the area encountered in surgery) is better in the full lift.  So one could also reason that the better exposure more than makes up for the increased risk.  So consider the choices carefully.  Ultimately, if a mini lift is the wrong operation,  no amount of risk reduction makes sense.  I'd go with a surgeon you trust and do whatever operation you both feel is the right one, with your goals in mind.