How Effective is a Mini Facelift?

It is my opinion that the recent trend in advertising minilifts is predatory. Of course nobody wants to have a surgery that causes a long recovery time, or is expensive. And who need lab tests preoperatively when your minilift "surgeon" doesn't require any tests at all ( except the credit card clearance).

Enter the minilift. Quick recovery, perhaps even over lunchtime, no dangerous general anesthesia, low cost.

Right?

The real truth is in the results. Most patients having minilifts are expecting facelift results. If they don't get them, or if they have bad scarring from tightly closed incisions, they are disappointed in the results. You can see what the patient satisfaction was on the minilift boards, even on this website.

What patients are not adequately explained, in my opinion, is that the before and after pictures they are seeing on minilift sites look nothing like the actual results. They are not shown pictures of patients with horrific scarring; only clever patients who parse internet blog sites will find the truth and avoid mass market minilifts.

They are also not told that they have all the incisions of a facelift, but half the result. In saving an average of 1 1/2 hours of the doctors time and $5000 of their money, they get half the result.

They are not told about the pain of having surgery when you are awake, feeling needles, pulling and pain. Light general anesthetic with a board certified anesthesiologist suddenly sounds more appealing.

The recovery from a minilift is not much shorter than that for a real facelift performed by a skilled facelift surgeon. If the scars from the minilift are wide, the recovery and eventual revisional surgery will even be much longer.

Minilifts do have their place, in younger women who do not need a lot of deep tissue restructuring, perhaps, and in revision facelifts where the areas of concentration are more limited. However, to do a minilift in every patient for the reasons above is not the best medicine.

Properly performed, Mini-Facelifts are a legitimate and effectivealternative for facial rejuvenation. Shorter scars and fasterhealing times make them very popular. Be cautious about hour-longmini-facelifts that are marketed relentlessly on TV, or have catchynames. They are often being performed by non-plastic surgeons.

FaceTite can internally tighten the skin in the lower face and neck. After all the skin has been heated and contracted, we shape the neck with liposuction to give definition and remove stubborn pockets of fat. In one quick treatment, we can tighten skin, remove fat, and contour the lower face, jawline, and jowls with only a weekend of downtime.​ Keep in mind that combination approaches will give you a more significant improvement as opposed to a single procedure. I recommend getting a consultation with a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist and facial sculpting expert. Best, Dr. Emer

Most patients demand improvement to facial laxity without a significant downtime. Most surgeons demand the procedure that will produce the best possible result.The best possible result often demands more invasive techniques and greater downtime.This mini lift debate arises from these opposing demands. For a time, I did not believe mini lifts had a role in facial plastic surgery (largely due to how I was trained). Since then I have seen many patients in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s who are bothered with facial laxity but still maintain active lifestyles. They do not need a full facelift, and the skin tightening technologies (radiofrequency, ultrasound, lasers, etc) can only do so much. These patients deserve surgical options and could benefit from a little "nip tuck". Now I believe mini lifts do have a role and employ them often to make patients very happy.
Another problem with the mini lift debate is that the procedure itself is not well defined. If you asked a group of surgeons the difference between a mini lift and standard facelift, you would get many different answers. We even cannot agree whether to spell it "mini lift", "minilift", or "mini-lift". Until we agree to standard definitions for the various types of lifts out there, the "mini lift" will continue to get a bad name as it is grouped with the "lunchtime lift" and perhaps even the "thread lift" (both poor options).
We define the mini lift as a deep plane procedure designed to specifically tighten jawline and upper neckline. It does not address the lower neck, upper face, or midface. But for many patients, this is enough to create a significant, enjoyable result.

The term mini facelift can be confusing.  I would define this procedure as a limited or short scar facelift with no separate sub mental or neck incision with minimal work done to address the neck.  This procedure can be very effective for the right person.  Typically this person is in their 40s or 50s with mild to moderate gravitational aging in the lower face with good neck contour.

In the right patient, a mini-facelift is very effective.  The decision to do a mini vs. a traditional facelift depends on the status of the neck.  In patients with a large degree of aging in the neck, the traditional facelift is more effective.  In patients with less aging in the neck, the mini is a great option.

Mini facelifts tend to give you “mini” results especially if you have all of the ramifications of aging. I would consult with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon that can guide you through this process to allow for natural facial rejuvenation using techniques such as the “Lift & Fill” facelift techniques that are proven to have long-term positive effects in restoring facial rejuvenation in a natural manner.

Mini Facelifts are very effective for the right patient. They are a facelift which tightens up the lower face, jawline and neck and is easy to undergo for $6-8500 under local anesthesia with dramatic natural results. Most patients benefit from the Mini Facelift but beware of the TV advertised mills which give substandard results and obvious scars. Sincerely,

David Hansen,MD

Not every patient will need an extensive facelift. A mini-lift can address isolated areas of facial expression but cannot substitute for a full face lift in most cases. All plastic surgeons perform modifications of a facelift that are characterized as a mini-lift.

A minilift is a nonspecific term which is typically used to describe a limited incision lift.  While there is a role in minilifts (see attached article I wrote on minilifts), there is extensive variability in what a minilift is.  In my version of a minilift, an appropriate candiate will still have deeper tissues lifted, with just an incision which has been limited.  Minlifts where there is skin only tightening or limited deeper tissues lifted will result in poor scars and limited results.

The mini-lift procedure is not very effective. Treating an aging face is difficult enough with a facelift. I am a firm believer that minilifts cannot treat the aging face well.