Can Mini Lift Also Get Rid of Acne Scars?

A mini-facelift will not improve your acne scarring unfortunately.  There are effective ways in treating this kind of scarring, such as laser resurfacing, dermabrasion, excising the area, and the Fraxel laser.  A mini-facelift  is a procedure that improves the look of an aging face.  It lifts the sagging skin, especially along the jawline, resulting in a more a youthfull appearance.  Consult your facial plastic surgeon to see what your best options would be.

"​Acne scars need a combination approach for long-term improvement. Everyone has a unique pattern of acne scarring, and most people have various types of scars, so we create a tailored treatment plan for each patient. We often use:
- Injectable fillers like Bellafill and Sculptra (with or without subcision) for atrophic, indented scars.
- Subcision for depressed, tethered scars.
- Vascular lasers like Yellow laser, Aerolase, excel V, BBL, or IPL for redness or thick acne scars.
- Lasers such as Fraxel, Erbium, CO2, Halo or fractional radiofrequency (Venus Viva, Skinfinity, Morpheus, PiXel8, Fractora, Intensif microneedling RF) for textural issues and superficial scarring.
- TCA CROSS and punch excision for deep ice pick scars and narrow box car scars.

All lasers are combined with microneedling/PRP to improve the results and accelerate your healing time. Keep in mind that a personalized combination treatment by an expert physician will give you the improvement you're looking for. I recommend getting a formal evaluation with an experienced cosmetic dermatologist and acne scarring expert. Best, Dr. Emer. ​"

A mini lift will do a great job rejuvenating and lifting your face. However, it cannot affect the surface of your skin. To take care of acne scars, you will probably need laser resurfacing. This can be done after your mini lift has healed or, possibly, on the same day as the lift, depending on your skin quality. If the degree of scarring is minimal, it might resolve with a series of chemical peels instead.
Treating your acne scars will actually aid your rejuvenation process, as it will produce new collagen in your skin, making your mini lift look even better. I hope this helps.

Unfortunately, any acne scarring present in your skin
will not be eliminated with a mini facelift. Instead, the procedure is designed
to tighten loose facial skin and to thus reduce signs of aging. If you are
looking to specifically address acne scars, you may want to consider other options
such as skin peels, microdermabrasion, and laser treatment. 

While a mini-lift will release the skin attachments to the underlying tissues, it does not affect the textural issues related to acne scarring. Resurfacing procedures such as dermabrasion, laser treatments or micro needling can be performed concomitantly with a mini-lift or at a later time, to improve the skin textures. In addition, fillers to the scars, Sculptra Aesthetic treatment and fat grafting have demonstrated benefit in improving skin quality in patients with acne scars. Hope this helps!

A mini-facelift treats drooping of facial skin and underlying tissue. The muscle called the SMAS is often re-suspended and the excess skin removed. It is an excellent procedure for the patient who is showing early signs of aging with new jowl formation. Acne scars will look better for a few month since the skin is stretched, but as the skin stretches back the scars will return.
In order to treat acne scars, the skin needs to be treated directly. There are a number of options, some of which are lasers and dermabrasion. Seek out a skin/facial specialist for a more definitive answer. As for timing, as long the procedures are separated by around 6 months or more, it is more related to your priorities.

Your concerns are not uncommon –
many patients want to improve the skin’s firmness as well as its texture or
quality, whether they have acne scars, age spots, or other surface
imperfections. While a mini facelift can be a terrific way to lift and firm the
skin with minimal invasiveness and downtime, the only acne scars it will
resolve are those which are on the skin that is removed, so unless you’re
fortunate enough to have your acne scars limited to these areas, you will also
want to undergo a skin treatment (or series of treatments, depending on the
extensiveness of your scarring and the procedure you choose). While you can
expect excellent results regardless of the order you choose, many of my
patients have found success by first having a Band Aid Mini Facelift, and after
they have healed, following it up with fractionated CO2 laser skin resurfacing.
Not only will this smooth acne scars by breaking down scar tissue and helping
your body rebuild more youthful collagen, but it can also be an ideal
complement to the mini facelift by reducing age spots, fine lines and wrinkles,
and even the scars from the surgical incisions.

Mini Lifts cannot help acne scars. It is possible that during the time you have your Mini Lift that your doctor can use a laser, fillers or dermabrasion to help improve the appearance of the scars.

If your Mini Lift is going to address skin with a fair amount of laxity then I would do the Mini Lift first, let it heal (about 6 months or more) and then address the Acne scars once your skin has settled in from the surgery.

Thanks!

A mini-lift will redrape some of the skin, but it wil not improve the acne scars.  Acne scars can be treated with filler, laser, and excision.

I like to explain facial surgery to may patients by thinking of the face like a house.  As a house ages sometimes it just needs new paint and sometimes the structure needs to be corrected.  Jowling and sagging necks are structural problems while fine lines and acne scarring are surface problems.  You can't fix a sagging roof line by painting the house and you can't fix jowling by resurfacing the face.  Acne scars can be improved (not eliminated)  by resurfacing techniques, fillers,and sometimes excision.