What is a Biltmore Lift?

Simply put, the Biltmore Lift is a face and neck lift performed at Biltmore Plastic Surgery in Asheville, NC by Dr. David Harley. Over the years, I have performed several thousand face and neck lifts using a variety of techniques, including SMAS plication, lateral SMASectomy, and the deep plane facelift technique. I have been performing mostly deep plane facelifts recently. Most of these include platysmaplasty with some sculpting and removal of fat from along the jawline and neck. The common ingredient for all of my lifts has been the use of local anesthesia and oral sedation. Patients are thus able to walk in and walk out of the office, and also they enjoy the benefit of reduced costs and practically zero anesthetic downtime. So from an anesthesia standpoint, I would describe this as minimally invasive. However, I have learned that while patients desire minimally invasive procedures, most do not usually want mini results. Therefore, I have employed what I feel is the most sophisticated face and neck lift technique available today, known as the deep plane face and neck lift. This procedure offers optimal results, both natural and long-lasting, while being done under local anesthesia. Clearly, patients agree and often travel across the country and around the world for the procedures we provide. Many times their friends and family travel the same distances after seeing their loved one’s new look.

The confusion surrounding various facelift techniques often stems from marketing phrases that attempt to brand a certain type of procedure. The name isn't as important as what actually occurs during surgery and whether it will produce the results an individual patient wants. In this case, a Biltmore Lift is simply a minimally-invasive facelift that may be fine for some patients. But it will not match the transformative results that a surgical procedure can provide, such as a SMAS facelift.

Facelift surgeons love to name their specific combination of techniques. This is for marketing purposes and does not indicate any particular clinical efficacy or specific utility to a given patient. In your consultation, please inquire about the technique: what is lifted? where are the incisions? how is the neck treated? etc. This will be much more valuable than requesting a surgery by it's marketed name. Take care and best of luck!