MACS facelift vs full blown facelift?

It is unfortunate that this was your experience. Although most do not have the extended recovery that you mentioned what I have learned in my more than 25 yrs of facelifting and especially with the MACS technique is that it has to be done for the right person, that swelling and bruising varies dramatically between patients and often depends on keeping your blood pressure low normal, prevention of nausea and vomiting, not taking OTC and other meds that cause bruising before and after surgery, and sleeping in a reclining chair most of your first week, and skill and experience of the surgeon among other factors. 

Patients who desire facial rejuvenation that is affordable, quick, and effective should consider the Lite-lift™. The LiteLift™ is an innovative facelift developed by board-certified plastic surgeons Dr. Larry Nichter and myself which benefits many male patients. The goal of the #LiteLift is to provide a less invasive natural looking option for both men and women desiring to refresh their appearance with less downtime and risks. The LiteLift® is a “real” facelift, which does address the underlying muscle, tissue and overlying skin.The technique requires limited incisions and takes a vertical lifting approach, in contrast to the traditional facelift, which requires extensive incisions and lifts or pulls the face towards the ears horizontally. The modern techniques used allow us to perform most LiteLift® procedures in the office under local anesthesia. Also, removing the risk of general anesthesia opens the door for more people to pursue facial surgery. All too often people do not move forward with undergoing the desires facelift surgery due to their overwhelming fear of the risks associated with general anesthesia.

This is a modified facelift that can be performed in the office with a local anesthetic and improve signs of aging around the neck, jawbone and lower face. These procedures are not "Thread-lifts" or "String-lifts". We do not use the "barbed" sutures employed in these other lifting operations. The Lite-lift™ uses longer lasting techniques that are discussed below. Because the incisions are limited, there is less bruising, swelling and healing time for most patients. Many patients can be back to work in one to two weeks looking rested and more youthful.The best candidates for #LiteLift are non-smoking patients 35-60 years old with stable skin elasticity, well-defined bone structure but showing early changes of the lower face and the neck. Older patients who cannot or do not wish to have a longer operation or general anesthetic can be improved with a Lite Lift™. All in all, Lite Lift™ surgery is individualized for each patient. 

Although I am not a big fan of the MACS lift in my practice, it is certainly possible to obtain a great result with this technique if you have the correct indications and if you have the right surgeon. I think a great alternative to such minilift procedures is a modified facelift with extensive lateral platysmaplsty.  The skin and SMAS are elevated in a composite fashion and the posterior platysma is undermined extensively to help improve definition in the neck.  However, if you have more extensive changes in the neck, a more standard composite facelift with anterior platysmaplasty is more appropriate.

I am sorry that the depth of the surgery and recovery was not well covered with you.  MACS facelifts work well with patients who have minimal neck issues and some modest jowling.  Most patients benefit from a a full facelift to address both the neck and the jowls.

I used both a MACS lift and an extended SMAS facelift, depending on the patient's situation.  In my hands, I don't see very much improvement with the neck and jowl area when I do the MACS lift, so those patients would be better served by a more powerful procedure.  I use the MACS lift for patients whose laxity issues are more limited to the cheek area.  If you have neck, jawline or jowl laxity, I usually use the other procedure.Best to go back and speak with your surgeon about your questions and concerns.

A well executed facelift has a brief convalescence and very minimum morbidity. In my opinion lesser facelifts offer no advantage in this regard. The results of shortcuts such as minimal incision facelifts are often disappointing.

I'm not sure what your question is. The academic definition of a facelift is pretty well defined. When titles like MACS, short scar, limited, poney tail, SMAS, & deep plane are used by the surgeon, why these techniques are being used and what the surgeon hopes to accomplish by using that technique needs to be explained to the patient.

I am sorry that you are not happy with the procedure that you had. There are many reasons for unsatisfactory results.  Best to discuss this with your surgeon.

Hi OneBella123:Today, a facelift is not a FACElift is not a FACELIFT. Each face is unique and tailored to the needs of each patient if provided for honestly by the surgeon. The
recent resurgence of the shortened scar facelift with the addition of a "SMAS" or second layer elevation called by
other names as the Quick-Lift, Swift-Lift, Soft-Lift, MACS-Lift and
others; are a single modification of the S-lift targeted to elevate sagging
lower cheeks jowls and lateral upper neck. The shorter scar, limited
undermining and second layer lift achieve the "quicker" procedure but
not necessarily the quicker recovery or the improvement you desire.A sincere, proper and comprehensive evaluation of your face, eyes, brows and neck by a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon or Facial ENT surgeon is essential to discuss whether your goals can be achieved using surgical, minimally invasive and / or non-surgical options. I wish  you the very best.Happy Holidays!

Facelifts are basically broken down into these components:1. Fat repositioning/removal/redistribution2. Muscle/fascia tightening3. Removal of excess skinThat's pretty much it. The difference among techniques - MACS lift, full face lift, so-called "lower facelifts" (which are usually full facelifts but with less or minimal work done to reposition fat in the midface), "short-scar" facelifts, "weekend lifts," "band-aid lifts," various trademark-named lifts, etc. -- is the degree to which each of these components are part of the surgical plan.1. Fat removal/repositioning/redistribution - will add time to the procedure (which adds cost) and will make the cheek areas potentially look fuller than lifts where this component is not done2. Muscle/fascia tightening - this often distinguishes what laypeople consider the more "invasive" facelifts from the "simpler" ones - basically, because it is hard to numb the muscle/SMAS/fascia under local. I believe this step is the cornerstone of good lifting, especially in the neck, and it is difficult to get good correction unless the patient is deeply sedated or under general anesthesia in my experience.3. Skin removal - the length of the scar depends on how much skin there is to remove. Period. If you a re a candidate for a "short-scar," it is because you do not have a lot of hanging neck skin. All lifts have some variation on an incision in front of the ear, potentially going up and around the back of the ear and down the hairline of the neck, and/or extending up the hairline in the temple. The length and position of the scar depends on where the extra skin is and how the surgeon pulls on it to get the most tightening of the skin.It has NOTHING to do with the usual marketing gimmicks of suggesting that a shorter scar makes you a better surgeon. A short-scar lift on a patient with substantial extra neck skin is likely to give a limited improvement and unlikely to result in long-term satisfaction.The MACS lift you had does not preclude the surgeon needing to do extra work on removing excess skin. The MACS lift's hallmarks are vertically pulling up the muscle/SMAS in the cheek. When MACS surgeons find there is too much extra skin to result in a smooth appearance in front of the face, they end up either extending the incision in the back (resulting in essentially NO difference in the scar pattern than if they had promoted their procedure as a "full" facelift), adding an incision in the temple behind the hair (why not just connect it to the incision you are already placing in front of the ear), or, worst of all, under the eyelids sometimes extending WAY beyond what a normal lower blepharoplasty incision would involve.