What is the Difference Between a Lifestyle Lift and a Mini Lift?

There are three assumptions you can safely make in Facial Plastic Surgery:

1) The more advanced the aging changes are, the more extensive your procedure needs to be.

2) Not all surgeons are equal. As I was told in my training, " There is no such thing as a minor procedure; there are however, minor surgeons".

3) Always see a Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon or Board Certified Plastic Surgeon when considering a facelift, and get a second opinion.

Lifestyle Lift is a very heavily marketed procedure, and has multiple offices throughout the country. The procedure is performed by local surgeons at a Lifestyle Lift facility, under local anesthesia. A significant message of the Lifestyle Lift marketing is that they offer a procedure that can be performed in about an hour, with minimal downtime, quick healing, and significant results.

How Long Will It Last?

A one hour procedure may be appropriate in some patients, but is certainly not appropriate for most of the patients I see in SW Florida. Longevity of results for patients typical in my practice with a 1 hour procedure? Probably 12 months or less. Why? Facelift is truly a three step procedure which constitutes work on one side of the face, the contralateral side, and elevation and contouring of the neck. If you do not address each of these elements properly in the form of carefully placed incisions, skin elevation, SMAS elevation and tightening, trimming of skin with appropriate tension, meticulous wound closure (by the surgeon), contouring of the neck, and platysmaplasty, the result is less likely to hold up for a significant period of time. A more extensive procedure will require a variable period of downtime; some patients heal more quickly than others for a variety of reasons. It should be stated that some patients with even the least extensive of procedures (injectables) will experience significant bruising.

Just as in every profession and job in this country, some individuals are more gifted, more capable, and obtain better results than others. Not surprisingly, this is certainly true in Surgery. An advertised procedure is merely an advertisement; an individual surgeons's work is an individual surgeon's work regardless of how effective his/her marketing is.

In making your decision to undergo Facial Plastic Surgery, remember that is it likely you will be spending a significant amount of money, regardless of who it is you see. Ultimately, you will want to feel comfortable with the result that you have, the amount of money you have spent to get it, and the experience that you have had. It is better for a surgeon or company to underpromise and over-deliver than the opposite. Analyze the marketing carefully, listen to word of mouth, read websites such as this, and go with your comfort level.

As a former surgeon at the Ontario CA center, I can only speak from my experience.  My procedure was carefully modified according to the patient's particular anatomy.  It would often require extensive neck procedures as well as individualized lifting of the face.  A mini lift implies that little was done.  The "lifestyle lift" performed by me was definitely more than a "little" being done and was individualized according to the patient's needs.

Hi and thanks for your question. I can comment on the Lifestyle Lift Orange County, CA location and my practice and technique while there. Lifestyle Lift was one of the first plastic surgery practices to market lower facelifts under local anesthesia and oral sedation. The concept became so popular that many private practices now have similar marketed names for their facelifts under local anesthesia. The success of each clinic was highly dependent on the surgeon. The best surgeons at Lifestyle Lift were highly experienced, performing thousands of facial rejuvenation procedures during their careers there, such as myself. Each best surgeon performed their individual lower facelifts tailored to each individual patients' needs just as any surgeon would in their private practices. There was no proprietary technique, and it was not a mini lift in my hands.  That said, if a patient needed a mini lift with shorter incisions it could easily be performed under local anesthesia.  More commonly, I performed a complete neck lift with liposuction and platysmaplasty and a full lower SMASectomy facelift. Other surgeons in various locations perform what is best suited for their patients so the operation will differ with another surgeon.  With the ultimate closing of Lifestyle Lift, there remain the best former Lifestyle Lift surgeons out there who are experts in facial rejuvenating procedures under local anesthesia. Fortunately, many of these surgeons are now in private practice. If you are seeking to rejuvenate your face and neck, please carefully research online in your area to find a surgeon who has successfully performed thousands of local anesthesia face and neck lifts.