My office often gets asked if we perform the 'LifeStyle
Lift', 'S-Lift', and a variety of other names that end in
-lift. The callers and patients don't know, of course, that
all these names really refer to the same procedure,
otherwise known as a limited facelift. Their interest is
peaked by the allure of improvement in sagging jowls or
loose neck skin but without the downtime of a full facelift.
The confusion about this procedure stems from general
misconceptions about what an actual facelift is. Most
patients envision a facelift as a procedure that starts at
the top of the head and ends somewhere below the neck.
Visions of weeks of seclusion, obscene facial swelling and
bruising, and ruinous financial strain make many patients
feel that they definitely don't want a facelift. They don't
understand that a facelift is really a misnamed procedure.
A better name which more accurately describes what it
is....is a necklift or a jowl-necklift. A facelift, in
isolation, does very little above the jawline or for most
of the face. It is a procedure that changes the neck and
jowl line only. Many patients will have other facial
procedures done in conjunction with a facelift, such as the
brow, eyes, nose, cheeks, or lips (often referred to as
total facial rejuvenation) but these do not constitute a
facelift. As a stand-alone procedure, a facelift is really
about the neck and jowls and creating a sharper neck angle
and a clean jowl line again.
Therefore, a limited facelift is a scaled down version of
the full facelift. It has gotten, for a variety of
marketing purposes, many catchy names as previously
mentioned. Some plastic surgeons even put their own name on
it. But, in the end, there are all the same procedure. A
limited facelift is.....limited. Meaning the length of the
incisions used (in front of the ear), how much skin is
undermined and removed, and the amount of subsequent after
surgery care and recovery is much less than a full
facelift. And an important concept to grasp here is....the
result is also less than that of a full facelift. For this
reason, the best candidates for a limited facelift is
someone younger who has minimal jowling and loose neck skin
or someone older, who really needs a full facelift, but
prefers a smaller procedure for any number of reasons.
I have found that one-half of the facelifts I do today are
of the limited variety. They are very popular due to their
quick recovery, lack of pain, and minimal swelling and
bruising. They are a great stopgap measure that will
substantially delay the need for a facelift is some
patients and may, in others, potentiallhy eliminate the
long-term need for a full facelift. Whe combined with other
small face procedures, such as eye tucks and peels, they
really make a nice change with no chance of getting that
'operated look.'
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Dr Barry Eppley runs a private plastic surgery practice
through his hospital-based medspa locations at Clarian
Health in Indianapolis. To learn more about the latest
trends in plastic surgery, spa therapies, or skin care, go
to his daily blog, http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com .
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