Mini Facelift in Denver

A mini facelift helps make you look younger by repositioning the skin, muscle, and fat that have started to sag with age. Older types of facelifts only addressed the skin, and pulling just the skin causes an unnatural pulled appearance. We now know that the basis of jowling and neck sagging is from the laxity of the underlying muscle and fat layers. These layers are lifted back to their youthful position to rejuvenate the cheeks, lower face, jawline, and neck.

Mini facelift scarring is something we pride ourselves at being experts on. The goal is to leave minimal trace that you ever had anything done and the scars are hidden so that even with short hair or with your hair in a ponytail, people would be hard-pressed to see scarring. We design the incisions around the ears in such a way that they heal extremely well and lay in existing facial creases. We also have meticulous surgical technique and care for the incisions to make sure they end up as invisible as possible afterwards. If you have had a previous facelift elsewhere resulting in unsightly scarring, having a revision facelift with us can be of great benefit to help rejuvenate the face as well as remove the old scars.

There are many variations of names for facelifts, many of which are created for marketing purposes or are a minor alteration of a step in a standard facelift technique. Additionally, some terms using the word ‘facelift’ actually describe procedures that are not true facelifts. We at Smith Cosmetic prefer to use the terms “Facelift” and “Mini Facelift” to avoid confusion for our patients.

A mini facelift is designed to optimize your facial rejuvenation while minimizing the downtime required so you can get back to your normal life as quickly as possible with a great result. After a mini facelift you do not need drains and only need to wear the large facelift dressing for the first night after surgery. Sometimes, people are looking for a very large change or are coming in for a complicated revision case, which we have vast expertise in. In these cases, a more aggressive approach is needed to get patients to their goals, which can make a full facelift a better choice for them. The type of technique used in facelift surgery is also sometimes used as a descriptor of the procedure, such as a deep plane facelift, SMAS facelift, or midface lift. These differ most on the extent of dissection needed for your facial structure. Facelift surgery is our most common procedure and the technique used and details thereof are very individualized and in your consultation with the surgeon they can specify which technique would work best with your facial anatomy.

Some people refer to a browlift as an upper facelift and there was a time years ago that people would encompass all sorts of aging face procedures under the facelift name. Now, it is more commonplace to define the procedures by the facial feature being lifted such as specifying the difference between a browlift and a lower face and neck lift. A browlift helps elevate and rejuvenate the eyebrow position, most commonly in the outer part or lateral part of the eyebrow. This is performed using small incisions in the scalp with the scars hidden in the hair. A lower facelift is meant to address the jowling and neck laxity you see around the jawline and neckline areas. The incisions for the lower facelift are located around the ears and sometimes a very small incision just underneath the chin.

Facelift surgery is specifically designed to help with the appearance of your lower face with attention to the chin, jawline, fat underneath the chin, and neck. Routinely, liposuction underneath the chin is employed in facelift surgery to help contour the entire lower face area to achieve comprehensive rejuvenation to achieve facial harmony and revitalization.

It is very common to combine other surgeries with a facelift since there are multiple areas of the face that may age at a similar timepoint. Some of the most common combined procedures with a facelift include browlift, upper eyelid surgery (upper blepharoplasty), lower eyelid surgery (lower blepharoplasty), liposculpture (fat transfer from the abdomen to the face), and skin laser resurfacing. Combing procedures often helps in multiple ways as you can have just one session of anesthesia and can recover from the different procedures simultaneously without extra time added to the recovery process. Additionally, there is sometimes a discount if you have multiple procedures done at the same time.

Facelift results are permanent as in the tissues are brought up to their youthful position and the excess skin is removed. However, as much as we would like to pause the aging process, it continues after surgery. Some people never see a need to have a second facelift done whereas others start to see signs of aging around 8 to 10 years later and opt to have another facelift at that time.

There is no set timeframe between mini facelift surgeries required as each person’s face ages at different rates. If you have had facelift surgery elsewhere and are unsatisfied with the results, in some cases it is reasonable to do a revision facelift within the first year or so to address the issues that remain. On the other hand, if you have had good results and are interested in maintaining that appearance, the best thing you can do is to continue to see your facial plastic surgeon for maintenance botox and be evaluated for fillers periodically while keeping a personalized skin care routine with our medical aesthetic center.

That said, sometimes people opt for tuck ups before the ten year timeframe when they start to see the beginnings of aging on their face again. In fact, this is the technique that many celebrities who never seem to age will do. This way, there is not a big dramatic change the public can see but can stave off signs of aging before they become more and more noticeable. Please note, this is the technique that celebrities with good plastic surgery do (there are many examples of bad plastic surgery out there, especially in Hollywood)

In our complimentary consultations, patients have the opportunity to discuss all their thoughts, goals, and questions. Our surgeons make sure to spend adequate time with each patient to ensure that your visions are aligned to achieve a result that everyone is thrilled with. Mini facelift surgery is not a one-size-fits-all, every face is unique and everyone’s anatomy is different. Your consultation is unique to you and the procedure(s) recommended will depend on your goals and facial features. Your plastic surgeon will discuss your medical history, medications, allergies, previous surgeries, and of course your vision for what you would like to achieve and spend time discussing the procedure(s), their risks, benefits, and alternatives as well as the recovery process and any questions you may have about the process from beginning to end. Additionally, we will have you have photos taken and our medical version of photoshop is used to help image what the procedures may look like on your face. This tool is helpful in aligning your and your surgeon’s expectations.

It is always helpful to have an idea of what you would like to discuss ahead of time. Some people choose to write down their questions ahead of time and some like to bring a friend or family member to help them remember all the informaiton discussed. You should make sure to bring a list of your medications and information about your health history to fill out our new patient paperwork, which can be sent to you ahead of time. While it is always good for a patient to be familiar with the procedures they are interested in, we do not recommend you overwhelm yourself with burdensome research beforehand as internet sources for medical care are not always the most accurate or helpful. Please be assured our doctors will take the time to answer your questions whether they come up during or after your visit.

The best preparation patients can do before mini facelift surgery is detailed at length In our preoperative patient booklets. Much of this information ensures that you are prepared both physically and mentally for your surgical day. Commonly, patients have bloodwork and an EKG done ahead of time to make sure that you are healthy enough for anesthesia. If any additional medical clearances are needed before surgery, your surgeon will let you know with plenty of time beforehand. From a mental standpoint, we recommend reading over the Patient’s Journey diary from one of our mini facelift patients who happens to be a staff member as well! She explains her experience in detail so you can know what to expect going in.

We take pride in minimizing any scars and hiding them in natural contours of the face so that when they are healed, they are very hard to see.