Facelift Variations for Older Individuals
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People aged 50 and older will usually need a more extensive type of facelift surgery since they have more amounts of excess skin than younger patients. With this consideration, plastic surgeons have developed SMAS lift and deep plane lift which go deeper into the facial tissues to provide a lasting result.
The SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system) lift has been developed after plastic surgeons noticed that the result of previous techniques were short-lived since the skin, which was only cut and pulled back, kept falling as there was nothing to support its higher position.
This facelift procedure addresses such problem by lifting the superficial top layers of skin as well as the deeper facial and neck tissues—areas which tend to sag with advancing age.
Plastic surgery specialists perform SMAS lift by making an incision at the temple above the hairline and travels downward along the front and back of the ear. To hide the scar and make this unnoticeable in any circumstances, the surgical cut is strategically placed along the natural creases of the skin and behind the hairline.
Through the incision, plastic surgeons can elevate the deeper facial tissues and remove the excess skin that is causing the sagginess. Once the necessary changes have been made, they will stitch the area in order to support the new contour.
Due to the extensiveness of the incision, most younger individuals are not a good candidate for this approach but rather those who are 45 years and older with neck laxity, prominent jowls, and mid-face sagging.
Meanwhile, the deep plane lift is another type of facial plastic surgery for older patients who usually need the most correction. During this procedure, doctors also lift and reposition the tissues just like in the SMAS technique, although they go even deeper.
This procedure requires an incision along the hairline that travels in front and behind the ear just like in SMAS lift. In this way, doctors can separate the skin and muscles from the deeper facial tissues, lift the upper fatty tissue layers and facial muscles, and then reposition these in the area of the cheekbones and mid-face region.
If needed, a small amount of skin is removed and the muscle tissues are reshaped. Once the necessary changes have been made, plastic surgery specialists will redrape the skin and suture it in place.
Because this facelift approach goes into the deeper tissues, this is highly ideal for older patients who have severe facial sagging and laxity.
With deep plane lift, doctors can create a dramatic change in the mid facial region by addressing the nasolabial folds (nose-to-mouth lines), sagging cheeks, and drooping jaw and chin.
Cosmetic Surgery Blogger @ October 27, 2011