Plastic Surgeon Dr. Dean Kane of Baltimore Answers Question Regarding Lite-lifts
Q. So I fell 30ft from a tree and fractured my skull and lost vision to my left eye lost my hearing in both ears TBI and now 19 months later my left side of my face is still paralyzed and I’ve had an upper eyelift and weights inserted in my eyelid but I want to do a facelift to look somewhat normal again. Is there something I can do?
A. Thanks for your question.
There are 2 basic actions in a surgical facelift:
- Skin excess redraping and removal using an incision around the ears
- Internal soft tissue repositioning
All other procedures are considered non-surgical and minimally invasive such as peels, laser, volume fillers.Other minimally invasive options for patients not needing skin reduction include:
- Silhouette InstaLift
- ThermiTIGHT
- Sculptra
- Obagi’s ZO Skin Health
In general, if you can pinch more than an inch of skin along the jawline toward the earlobe, you will require an incision and skin reduction. The more skin laxity an individual has, the longer the scar around the front and back of the ear and along the side-burn and posterior hairline in order to redistribute the edge of the skin lifted and reduce the bulky darts and pleats left behind by a short scar with too much skin removal. Other procedures like eyelid lift, brow lift, rhinoplasty, neck lift, etc are in addition to the “face” lift.
I will presume the “Lite-Lift” is a surgeon’s marketing term for a limited incision lift as I have not heard of this variation before. The recent resurgence of the S-Lift (created in the early 1900’s), also called by other names as the Short-Scar Lift, Quick-Lift, Lifestyle-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.
I hope the above has been helpful. All the best!
This information is not meant as medical advice. It is provided solely for education. Our practice would be pleased to discuss your unique circumstances and needs as they relate to these topics.
