Mini Facelift

Cheek wrinkles and deepening creases from the nose to the corner of mouth (nasolabial folds) are common changes associated with early aging.

Plastic Surgical Arts provides a solution that is less invasive than a full facelift and longer lasting than facial fillers.

Under a local anesthetic in our office, incisions are placed in front of the ears and the skin is re-draped, resulting in tightening of the skin.

A mini-facelift provides faster recovery time than a full facelift and striking results.

You may be a good candidate for a mini facelift if you’re noticing aging in the mid-to-lower region of the face, skin laxity and loss of facial volume.

Perhaps the wrinkles of the cheeks are bothersome to you or you have prominent nasolabial folds.

If a full facelift seems a little to drastic and unnecessary at this point but Botox and fillers just aren’t giving you the long lasting results you want, a mini-facelift may be right for you.

In evaluating you for a mini facelift, your surgeon will assess the thickness, texture and elasticity of your skin, as well as the severity of wrinkles and folds.

Your hairline will be examined to determine where incisions can be discreetly placed and your bone structure and underlying tissues will be considered in developing your individual surgical plan.

Your surgeon may discuss with you additional procedures that can be performed in conjunction with your mini facelift in order to address all of your concerns.

For example, a mini facelift is frequently combined with eyelid surgery, or other non-invasive procedures such as filler.

When you arrive at Plastic Surgical Arts, you will be taken back to our sterile surgical suite for your procedure.

Local anesthetic (Lidocaine) will be administered before starting your procedure. You can expect your procedure to last approximately 90 minutes.

In most cases the incisions will be in front of the ears and will wrap behind the ears. The skin is separated from the muscle and fat so the tissues can be tightened. The skin is redraped and the excess skin is removed and incisions are closed with dissolvable sutures.

Once your incisions are dressed and bandaged, you will be permitted to leave immediately following your procedure and a one week follow up appointment will be made for you.

Most patients can drive themselves afterwards unless a valium has been taken prior to the procedure.

You should be able to resume to work within 1-2 weeks.

Preparation for your mini-facelift:

Avoid alcohol, smoking and blood thinners.

Hydrate by drinking plenty of water and use a moisturizer morning and night.

After your procedure:

Avoid strenuous activities for at least two weeks.

Avoid alcohol, smoking, saunas and whirlpools for several weeks.

Limit your time in the sun, wear a hat and sunscreen to avoid damaging the skin.

Drinking water and getting plenty of rest will help to promote healing.

Any sexual activity should be avoided for a minimum of two weeks, and your plastic surgeon may advise you to wait longer.

You will be swollen and bruised for several days after surgery and should keep your head elevated between 48-72 degrees at all times after surgery, even while sleeping.

You may use extra pillows or a reclining chair for this purpose. You may also use cool packs for 20-minute periods (20 minutes on and 40 minutes off). Frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel make excellent cool packs.

It is important to not overdo application of cold so as not to diminish blood circulation to the skin.

Elevation and cold may help reduce the amount of bruising and swelling. (PLEASE NOTE: It will be several weeks for ALL swelling to subside.) If you have a considerable increase in swelling, or if one side swells significantly more than the other, please call our office.

Please call our office immediately if you have any redness that spreads away from the incision/surgical area, if the area feels “hot” to touch, if you run a fever of 101.5 degrees or higher, (it is normal to run a low-grade fever after surgery), or if you have any green, black, yellow or ordorous discharge from the incision area.

The results of your mini-facelift may be dramatic or subtle, depending on how you look before surgery as well as the specific goals that you and your plastic surgeon have established.

Since the healing process is gradual, you should expect to wait at least several weeks for an accurate picture of your new look. Additional minor changes, or settling, may occur over the next several months.

Though a mini-facelift is permanent, genes, skin quality and the natural effects of aging are all factors in the longevity of your results. Most mini-facelift patients are very satisfied with the results for many years.