Mini Facelift in Birmingham
A mini facelift for me is basically a cheek neck lift. The cheek and neck are lifted by re-suspending the SMAS. SMAS stands for the Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System – for the purpose of a facelift, this constitutes the most important part of the face and musculature.
A portion of the SMAS is removed, and can be put in the lips, or naso-labial folds. Absorbable sutures are placed to re-suspend the tissue, making the face look much younger. Sometimes liposuction is required to remove fatty tissue from the cheek and/ or neck. Liposuction done alone can often leave the skin loose, but in combination with a facelift works very well. Excess fatty tissue of the neck cast a shadow causing the lower part of the neck to look very dark. This is a especially apparent in “selfies.” Models have told me how their photographers try to conceal that shadow with make up, and lighting tricks. The excess fat also can conceal the chin. Often after liposuction and a mini lift patients can look like they have had a chin implant as well. This is a result of re-creating the angle between the neck & the chin.
Most women have done this in the mirror many times before coming to see me. Basically taking your hands and pushing the tissue at an angle in line with the nasal labial fold will show you what this can do. As you age the tissue falls and you start to see shadows around your chin and on your cheeks. These have become much more noticeable as with social media there are many more pictures taken. Sometimes when the skin is lifted from the cheek and neck it causes excess skin to be more obvious around the lower eyelid. If this is the case lower lid blepharoplasty is done to remove this skin.
We all know and have seen people who have very hollowed eyes following blepharoplasty. Old-fashioned blepharoplasty tended to remove more fat from the lower lid, we now know preserve this volume, for we continue to lose it as we age.
When you look at pictures of yourself from 10 years ago you’ll notice the cheek and lower eyelid were confluent, and you didn’t see where the lower lid stopped and the cheek began. Aging results in a lengthened lower lid and this can be corrected by combining a mini lift with lower lid blepharoplasty. The recovery from a mini lift is no more than a week. The incision is in the hairline and extended behind the ear depending on how much excess skin and needs to be removed. There is essentially no pain and a hair can often be used to cover the incisions.
I ask all my patients what types of comments they get from others after this procedure and I hear “Did you get a new haircut?” “Did you go on vacation?” “You look very rested." “You look happy- did you meet someone?” This is exactly as it should be.
This procedure typically takes 2 to 3 hours. The procedure is done in our AAAHC accredited operating room with IV sedation or ” twilight” anesthesia.