Mini Facelift

>VIEW REVIEWS Click to read our Reviews

Mini Facelift Overview

GOALS	Improve sagging of the neck and jowling of the lower face, reduce fat accumulation underneath the chin.
PROCEDURE	Mini Facelift
ANESTHESIA	Local anesthesia alone or with IV sedation in the operating room
LENGTH	Approximately 2-3 hours
AFTER PROCEDURE	Dressings removed after 1 day. Most sutures are removed by day 7.
RECOVERY	Most activities may be resumed after a couple of days. Swelling and bruising generally subside by day 10. Return to work in 7-10 days.

Before & After Photos

Sample Patient 2

Sample Patient 3

>VIEW PHOTOS Click to view additional Facelift Before & After Photos

Description
A Mini Facelift addresses loose or sagging tissue of the lower face and neck. The procedure involves several key steps including removal of extra skin, tightening of the lower facial muscle layer, as well as removal, repositioning or sculpting of facial and neck fat.

Compared with a traditional Facelift, a Mini Facelift is a similar, but less extensive procedure. The operation is tailored to the needs of each individual. As with a facelift, skin tightening is always included as part of a Mini Facelift. In contrast with a traditional Facelift, a Mini Facelift may entail shorter incisions, limited tightening of the muscle layers and limited fat removal or sculpting.

The Aging Process
As part of the normal aging process, the face undergoes several changes concurrently. There are skin changes including loss of elasticity, development of fine lines and wrinkles, and age-related skin color irregularities. Separately, there is loss of the youthful fullness and gentle convex contour that accompanies youth. In other areas, there is an accumulation of fat. This is especially common in the submental area underneath the chin.

In addition, there is an apparent deepening of facial creases including those around the mouth. Jowls appear along the jawline, so that a formerly smooth jawline is replaced with sagging tissue at the mid-jaw. Overall, the heart-shaped face reminiscent of youth, defined by an oval-shaped jawline on frontal view, is replaced by a more bottom-heavy, square-shaped lower face reminicent of aging.

Some of these changes can be addressed at their early stages with non- or minimally-invasive procedures. For a more lasting or definitive result, a Mini Facelift or Facelift may be considered.

Candidates for Mini Facelift Surgery
You may be a good candidate for a Mini facelift if you are dissatisfied with the appearance of your lower face, especially with regard to the appearance of jowls, loss of muscle tone in the lower face, laxity of the lower cheeks and neck, and deepened facial creases extending along the nose and near the corners of the mouth.

Sample Patient 4

>VIEW PHOTOS Click to view additional Facelift Before & After Photos

Mini Facelift Surgery
A Mini Facelift is performed either in the office or in the operating room, depending on your preferences and Dr. Pearson’s recommendations. Through discreet skin incisions made around the ears (see below), the facial and neck skin is lifted, allowing tightening of the deeper muscle tissues. At the same time, fat sculpting is often performed on the face and neck. In the neck, excessive fat accumulation is thinned.

Incision Site
Individuals considering a Mini Facelift often express concern about the incision site and associated scar. However, following surgery, the scar is rarely a concern. With proper planning, careful placement of incisions, meticulous technique and appropriate aftercare, facelift incisions heal reliably well. Patients are routinely satisfied with the imperceptible nature of their incisions sites, and consider the subtle scars to be a very reasonable tradeoff to obtain the improvement sought in terms of facial and neck laxity.

The incision site itself typically begins in front of the ear, where it follows the natural skin crease separating the cartilage part of the upper ear from the facial skin.
The incision then follows the curvature of the ear, behind the tragus which is situated just in front of the ear canal. The incision then follows the natural crease around the earlobe and in the crease behind the ear. Depending upon the need for neck lifting, the incision may course into the hairline behind the ear.

Dr. Pearson's Technique - mini-Facelift Incision
In Front of the Ear / Pre-Auricular Incision

Before, Planned incision site, Appearance at weeks 1, 2, 4, 8.

Dr. Pearson's Technique - mini-Facelift Incision
Behind the Ear & At the Hairline

Complementary Procedures
Liposuction and fat sculpting of the area underneath the chin is often performed during a facelift. In addition facial sagging and jowling, facial volume is diminished during the aging process. Fat transfer (also called fat grafting) may be performed at the same time as facelift surgery. This technique uses your own living fat cells from another body site to restore regions of facial volume loss to more youthful proportions. When appropriate, fat can be transferred from the abdomen, buttocks, or thighs.

Possible Non-surgical Alternative Treatments
Subtle signs of aging may be amenable to minimally invasive methods to rejuvenate the lower face.  Dr. Pearson offers a full range of nonsurgical procedures including facial skin resurfacing, Botox treatments, and volume replacement with a variety of fillers, including a combination treatment such as The Liquid Facelift.

Caution is advised regarding 'Energy-Based Treatments'
Caution is advised for those considering energy-based 'lifting' or 'tightening' facial rejuvenation procedures. Understandably, there is a strong demand for non-surgical options to improve the appearance of sagging facial skin. There are multiple FDA-approved devices which are heavily marketed as providing 'non-surgical' alternatives to a Facelift. These devices use laser, radiofrequency, or ultrasound energy in an attempt to 'lift' sagging facial skin. Often, patients are left disappointed because the results that they had expected are generally not consistent with the results they experience. Most of these non-surgical options are relatively expensive, performed by non-physicians, and deliver results that are typically so subtle that they are often difficult to discern.

Dr. Pearson does not offer or endorse any of these treatment modalities.

If you are considering one of these options, do your homework. Speak with individuals who have themselves undergone the treatment that you are considering. Ask to see photos which depict the average result obtained by the practice offering the treatment. Are results guaranteed? Ask about how you will be handled if no result or an unsatisfactory result is obtained. We have met many, many patients who have undergone such non-surgical, energy-based treaments, who then experienced disappointing results, and who were then told that they should undergo the treatment a second time or to wait for many months for a result to appear.

Ultimately, those patients desiring a discernible result typically undergo a traditional Facelift after all, but not before much frustration, wasted expense and lost time.

Sample Patient 5

>VIEW PHOTOS Click to view additional Facelift Before & After Photos

Recovery after Mini Facelift Surgery
Following a facelift, you can expect a few days of swelling and soreness which is well controlled with oral pain medications. Most sutures are typically removed between days 5 and 7. Makeup can be used at this point to camouflage any bruising or scars. Swelling and bruising generally subside by 7-10 days. You can resume most normal activities after a couple of days, except for intense exercise, which may be resumed at about 3 weeks. Most people are able to return to work with confidence in 10-14 days. Mini Facelift scars are usually not noticeable after enough time has passed for them to mature (see below). In any case, they are easily disguised in natural skin creases and by one's hairstyle.

Natural Appearance
Individuals interested in a Facelift often express concern about maintaining a natural appearance. Some people site examples of poorly-performed results they have seen or the unfavorable appearance of some celebrities.

Dr. Pearson shares the opinion that results should be natural. Following a Mini Facelift, there should be no 'operated look', incision sites should be imperceptible to onlookers, there should be no distortion of the corners of the mouth which may impart a 'pulled' or 'operated' look. View our photo gallery of results for samples of Dr. Pearson's facelift patients' results.

Sample Patient 6

>VIEW PHOTOS Click to view additional Facelift Before & After Photos

A Customized Approach
Dr. Pearson's technique is to customize the Mini Facelift procedure to each individual. In our practice, there is no 'cookie-cutter' approach to facial rejuvenation. Each patient's starting appearance including skin laxity, fat accumulation, volume loss, jowling, neck laxity, neck banding, and preferences are considered carefully and factored in to a plan for rejuvenation.

Results Matter Achieving an outstanding result for your Mini Facelift is our highest priority. Dr. Pearson has a long track record of achieving oustanding, natural results. View our Facelift patients' reviews and Review our Photo Gallery of Dr. Pearson's Facelift results.

Sample Patient 7

>VIEW PHOTOS Click to view additional Facelift Before & After Photos

---

Featured Videos - Facelift Patient Experiences

Patients describe their experiences and results following Facelift & Neck Lift procedures performed by Dr. Pearson

>VIEW VIDEOS Click to view additional Videos

---

Click on Review to view larger version

>VIEW ADDITIONAL FACELIFT REVIEWS

---

Contact Our Office Today - to schedule a consultation or service with Dr. Pearson