Facial Plastic Surgery Blog

Lunch-hour facelifts or Minilifts that fit your lifestyle

One of the most pressing concerns regarding facelift procedures is the downtime associated with them. This is the time for any bruising or swelling to go away, or the time it takes to get back to work or play without being noticeable. For a standard deep-plane facelift, this can be 2 or 3 weeks. Minilifts promise zero (which is unlikely) to a few days ‘downtime’. It should be noted that by downtime, we don’t necessarily mean ‘recovery time’, which is the time that it takes for you to feel good enough to be up and about. This is generally much quicker, about 2 or 3 days or so after a deep-plane facelift.

However, for some people, even this would be too much bruising. To fit the active San Francisco Bay Area patient’s lifestyle, the minilift facelift, which comes in many different flavors, has come along. You may hear about S-lifts, MACS-lifts, ‘Might-mini lifts’, etc. These are all variations of a minilift procedure. The idea here is that we try to use a slightly smaller incision around the ear, and less of the tissues of the face are actually operated on. We try to minimize this because it reduces the amount of bruising. Of course, it always compromises the result (no matter what anyone says, this is the case, and it makes sense). Not that a compromise is necessarily bad. One just must be aware that the result (a) might not be as dramatic or (b) last as long as a traditional lifting procedure. As long as these are understood, the procedure can be a good one.

Some have begun advertising the ‘lunchtime lift’. This, again, means different things to different people. I have seen it mostly promoted by dermatologists who have experience in skin surgery, who are venturing into the facelifting arena. Alternatively, I have seen it used to describe non-invasive procedures such as Botox®, fillers such as Restylane® or Radiesse®, or Thermage® and Titan®. The bottom line is, whatever it is called, it is likely not anything new but a perhaps a variation on minilifting (though I can’t imagine this being done at lunchtime) or the above non-invasive procedures.

I am fortunate that I can discuss and offer all of these types of procedures, from the least invasive to the traditional ones, to my patients. I think it is important that the physician discussing your options with you is well-versed in all of these options (not just some), or it may lead to bias. For me, it is important that my patients be satisfied with their results for years, not just for months. Thus I make sure we both are on the same page regarding the positives and negatives of each procedure that’s out there.

So to summarize:
-Minilifts come in many flavors & names, may fit your lifestyle and budget
-Offer less bruising/swelling, quicker return to normal state
-Can be done under local anesthesia
-Cost less than traditional facelifts
-Are a good option if you don’t mind a lesser result

If you have questions comments about Minilifts, or your own experience with a Minilift or Lunchtime Lift, please post here.