Regain Your Youthful Luster over a Weekend

A mini facelift is ideal for our Buffalo-area patients who require only minor changes to satisfy their aesthetic goals. Less invasive than other approaches, a mini facelift can produce natural-looking, beautiful results. If you are hesitant to undergo a traditional facelift, or you believe that your needs can be met without the use of a more complex surgical procedure, we can determine if a mini facelift is right for you. At our Buffalo practice - the Clinic of Facial Plastic Surgery - we specialize in facial procedures and have the knowledge and experience needed to help. To schedule a consultation with Dr. David Sherris or to learn more about this technique, contact our plastic surgery clinic today.

Mini facelift

Commonly referred to as a "weekend facelift" because of how quickly the procedure can be performed and how accelerated the recovery process is, a mini facelift is a viable alternative to full facelift surgery for patients who experience only minor sagging or droopiness of the jawline (typically those in their 30s, and 40s). Though a mini facelift is not able to address more advanced sagging skin or excess tissue on the face ,jawline and neck, like a traditional facelift, it is wonderfully effective at improving the appearance of the neck and lower face by reducing wrinkles, eliminating minor sagging along the jawline to create a more youthful appearance. 

The procedure is sometimes referred to as an "S-Lift"  or "Q-lift" because a mini facelift utilizes an s-shaped incision along the front of the ear with a smaller extension behind the ear. This incision is typically 1/2 to 2/3 the length of an incision used in the traditional approach, and allows the doctor to efficiently manipulate the Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System beneath the skin. Once the incision has been made and the skin flap created, the tissue overlying the facial muscles is tightened, the skin is pulled smooth and excess skin and fat tissue is removed as necessary. This technique results in a lift or repositioning of the lower 2/3 of the face and the upper 1/3 of the neck, providing a thorough transformation. Initial recovery from such a procedure typically takes about a week to 10 days, making the procedure well-suited for individuals with busy lifestyles. Sometimes other procedures, like neck liposuction or platysmaplasty which addresses neck banding are added to a mini facelift to provide more extensive changes through the most minimally invasive techniques available today.