Why skin-only (mini) facelifts fail. Demystifying and deconstructing the facelift with Dr. Zelken

Beauty is more than skin deep. And while you may look in the mirror and put an index finger by your cheekbone and middle finger along your jawline, pull back, look at the change, and ask yourself, “why can’t my doctor just take out a pinch of the skin if it looks this good?” Well, simply put, we do. But we do so much more than that as well. A skin-only, sometimes known as a “mini” facelift, can often provide early and impressive changes without the risks, downtime, or expense of more invasive facelift surgery. Therefore, there is an obvious appeal to the concept of conservative or mini-facelift. Unfortunately, the scar is no different than a full facelift, and the results last a fraction of the time. Over 30 years ago, there was a paradigm shift in facelift surgery where attention shifted from skin tightening to deeper layer release and tightening. The SMAS is the focus of the modern-day facelift, and its manipulation and resuspension has revolutionized facelift results. Gone are the days of over-pulled lower faces, wide and unsightly scars, and short-lasting results. The modern facelift, including SMASectomy, SMAS plication, and the deep plane facelift effectively manipulates and shares the load of tissue resuspension with the skin. Three-dimensional load sharing generates impressive yet natural enhancements that stand the test of time and truly address changes that occur with facial aging. In this video, Dr. Zelken costars with “Skully”, a plastic facial skeletal model as well as tissue paper, microfiber lens wipes, and a handful of paper clips to demystify, deconstruct, and simplify the modern facelift in less than 15 minutes.