Overview
The authors aim for a facelift that balances safety, effect and a natural result. They describe their deep plane approach, based on facial anatomy and the way the face ages. The method treats the skin, subcutaneous fat and mesoface fat pad as one connected unit and moves the fat pad with limited undermining.
Findings
- 864 facelifts performed over the last 5 years.
- 0 nerve complications reported.
- 37 hematomas reported.
- The approach centers on the mesoface unit: skin, subcutaneous fat and the mesoface fat pad.
- The mesoface fat pad is repositioned with limited undermining.
- The technique is tailored to each patient's anatomy and addresses the natural descent of the face.
- The authors considered the results harmonious and apparently durable.
- The abstract gives no follow-up length, patient-reported outcomes or other complication types.
What it means for a patient
- This is a deep plane facelift that aims to lift the midface as one unit while cutting under less skin.
- In 864 facelifts by this group, no nerve complications were reported. 37 patients had a hematoma.
- Limits: the authors rated their own results, and the abstract gives no follow-up length or outcome scores. The series is from one team and not compared with another technique.
Why this paper matters
It describes a deep plane facelift built around the mesoface unit with limited undermining, and reports nerve and hematoma counts from 864 cases.
Terms
- Deep plane facelift: a facelift that lifts the skin and the deeper SMAS layer together.
- Mesoface: the middle part of the face.
- Mesoface fat pad: a fat pad in the midface that this technique repositions.
- Undermining: separating the skin from the tissue beneath it during surgery.
- Hematoma: a collection of blood under the skin after surgery.
- Subcutaneous fat: the fat layer just under the skin.