Facelift Terms to Know Before Your Consultation

If you’re considering a plastic surgery procedure, it’s only natural to want to learn more about it. But if you jump in head-first, you might feel like you’re drowning in a sea of complex medical terms you don’t understand. To make the process easier, I’ve built a small glossary of terms any facelift patient will want to know.

Anatomy

Tear trough is the deep crease some patients have that starts in the inside corner of the eye and curves around about an inch under their eye.

Nasolabial fold is the deep wrinkle many patients have that extends from the nose to the corners of the mouth.

Jowls are the areas of sagging skin that develop with age along the sides of the jawline.

Collagen is a protein your body produces, and it keeps skin firm, smooth, and youthful.

Elastin is a protein your body produces to keep the skin firm and “elastic,” much like collagen.

Epidermis is the top layer of the skin.

Dermis is the middle layer of skin, just below the epidermis. The dermis is where wrinkles form and where collagen and elastin exist to make the skin firm. This is also where facial fillers are placed to smooth wrinkles.

Subcutaneous is a term that means “below the skin.”

SMAS describes the underlying facial muscles and other tissue beneath the skin. In many face lifts, the SMAS (which stands for superficial musculo-aponeurotic system) is lifted to a more youthful position to create a more natural-looking result.

Procedures/Techniques

Rhytidectomy is the technical term for a facelift. This procedure typically focuses on the lower two-thirds of the face (below the eyes). Signs of aging above the eyes are treated with another procedure called a brow lift or forehead lift.

Mini facelift is a general term used to describe a less invasive version of a traditional face lift. Every surgeon performs mini facelifts differently, and some are not very effective, so be cautious about knowing what type of results you can expect.

Band Aid Mini Facelift is a specialized minimally invasive surgery I developed in 1997 and have performed for over 6,000 patients. The surgery is designed for patients who don’t need a full facelift but who want a natural-looking result with half as much recovery time. I perform the Band Aid Mini Facelift in my comfortable office setting with gentle numbing rather than general anesthesia, which lowers the cost significantly as well.

Mid Facelift is a facelift that focuses only on the middle third of the face primarily the cheeks and the area under the eyes.

Lower facelift is a surgery that focuses solely on the bottom third of the face, like the jawline, the “jowls,” and the area underneath the chin.

Cutaneous facelift is an old, now unfavored type of facelift that lifts only the skin, not the underlying muscle or other facial tissue. It is rarely performed today because the results are short-lived and because it often leaves patients with the dreaded “windswept” look.

Thread lift is a procedure that only uses a few tiny stitches under the skin to lift the underlying facial tissue. However, these lifts tend to produce minimal results that fade quickly.

Deep plane lift is a more extensive type of facelift that lifts not only the skin and the SMAS but the facial structure beneath as well.

Blepharoplasty is the medical term for cosmetic eyelid surgery, which is very commonly performed at the same time as a facelift. Like my Band Aid Facelift, I also have offer Band Aid Eyelid Surgery which can be performed using gentle numbing.

Aging

Ptosis is the medical term for sagging or drooping.

Hyperpigmentation is a darkening of the skin, usually in the form of small dots or patches that most patients call age spots. This is typically caused by sun damage over time.

Photoaging is aging that is caused or accelerated by sun exposure, like age spots, sallowness (yellowing skin), and some wrinkles.

Surgical Terms

Local anesthesia is an injected numbing medication that keeps the treatment area comfortable while the patient remains awake. This is one of the primary advantages to my Band Aid Mini Facelift.

General anesthesia is an intravenous anesthetic that keeps a patient comfortable during surgery by making them unconscious.

Excision simply means to remove; in a facelift, a certain amount of excess sagging skin will be excised.

Exparel® is a medicine I inject at the end of the surgery to reduce post-surgical discomfort for up to three days.

Hematoma is a pooling of blood beneath the skin.

Hyperpigmented/hypopigmented scar is a scar that is either darker than your natural skin (hyperpigmented) or lighter than your natural skin (hypopigmented).

Hypertropic scar is a scar that raises above the incision site, but it doesn’t get wider than the incision.

Keloids are large, raised scars that are sometimes itchy and uncomfortable and may pucker the skin. They’re larger versions of hypertropic scars and they can grow beyond the incision. The risk for keloid scarring is genetic.

If you’re researching an upcoming plastic surgery, go into it with accurate expectations. Don’t try to develop a medical school-level understanding of the procedure’s complexities. Your goal should be to learn enough to have a discussion about the results you want, what your priorities are, and the approach your surgeon recommends. If you have further questions or if you’re ready to discuss your potential procedure, schedule a facelift consultation with me, double board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. John LeRoy. For more helpful tips and information for cosmetic surgery patients, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ as well.