Facelift
 Facial musculature (Commons). A facelift repositions descended soft tissue, usually on the SMAS plane.
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| Field | Medicine |
|---|---|
| Also known as | rhytidectomy, rhytidoplasty
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A facelift (rhytidectomy) repositions descended facial soft tissue and usually removes extra skin.[1] Modern versions work on the SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system), not only the skin. It is used for jowls, neck laxity, and descended midface — not for a recessed maxilla or a high body fat that has not been cut.
Types
- Mini facelift / MACS — shorter scar, less release; modest descent.
- SMAS facelift — plicate or SMAS-ectomy; the 20th-century workhorse.
- Deep plane facelift — ligament release under SMAS; current prestige pole for natural motion.
- Ponytail lift — endoscopic / short-scar temporal and midface; fashion name, real dissection.
- Midface lift — cheeks/fold, not a full lower face.
- Neck lift — platysma / submental; often the tell if you skip it.
- Brow lift — forehead/temple; different vector.
- Thread lift — not this page.
Branded integers (9D facelift) are either thread barb-counts or one surgeon’s protocol; the integer is not a type on this ladder.
This wiki's view
A facelift is for descent and extra skin. Threads are a shorter hitch when that is not yet (or not) the case. Filler is volume, not a lift. Young faces with a weak jaw are usually a fat / haircut / bone question first.
See also
References
- ↑ Plastic surgery. Wikipedia. Retrieved 11 September 2026.