Mini-Facelift: A Popular Procedure for Some Patients by Matthew Candelaria

Article:
When you begin to notice signs of aging, you may be anxious to
stop them before others start to notice, too. If you find
yourself in this situation, a mini-facelift may be able to roll
back the clock on some signs of aging without extensive recovery
time.

Why is it called a Mini?

The <a
href=http://www.drbray.com/facelift-lifestyle.html>mini-facelift<
/a> is called a mini because it does most everything a full <a
href=http://www.drbray.com/facelift.html>facelift</a> does, but
a little less so. It provides some correction of early signs of
aging, but less than a full facelift and generally only in a
focused area, especially the lower third of the face. There are
two major positives for the mini-facelift to offset its limited
impact.

First, the mini-facelift has a limited impact. This can be a
positive thing, as it allows you to make a less noticeable
change in your appearance. People may not know that you got a
facelift unless you tell them. Second, the mini-facelift is a
less invasive procedure. It uses small incisions to get targeted
improvement of wrinkles and excess skin over smaller areas of
the face than a traditional full facelift. This leads to a
shorter recovery time with less risk of complications, making
the mini-lift an ideal solution for people who can't afford to
take time off for a long recovery, but still want to stave off
the signs of aging.

The mini-lift is performed under local anesthesia in the office.
For some patients recovery is remarkably fast, maybe only a day
or two. There may be some significant swelling and some pain,
although usually much less than for a traditional facelift.

Who's the best patient for a Mini-Facelift?

Because the mini-facelift does not provide the same level of
correction as a full facelift, it really has two classes of
patients for whom it is ideal. First, younger patients who have
only begun to notice the signs of aging but may have significant
wrinkling in particular areas of their face. Because of its
subtle impact, a series of mini-facelifts over the years can
give younger patients the same youthful appearance as a full
facelift, but with subtler and more gradual changes, the
appearance is more of graceful aging than drastic cosmetic
surgery.

Why choose a mini-Facelift over injectables?

Since <a href=http://www.drbray.com/botox.html>Botox</a>
cosmetic appeared on the scene officially approved by the EPA in
2002, <a href=http://www.drbray.com/injectables.html>injectable
treatments</a> such as fillers like <a
href=http://www.drbray.com/restylane.html>Restylane</a> have
become increasingly popular, and now account for essentially
half of all cosmetic procedures practiced. Has the growth of
these treatments made minimally-invasive, lower-impact
treatments like the mini-facelift obsolete?

Yes and no. The growth in injectable treatments has led to a
decline in facelift surgeries, over 20% since 2000. However, it
is important to remember that injectable treatments are
performed so often precisely because they are less effective
than a facelift or mini-facelift. Injectable treatments target
only very localized areas, so often several treatments are
necessary to give cosmetic improvements over the same area
treated by the mini-facelift, let alone the traditional
facelift. And most injectable treatments have an effective
lifespan of only six months, compared to the five-year lifespan
of a mini-facelift, or the ten-year lifespan of a full facelift,
although results for individual patients vary.

Even though mini-facelifts are more expensive than a single
injectable treatment and do require some downtime, the length of
cosmetic improvement given by the mini-facelift makes it a good
option for many people.

About the author:
If you are considering cosmetic surgery to help reverse the
effects of aging, <a
href=http://www.drbray.com/contact.html