Mini Facelift

A mini facelift is a surgical procedure that resolves signs of aging in the lower face. In contrast, a full facelift is a more complex plastic surgery that can address concerns in the lower face as well as drooping cheeks and other issues in the midface.

The mini facelift can be a good alternative for patients who do not need or want a full facelift but still want to achieve significant improvements in terms of facial rejuvenation. The mini facelift is often performed to address moderate jowls and loose skin along the jawline.

The mini facelift does not treat signs of aging in the upper face. If a patient has significant drooping or sagging in the upper face, a mini facelift can be combined with an eyelid lift or brow lift surgery.

Your mini facelift will be customized for your needs. The plastic surgeon will review the specifics of your treatment, as well as pre- and post-operative instructions prior to your surgery.

At the start of a mini facelift surgery, anesthesia is administered. Once it has taken effect, the plastic surgeon will make one incision around each ear.

Next, the surgeon will gently lift the facial tissue as needed to restore more youthful contours. Excess skin can then be removed, and the remaining skin will be redraped and secured with sutures.

Mini facelift patients should plan for a week of downtime and time off work - about half the downtime required after a full facelift. Swelling and bruising are a normal part of the healing process, and medications can be prescribed to mitigate discomfort.

You will be given detailed instructions for your recovery, including how to care for your incision sites, special instructions for bathing, and activity restrictions. It is important to follow all aftercare guidelines to support optimal healing.

You will start to see the results of your mini facelift within two to three weeks as post-operative swelling and bruising dissipate. You will continue to see gradual improvements over the next several weeks. Complete results will be visible once the area has fully healed. Your body’s natural aging process and your lifestyle choices will affect how long your mini facelift results last. In general, patients can expect improvements to last about 10 years.

Dr. Emer is a pioneer in advanced non-surgical combination treatments that provide transformational enhancement. Dr. Emer designs his customized facial rejuvenation protocols with care to honor the patient’s unique aesthetic goals and to provide the safest, most effective treatment approach.

To achieve the most balanced and natural-looking facial rejuvenation results, he may recommend combining your mini facelift with minimally invasive cosmetic procedures such as:

Non-surgical brow lift Thread lifting with Silhouette InstaLift or NovaThreads Dermal fillers to restore volume and smooth out wrinkles and lines in the midface or upper face External radiofrequency skin tightening and collagen stimulation Neuromodulators like Botox, Dysport, Jeuveau, or Xeomin to relax creases and folds