You May Only Need a Mini Facelift

Living in sunny San Diego, we all have had plenty of sun exposure on our faces. This, coupled with the natural decline of collagen production and slackening of the skin, leads to the formation of lines and wrinkles, along with that looser skin that we all hate. 

But for many patients, they don’t have the degree of loose skin that merits a full facelift. That explains why at Dr. Kearney’s practice one of our most popular procedures is the mini facelift. This is an excellent procedure for mild facial aging that involves skin laxity. Because of its more limited goals and scope, a mini facelift requires shorter incisions and makes for an easier recovery when compared with a traditional facelift. 

As a double board-certified plastic surgeon (in both Plastic Surgery and General Surgery), Dr. Kearney has extensive experience and expertise when it comes to various methods of performing facelifts, including mini facelifts. While this more limited facelift isn’t right for everyone, it can be a great procedure for the right candidate. 

What a mini facelift can do 

Everyone knows that a full facelift involves a significant recovery period. That’s unavoidable due to the repositioning of skin and underlying musculature. In contrast, for a mini facelift Dr. Kearney uses shorter incisions and manipulates underlying tissue to a lesser degree. This makes for less tissue trauma and bruising and an easier recovery. As with all of his surgeries, Dr. Kearney treats every patient’s situation as unique. That means your mini facelift won’t be exactly like another patient’s. The overall goal, however, is a combination of nice results with less downtime. 

A mini facelift also gives the patient a refreshed look that isn’t overly noticeable. A full facelift delivers fairly dramatic changes in wrinkling and skin sagging and it’s pretty obvious to others that the patient, while looking great, still has had a facelift. A mini facelift delivers subtle changes that others will notice, but they won’t be able to put their finger on why you look younger. 

When considering what you want to do, it helps to understand the goals of a mini facelift. Dr. Kearney seeks to tighten and lift the cheek and jawline skin in a mini facelift. He also reduces the skin “overhang” at the nasolabial fold. A mini facelift is great for patients who have previously had a full facelift and have had the deeper tissues repositioned to eliminate the drooping that comes with aging. The mini facelift can maintain those results and “refresh” your appearance. 

What it can’t do 

Everyone wants the procedure that does the most and is at the same time the least invasive. But when considering a mini facelift, you need to weigh its limitations. 

First, because it targets mainly the cheek area, if you have serious laxity on your neck and a loss of jawline definition a mini facelift won’t help. It doesn’t target the neck area. A more classical facelift with a focus on direct neck tightening would be better. 

Some people assume they can possibly have repeated mini facelifts to achieve the results of a full facelift. But, again, this doesn’t address the sagging deeper tissues. 

If you’re showing signs of aging, particularly through the cheek area, but not to the degree that would merit a full facelift, a mini facelift could be a nice option. Call Dr. Kearney at (858) 677-9352 and set up a consultation.

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