There are many kinds of facelift surgeries depending on which areas of the face and neck are targeted. Types of facelift surgeries include:
Traditional facelift: A traditional facelift surgery involves incisions around your ears, hairline and below your chin. A surgeon separates your skin from the underlying tissues and tightens the muscles and other supporting structures of your face and neck. The surgeon also removes excess fat in your neck and jowls as needed. The surgeon then re-positions your skin over your face in a natural way and removes any excess skin. This surgery is generally recommended for people who want optimal improvement of moderate to significant facial aging.
SMAS facelift (SMAS rhytidectomy): A SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system, the muscular layer of your face) facelift targets the lower two-thirds of your face. In this surgical procedure, a surgeon tightens your muscle and trims excess skin and/or fat in your cheeks and lower face. A SMAS facelift is a variation of a traditional facelift.
Deep plane facelift: In a deep plane facelift surgery, a surgeon lifts the SMAS (the muscular layer of your face), fat and skin as a single unit. Deep plane lifts generally address multiple areas of your face at the same time.
Mid-facelift: A mid-facelift surgery treats the cheek area of your face. A surgeon repositions the fat in your cheek and tightens the skin in your cheek area.
Mini-facelift: Mini-facelift surgeries focus on lifting your lower face and neck area. It’s a quicker and less invasive surgery than other facelift surgeries. Surgeons usually recommend mini-facelifts to people who are younger and only have early signs of facial sagging.
Cutaneous (skin) facelift: Cutaneous facelifts involve your skin only and usually focus on your neck and lower face.
In many cases, people who get a facelift undergo other procedures at the same time as their facelift surgery, including: