The facial minilift

The Minilift (Soft Lift, French Touch, Macs Lift, Natural Lift, ...) is a quick and simple operation, much lighter than a standard facelift, which affects the whole face. It gives a toned appearance to a face that has sagged in the areas usually most affected by aging: the cheeks, jowls, the bitterness fold, the cheekbones, the oval of the face and the neck.

It does not change the expression at all, an important element in your facial identity. On the contrary, it allows the face to have a natural expression and tone by preventing the slackening of the lower face and neck. This is achieved through a quick operation (1hour), which can be performed under local anaesthetic for those who prefer this. Time out from social activities is needed for few days and there is a small, very discreet scar, hidden under the sideburn and by the contour of the ear.

The goal is for those around you to notice a change and an improvement and to think that you look well, but without necessarily being able to see that you have had an operation.

If you are also bothered by your eyelids, you can combine eyelid plastic surgery with a Minilift for a harmonious result.

The Minilift is for people who don’t have general sagging of the face, but who are beginning to have a sagging of the oval of the face and neck, sometimes even while they are still quite young. 

Each person comes to me asking for a particular defect to be corrected when they find this particularly troublesome. The objective of the operation will be to correct this defect as a priority by assessing whether it may be appropriate to correct other associated defects for a well-balanced, natural result that meets your expectations.

So depending on the insights gained during the first consultation, the operation may be combined with another operation to improve the overall harmony of the face. This can be carried out during the same procedure or at another time.
 
The Minilift can be combined with:

• Eyelid plastic surgery,
• A frontal, temporal or malar curl-lift (tension threads) ,
• Lipomodelling by liposuction, removing fatty deposits (double chin, jowls, fatty cheek pads), and/or by lipofilling (injections of your fatty tissue) to correct wrinkles and restore volume to saggy areas,
• Hyaluronic acid or Botox injections, to reduce wrinkles,
• Chemical peels or laser treatments.

During the first consultation, it is essential that you openly express what bothers you and what you would like to improve. Do not be afraid to ask any questions, including expressing your fears and expectations. Everyone has a different body shape, psychology and expectations. These are not the same and there is no standard to apply.

After you have explained your motivations, I will examine you and offer one or more solutions, taking into account your expectations, your anatomy, respecting your identity and the natural aspect of your appearance.

In order for you to visualize the desired result, using a mirror, I will manually recreate the effect the recommended treatments will have on your skin; then, I will show you photos of surgical results from cases similar to yours so you can understand the objective of the procedure.

It is essential that you and I have a good understanding when deciding to operate and to determine the technique to use among from those I can offer.

I will then give you all the information on the techniques proposed along with the information sheets from the Société Française de Chirurgie Plastique Reconstructrice et Esthétique (French Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgery) as well as a detailed estimate of the costs for the options chosen. You will then be able to move your project forwards and get ready for a second consultation when you will be able to ask any additional questions to help you make a decision and prepare for the operation.

Incisions are made under the sideburns and around the contour of the ear, with very little skin detachment to allow access to remodel the anatomical structures: the muscles and aponeurotic structures are repositioned, tightened and set in the right position, any excess fat is removed by micro liposuction, then the skin is replaced without stretching to cover these newly-created embedded structures. Any excess skin is removed along the line of the incisions and sewn together with intradermal stitches, which are placed inside the thick part of the skin, making them invisible. The stitches dissolve and do not need to be removed.

• Exposure to the sun: no direct exposure for 1 month, then exposure is allowed with sunblock using a maximum sun protection factor.

• Make-up: the bruises can be hidden with a cover cream the day after the operation and you can apply your usual make-up over the cover cream. The products you use must be designed and suited for post-operative use. They will be prescribed to you on a post-operative prescription. However, you cannot apply any make-up directly to the scar before the 5th day but, as this is hidden by the sideburns, you will not find it troublesome.

 The procedure reshapes the oval of the face and neck, repositioning the cheekbone and the cheek and correcting sagging tissue. The improvement is immediately visible despite oedema (swelling) and any bruising.

On the long term, this permanently corrects tissue sagging; the majority of patients do not need another operation. In some patients, the ageing process means that another operation may be beneficial, but rarely before about fifteen years.

However, to delay the aging process, you can carry out maintenance through lighter treatments such as hyaluronic acid or Botox injections or chemical and laser peels.

The result is a relaxed, rejuvenated, expressive and natural face. Your relatives will see a change and an improvement but without being able to tell you have had a procedure.

In addition to an aesthetic improvement, this operation has a beneficial impact on the patient’s personal well-being and development.