Question:
How much freedom does the doctor have with a mini facelift? How tight is the result of the skin? What determines how much skin will be removed? I would like to a have a quite smooth face and remove my laugh line.

Dr A’s Answer:
The amount of skin removed is dependent on the patient and the type of facelift performed. Keep in mind, that skin removal is not how a face is lifted. Primarily the face shape is a function of the deeper tissues and the skin is just an envelope. Rejuvenating the face depends primarily on lifting the deeper tissues and sculpting the fat. On some patients fat sculpting can be extensive and others it is more about lifting the “muscle” layers. A facelift that uses skin to accomplish the lift will quickly revert to its old appearance. A very powerful example is the patient who has had a one-sided skin only “facelift” to move skin into a hole caused by a skin cancer. For the first few weeks the “lifted” side looks like a younger person, but soon enough the two sides look virtually identical. In summary, once all the deep tissue lifting and fat sculpting is complete, any redundant skin is removed, often times that is about an inch from each side.