Understandably, when patients are considering a facelift, they are concerned about the extent and placement of the scars.

A traditional facelift includes an incision that starts just above and in front of the ear. The incision comes down in front of the ear and loops around the earlobe to the back. Once there, we keep the incision in the crease behind the ear up to the level of the hairline, and then extend it outward along the hairline. This is your typical, classic incision and most facelifts follow some variation on this pattern.

In the last few years newer “mini” facelifts have become en vogue. There are a bunch of trade names for these like a “Quick Lift” or Lunch time Lift. These procedures use less incisions. Typically there is a transverse incision that runs just under the sideburn to the front of the ear and once there, it follows the crease in front of the ear down to the earlobe. There is no incision behind the ear with these operations.

From a scar perspective, these usually heal very well and are inconspicuous. They end up as a thin white line that is very easy to camouflauge with make-up or even your hair.

Lee Corbett, MD

www.CorbettCosmeticSurgery.com

All posts on the blog are presented by Louisville Facelift surgeon Dr. Lee Corbett