Weekend Plastic Surgery: 3 Mini-operations With Maximum Effect

Plastic surgery is one of the fastest growing areas of medicine. This is due to the increasing popularity of plastics every day. Of particular interest to patients today are "lightweight" mini-operations with a short suture, quick and easy rehabilitation. There is even a new term in plastic surgery - "weekend surgery". Together with a plastic surgeon, professor, OPREKH member Igor Bely, we reviewed the most promising alternatives to classic operations that should be considered if you decide on plastic surgery.

Top lifting

An advanced alternative to the standard techniques of browlifting, endoscopic forehead lift and temporal lift, the top lift is performed through a very short incision (only 2 cm). For comparison: a temporal lift requires a 5-7 cm incision. This mini-lift allows you to raise the outer part (tail) of the eyebrows, creating a beautiful flying bend, raise the corners of the eyes and slightly open them by lifting the upper eyelid, and rid the forehead of expression wrinkles. And all this is possible without serious intervention and long-term rehabilitation. It is not for nothing that such an operation is called "model lifting" (read also: "A face like a supermodel: what you need to know about a model lifting"). The result not only rejuvenates, but also favorably emphasizes facial features, and after 3-5 days you can already go to the podium, well, or just to the street and to the office.

Top lifting is a completely new technique, which is designed to minimize the disadvantages of temporal lift (long incision up to 7 cm) and endoscopic lifting (severe, rehabilitation, risk of complications). At the same time, the new technique summarizes their main advantages: the absence of a long incision (almost like an endoscopic lift) and quick rehabilitation (better than a temporal lift).

The intervention is performed through two 2 cm incisions in the hairline in the right and left corner of the forehead. The main goal of the operation is to rejuvenate the forehead, lifting and improving the eyebrow line is achieved by detaching the soft tissues on the forehead, followed by lifting them up to the periphery, and excising the fold of excess skin. The "tail" of the eyebrow is raised and lifts the eyelid and corner of the eye up. Small overhangs and wrinkles in the corners of the eyes disappear, restoring a beautiful almond-shaped cut. The rehabilitation period is approximately the same as after tightening with threads, and the effect is much better and, which is not unimportant, is 10-15 times longer. So the costs will pay off handsomely.

Prima lifting

Suitable for patients 30-40 years old and a little over who want to get rid of nasolabial folds and restore a clear V-shaped face contour. Of course, the same result can be obtained after high-quality thread lifting and augmentation by fillers, especially when we are dealing with a professional. You can try contouring. But these interventions always have a short-term effect, and with age, the effectiveness of these procedures decreases. At some point, a thread lift and the introduction of fillers simply stop helping: you either stop observing the effect, or notice that your face becomes puffy, edematous and swollen.

As you know, the substances from which the threads are made and which are part of the fillers - such as polylactic acid, polycaprolactone, hyaluronic acid - tend to "attract" water. This is especially true of the most popular drug for rejuvenation - hyaluronic acid. As a result, instead of rejuvenation, we get a face-pillow. If you see a similar rejuvenation result in the mirror, then it's time to move from cosmetic procedures to mini-plastics.

SMAS is not yet indicated at this age, therefore, a minimally invasive technique - prima-lifting with a short incision (only 1.5-2 cm) is better suited for such patients. Prima lifting does not leave visible scars, while it allows you to correct age-related changes in the area of the cheekbones, nasolabial folds and facial contour at the SMAS level.

The main advantage of this facelift is that you are guaranteed to get the desired effect without long rehabilitation. It is important that the rejuvenation will be really long-term - not for six months or even for a year, but for ten whole years. The disadvantage is that it is not suitable for those who have a double chin and problems in the neck area, and this is almost all patients over 45-50 years old.

3S-lifting (for patients 45-75 and older)

A circular facelift is an effective, but potentially dangerous intervention, since during the operation there is a risk of damaging the facial nerve and resulting not a rejuvenation effect, but a pronounced asymmetry. In addition, a circular facelift is one of the most traumatic types of facial interventions. The modern alternative to the circular lift, the 3S lift, is done through a short incision. Thanks to this type of lifting, not only the peripheral part of the face is tightened, as in the classic facelift, but also the central part. The technical disadvantages and limitations of the traditional circular facelift include "undercorrection" of the central area of the face - nasolabial folds and drooping corners of the mouth.

3S-lifting is designed to solve the whole complex of problems of an elderly person, including lifting the technically difficult central zone. In addition, this lift is performed using the safest method possible, which ensures that the facial nerve is not damaged. Another advantage of the 3S-lifting technique is an innovative, specially developed system of support and tissue fixation, which provides reliable fixation to absolutely all areas of the face and neck, increasing the long-term result.

In addition to solving all age-related face problems, 3S-lifting helps to eliminate ptosis, excess subcutaneous fat in the chin and neck area, platysma strands, flews and other age-related problems. After such an operation, you get a natural rejuvenation effect without distorting the features typical of a classic circular facelift and without risks and unnecessary trauma to tissues and nerves (see also: "Secret of eternal youth: surgical and non-surgical lifts").