A Weekend Lift

What is a Weekend Facelift?

"Weekend facelift" means different things to different doctors. Not all doctors use the term, and different doctors may apply the term to different types of procedures.

"Weekend facelift " generally implies limited procedures that heal in a few days with few recovery problems.

Here is a general overview of some limited facial contouring procedures:

Suture Lifts: With these procedures, deep tissue such as fat and muscle is lifted, but skin is not removed. The long incisions associated with traditional facelifts are avoided with suture Iifts. The doctor inserts threads under the skin and loops sutures around deep supporting tissues. The threads are then tightened to lift and support droopy tissues. Slight swelling goes away the next day and bruising in three to five days. These methods are good for a patient who has moderately loose jowls or facial skin.

Non-Surgical Tissue Tightening (e.g., Fraxel, Thermage, Titan): These procedures use machines that heat up the deep tissue, causing the collagen to tighten. They work best on people with good skin elasticity and result in limited downtime. They do not require incisions.

Limited Minor Surgeries: These include making incisions to either remove or tighten underlying tissue. Most of these are limited procedures for the neck and jowls. They might include such work as liposuction, platysmaplasty (tightening the "turkey band" muscles under the chin), and cervicoplasty (surgically removing neck skin).

According to Dr. Kahn, surgeons are not committed to one type of technique or surgery but work carefully to match the patient to the procedures. And remember, it's important to have realistic expectations. Dr. Kahn cautions that candidates should undergo surgery for the right reasons. Consider facelift procedures only if you have a good sense of yourself.

Traditional Facelift Versus Weekend Facelifts

Traditional facelifts have come a long way since the woman-caught-in-a-wind-tunnel effect of the old days. Here is the critical difference: the older techniques did NOT tighten the underlying deep tissue. Doctors literally just pulled back skin, which stretched it thinner with each new facelift. Modern procedures lift the deep tissue underneath.

Both traditional facelifts and weekend facelift procedures generally result only in minimal pain and are not covered by medical insurance.

The following table lists a few things to think about when considering a traditional facelift vs. limited facial contouring, or weekend facelift procedures:

Traditional Facelift:

• generally used for patients with less skin elasticity
• typically takes several weeks to heal
• pre1980: only tightened skin
• post-1980: lifts underlying tissue
• cost varies by work done, may range up to 13,000
• generally lasts 5 to 10 years, sometimes more

Weekend Facelift:

• best candidates have good skin elasticity
• back to work in a few days
• can involve different limited facial contouring procedures
• cost varies by procedure, may range up to $6,000
• length of time it lasts varies by procedure; long-term results of some newer procedures not known

Dr. David Kahn's practice has been devoted exclusively to plastic surgery since 1978. Board-certified in head and neck surgery and facial plastic surgery, Dr. Kahn is on staff at St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco. He has performed over 5,000 .cosmetic surgeries at both his San Francisco and Milpitas offices. For more information about Dr. Kahn, call 1-800-564-6645 or visit www. kahncosmeticcenter.com.

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