Asian Facelift

Benefits of Asian Facelift Surgery

Facial aging in Asians often looks different from Caucasians. Asian skin tends to be thicker, which helps maintain fairly good skin quality even with aging. As a result, wrinkles are less present in Asian populations than in Caucasians and are less of a focus in Asian facelift surgery.

Other notable characteristics of the Asian face include a flatter and wider facial skeleton, larger accumulations of fat around the malar and submalar regions (mid-face), and a prominent, square jaw. As skin and facial fat descend with ageing, Asian faces tend to take on a more rectangular and boxy shape.

These anatomical characteristics and patterns of ageing inform Asian facelift surgery. The approach tends to focus on repositioning deeper facial tissues and creating a smooth oval facial outline, rather than the sharp, angular face shape often preferred by Caucasian patients.

What to Expect

Your surgeon will get to know you and understand your goals during your consultation. This information will be used to customise your procedure. A facelift technique will be selected based on your anatomy, your skin quality, the type and extent of your concerns, and your desired outcome.

Asian facelift surgery is an outpatient operation performed under general anaesthesia. Incisions are placed strategically around the ears and along the hairline to minimise visible scarring. Through these incisions, fat is redistributed, underlying tissues are tightened and excess skin is removed.

Recovery time varies depending on the technique used. Typically, social activities can be resumed after one to two weeks. There will be evident signs of bruising and swelling at first, and some patients experience numbness near the incision sites. These side effects go away on their own during the recovery process. The final facelift result is obtained at three to six months postoperatively.

Techniques

Plastic surgeons have many facelift techniques at their disposal. There is no singular “best” facelift technique; rather, an appropriate technique must be selected and tailored based on the unique needs of the individual patient.

Some of the most popular facelift techniques include the following:

Full Facelift and Neck Lift

A full facelift and neck lift addresses the lower two-thirds of the face as well as the neck. This is the most extensive and effective technique.

Short-Scar Facelift

As its name suggests, a short-scar facelift is performed through a shorter incision than a full facelift. This addresses only the lower third of the face.

SMAS Facelift

SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system) facelifting techniques target deep facial tissues for impactful and lasting facial rejuvenation.

MACS Facelift

The MACS (minimal access cranial suspension) lift is a short-scar facelift that may be performed under intravenous sedation.

Deep Plane Facelift

A deep plane facelift lifts the face from underneath the SMAS, tightening and repositioning the underlying structural elements of the face.