Facelift and Liposuction Q & A
he next question is often asked by patients seeking a face lift:
- What is the difference between a mini lift and a full lift?Mini-lifts, S-lifts and a full facelift are all gradations of the same operation. In the S-lift and the mini-lift (which are really not much different) the incision is predominantly centered pre-auricularly (in front of the ear). There are usually short extensions behind the ear lobe and above the ear. In a full face lift, the incisions continues further up into the temporal hair and around the earlobe, behind the ear, and into the hairline behind the ear. The other obvious main difference is that the extent of the undermining during the full face lift. The amount of attention paid to the neck is also much greater during the full face lift than in the other two procedures.
A patient had seen two surgeons for liposuction. One of the surgeons wanted to perform the procedure under a local anesthesia while the other insisted it was better to be done under a general anesthetic. The patient’s question was:
- What are the difference as far as my risks, results, and costs if my liposuction procedure is done under a general versus a local anesthesia?First of all, the overall risks of both types of anesthesia are very small. In my opinion, however, when a procedure can be done under a local it is better for the patient as they avoid some of the risks of general anesthesia (no matter how small they are not zero), do not have the recovery associated with general anesthesia, in most circumstances do not require pre-operative testing and medical clearance, and face an overall lower cost for the procedure.