The face lift is not a new procedure. It has over a century of research and development behind it, and is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries of the modern era.
You may think that a face lift has been a fairly modern procedure,
perhaps one developed after World War II, but the truth is that its history dates back to the early 1900s. Of course, today's modern procedure is far safer and more effective than these early options were, but the truth is that the surgery has a long, established history.
The first documented procedure that resembles the modern-day face lift occurred in 1901 or 1906, depending on the documentation you read, under the hands of a Dr. Hollander. The doctor made incisions near the hairline, pulled back the skin to tighten it, and removed extra tissue. This produced a temporary result, because it did not address the underlying muscle and tissue. These still sagged and pulled the skin down over time, which meant that these early procedures were only temporary.
Less than 10 years later, Dr. Lexer introduced the idea of repositioning not only the skin, but also the layer just beneath the skin, the subcutaneous. The results from this additional tightening were much longer lasting, and this procedure was continued into the 1970s with excellent results for many patients.
In the late 1970s and early 1970s, a team of doctors, Dr. Peyronie, Mitz, and Skoog, determined that the face lift could be improved by going even deeper. They developed the Superficial Musculo-Aponeurotic System (SMAS) technique. Using this technique, the doctors believed they could elevate the muscle in the neck without detaching the skin. Medical historians point to this as the first innovation for this particular surgery. In 1978 the technique was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. By the end of the 1970s and into the 1980s, this technique was accepted as the best option for the surgery. Modifications have included changes to the extent of undermining and the direction of pull for the procedure.
Up until the 1990s, cosmetic surgery had somewhat of a negative image in the social eye. Many felt that going "under the knife" for something purely cosmetic in nature was somehow vain and wrong. That stigma lifted somewhat as the world approached the new millennium, and new techniques are continuing to be developed.
The latest techniques for face lift procedures involve minimizing the amount of cutting required. For example, the mini-lift allows the surgeon to improve the look of the neck and jowls with just a small incision around the hairline near the ear. Similarly, brow and eyelid procedures focus on just one area of an individual's body, rather than treating entire faces. Each of these requires less down time and lowers the risk associated with surgery. New suturing techniques are minimizing the appearance of scars as well.
As the future of the face lift stretches before plastic surgeons, it remains bright for those who want to turn back the signs of aging and rediscover their youth once again. With over a century of history behind it, this popular plastic surgery procedure is likely to stay.
