Beauty Information brought to you by loss weight    

The MACS Lift? how it differs from Conventional Facelifts


Background

The MACS lift (minimal access cranial suspension lift) was described as a modification of the S-lift by a Belgian group in 2001. It was reported in the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery journal, which is the main scientific journal for plastic surgeons.

Essentially, it differs from a regular facelift in the following ways:

1. The incision is limited to the skin hairline junction above the ear and anterior to the ear. There is no extension behind the ear.

2. The area of undermining, unlike a conventional facelift, is much smaller and essentially involves a portion of the cheek. Because there is less undermining, the blood supply to the skin is much more robust and the technique is therefore safer in smokers. There is much less risk of any skin necrosis, unlike other lifts.

3. Permanent suspension sutures are used to elevate the underlying tissue. These pass down to the neck, jowls and malar fat pad. Unlike many other facelifts which do not include significant mid face elevation the MACS lift elevates the malar fat pad reducing the naso labial folds.

4. Because there is no undermining under the SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system) there is very little likelihood of damage to the facial nerve.

5. Because the undermining and dissection is much more limited the post operative swelling and oedema is much less than in normal facelifts and recovery is therefore quicker.

6. Because the malar fat pad is elevated it combines very well with lower lid blepharoplasty, as can be seen in the illustrations. It essentially reduces the height of the lower eyelid giving a more youthful, smooth appearance.

7. In nearly all cases liposuction is performed to the neck area below the angle of the mandible, both to remove excess fat here and also to free up the skin to allow it to be re-draped by the suspension sutures.

8. In my opinion the MACS lift produces results at least equivalent, or in most cases, better than a conventional facelift. It is ideally suited to the younger patient with a sagging mid face. In patients with really excess skin facility in the neck region, it may be necessary in some cases to make an incision posterior to the ear to take up this slack, but in most cases this is not necessary.

DETAILS OF PROCEDURE

The operation is performed under a general anaesthetic and most patients stay in hospital for two days post operatively. The operation generally takes about three hours and in nearly all cases should be combined with lower lid blepharoplasty, as lifting up the malar fat pad also lifts up the lower eyelids and it is relatively simple to remove the excess skin. Usually no additional work needs to be done to the fat pads because of the suspension of the malar area.

During the post operative night, the patient is placed in a firm bulky woollen bandage and two small non-suction drains are inserted behind the ear. The bandage is removed the following day, along with the drains. Following this, a light chin-up bandage is worn for one week. Following this, the patient normally looks fairly reasonable, although there may be some residual bruising, particularly around the eyes. This is treated with Arnica cream and massage on a twice daily basis.

Stitches in the lower blepharoplasty incision are removed at three days, those in front of the ears and alternate stitches in the hairline are removed at five days and the remaining sutures in the hairline at ten days.

In my opinion the MACS lift is a significant advancement in facial rejuvenation surgery as it involves relatively little undermining and consequently the recovery is quicker. It also has the significant advantage of improving the mid face and malar area which other facelift techniques do not tend to help.

I use this type of facelift now exclusively, and as I mentioned, in patients with really severe neck skin excess I would do a posterior skin excision, but this is not necessary in 90% of patients. This lift is ideally suited to the younger patient with mid face ageing changes and moderate changes in the neck.

Author Bio

Mr Richards is a full member of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (B.A.A.P.S) and the British Association of Plastic Surgeons (B.A.P.S) as well as a being a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) and registered on the specialist register of the GMC for plastic surgery.

Adrian Richards and Associates has a series of clinics and accredited hospitals across the mid shire counties and at 10 Harley Street London and offers a complete range of cosmetic surgery and non surgical procedures using the most advanced techniques available.

For further information or to find your nearest treatment centre visit http://www.arandassociates.co.uk or call the information line on telephone number (UK) 0800 3285743 for specialist and sympathetic advice.

Mr A RICHARDS MSc FRCS (Plas) Consultant Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon http://www.arandassociates.co.uk Suite 3, Samuel House Chinnor Road Thame Oxon OX9 3


MORE RESOURCES:

The Gossip Girls

Reese Witherspoon: Brentwood Beauty
The Gossip Girls - 12 hours ago
Fresh off of a big night at the People’s Choice Awards the previous evening, the “Legally Blonde” beauty and her gal pal then went shopping at the Polly ...
Reese Witherspoon is a Country Girl Just Jared
all 3 news articles


Hadiyyah-lah Fatimah Sa'id the first contestant cut from 'True Beauty'
Reality TV World, MA - 6 hours ago
The premiere episode of True Beauty began with the show's judges -- fashion stylist and former America's Next Top Model judge Nole Marin, former model ...
Tyra, Ashton to celebrate hit show True Beauty Oneindia
all 4 news articles


Telegraph.co.uk

Palm pre with webOS is a Beauty
I4U - 7 hours ago
At first the new Palm pre webOS smartphone looked weired with its curvy shape. Now spending some time looking at more detailed Palm pre photos I actually ...
Palm Unveils The Palm Pre And Web OS At CES 2009 G4 TV
Photos: Palm Pre gets Palm back in the game Crave
all 515 news articles


Margaret D. McLennon, 1914-2009: Beauty contestant in 1933
Chicago Tribune, United States - 5 hours ago
The former Margaret Dolan, the daughter of a West Side firefighter, was entered in the 1933 beauty contest by her stepsister, who "just thought she was ...


‘The Sleeping Beauty
Effingham Daily News, IL - 18 hours ago
Russian National Ballet Theatre will present the ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” at 7:30 pm Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Rosebud Theatre in Effingham. ...
Russian National Ballet Theatre to perform in Harbor Springs Jan. 12 Harbor Light
all 2 news articles


Allure Magazine

Beauty Reporter Blog
Allure Magazine, NY - 17 hours ago
Former Allure staff writer Jessica Matlin has covered beauty, fashion, diet, and more for W, Harper's Bazaar, O, and Tatler. Jessica spent much of her ...


E! Online

REVIEW: Sensuality, beauty decay into banality
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO - 13 hours ago
Beauty that works ugliness? The film operates better if you read it as a metaphor of Michael's generation grappling with those who went before it and the ...
SCREEN TIME German guilt punctuates this 'Reader' Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Powerful Acting Carries “The Reader” Through a Slow Tale of Guilt ... Times-Standard
all 36 news articles


'Sleeping Beauty and the Snoring Prince’ in Dallas
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX - 7 hours ago
See some marionette magic: Sleeping Beauty and the Snoring Prince opens this weekend at Slappy’s Puppet Playhouse. The show, presented with beautiful ...


Rocktown Weekly

Beauty In Decay
Rocktown Weekly, VA - 7 hours ago
Though snapping photos and molding metal may seem disparate, Barch approaches both in a similar fashion - by trying to find beauty in the unexpected, ...


Finding beauty among ice at Shoreline's Kruckeberg Botanic Garden
Seattle Times, United States - Jan 8, 2009
Not everybody thinks of visiting botanic gardens in the dark month of January, but there's a rare beauty to be enjoyed in Northwest gardens in winter. ...

Beauty - Google News

home | site map
© 2006