What Is a Deep Plane Facelift?

When you’re young, your face and neck are plump and supple, making your skin look smooth and taut. Over time, this youthful appearance goes away. Your face loses volume and your skin contours to your bone structure, creating a profile that’s mature, sleek and desirable. 

Then gravity starts to take a toll, pulling and tugging on your skin. Under this constant pressure, your skin starts to sag and your facial muscles lose their integrity. The result is a noticeably aged look. Sunken, hollow cheeks become visible. Ring bands form across your neck and jowls come to dominate your once-sleek profile. It’s an unavoidable but disheartening transformation. At least, that used to be the case. 

Now, plastic surgery techniques are highly advanced, and new techniques can renew aging facial structures with long-lasting and natural-looking results. By tightening and repositioning your facial muscles and soft tissues with a deep plane facelift, Dr. John P. Freeman of Katy, Texas, can refresh your image, setting the clock back by a decade.

How Does a Deep Plane Facelift Work?

A deep plane facelift is a facelift method that offers long-lasting results. The facelift technique targets the midface region and deep layers of facial muscle, allowing for dramatic improvements. During the procedure, small incisions are made either inside or in front of the ear. Through these incisions, Dr. Freeman cuts and releases ligaments tethering your face to its aging shape. Excess skin is removed, and underlying musculature is tightened and reshaped so that it returns to your youthful facial structure. This method creates a more substantial and longer-lasting effect than traditional facelifts. Deep plane facelifts are performed under general anesthesia and typically take two to three hours. 

What Are the Benefits of a Deep Plane Facelift?

A deep plane facelift has many cosmetic benefits and has the potential to boost your confidence because it’ll make you appear far many years younger than you are. Many patients happily say they look a decade younger after a deep plane facelift. 

Benefits of the deep plane facelift technique include:

• A shorter surgical time
• More significant results than a traditional facelift
• Restored volume 
• Elevation in the cheeks
• Softened nasolabial folds, lines that run from the nose to mouth
• Excess skin removed, creating a smoother appearance
• Quick recovery
• Fewer facelift scars
• Long-lasting results

Candidates for a deep plane facelift include men and women with noticeable signs of age due to facial sagging and drooping. If you’re considering a deep plane facelift, you should be in good health and have realistic expectations. 

Deep Plane Facelift and SMAS Facelift… What’s the Difference?

SMAS (superficial muscular aponeurotic system) facelift is a popular type of facelift that involves separating the skin from the deep layer of muscles to reposition fat pads and tighten the muscles. A deep plane facelift is a type of SMAS facelift. However, the two differ because, during a deep plane facelift, the skin is not disconnected from the muscles. The natural blood flow to the skin isn’t disrupted during a deep plane facelift because the blood vessels aren’t severed. Some plastic surgeons feel that lifting the muscles and skin as a single unit leads to more natural-looking results. 

The SMAS method also treats only the lower third of the face and jawline, which means it cannot correct drooping cheeks. Often, a SMAS facelift is performed in conjunction with fat grafting to add volume where the facelift alone cannot. Fat grafts in the cheeks can sometimes lead to disappointing results because they can look overfilled. A deep plane facelift is ideal if you seek to correct drooping cheeks, the lower face and the neck in one treatment. Both deep plane facelifts and SMAS facelifts create dramatic results, but a deep plane facelift may be preferable if you seek a treatment that makes beautifully consistent results. 

Are There Any Side Effects Associated With Deep Plane Facelift?

There are potential side effects for any surgery. Side effects that are common after a deep plane facelift include bleeding, swelling and bruising. You may experience discomfort, but you’ll be prescribed pain medication to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Swelling can sometimes last up to three months after surgery. Although the deep plane technique is well known for producing minimal scarring, these scars can take up to 18 months to fade. How quickly you recover after surgery depends on a combination of factors, including your general health, genetics and age.

Hematoma, the pooling of blood beneath the skin, is a more severe potential complication of any facelift technique. Approximately one percent of facelift patients experience the condition, but the risk is minimized if you avoid vigorous exercise during your period of recovery. 

Real Results from The Real Housewives of New York City Star Sonja Morgan

Recently, Sonja Morgan of The Real Housewives of New York City posted an Instagram before and after selfie showing off the results of her deep plane facelift. Her results are outstanding. Her neck no longer has visible lines. Her cheeks and chin look sleek and youthful, with an elevated position and elegant contours. Her nasolabial folds are far less noticeable. Her plastic surgeon used the deep plane facelift technique, “which goes under the muscle so your skin is still attached,” she wrote in her post. “Your blood flows and your face stays vibrant and heals fast.” 

Morgan’s results are exceptional and shave years off her appearance. With a deep plane facelift, you, too, can experience these beautiful results. 

Deep Plane Facelift at Dr. Freeman’s Clinic in Katy, TX

Your beautifully contoured facial structures gradually sag as you age, creating a profile that’s dull, unappealing and, well, aged. It’s natural, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with it — it’s entirely possible to turn back the clock by having your lifted facial contours and taut skin restored with a deep plane facelift. Dr. Freeman of Katy, TX, is an expert in facial anatomy and aesthetics who can dramatically improve your image, restoring a vibrant, beautiful and youthful appearance.

If you’re interested in learning more about a deep plane facelift and would like to schedule a consultation with Dr. Freeman, please contact us at 281-599-9445 or visit our contact page.