Background
As the baby boomer generation ages, the popularity of cosmetic plastic surgery continues to rise. Facelift surgery, or rhytidectomy, is one of the more commonly performed aesthetic facial procedures.
Given the right patient, and with proper technique and planning, an excellent result that takes years off of the patient’s appearance usually is obtained. Although a wide variety of more extensive dissection planes have been proposed, the subcutaneous (skin-only) facelift is discussed in this article. However, much of the information included within is applicable to other techniques as well. For detailed information on other facelift procedures, please see the Rhytidectomy section of the Medscape Reference Plastic Surgery journal.