“What is a one stitch face lift?”

Hello, this is a technique developed nearly over twenty years ago, by one of my mentors. It is a mini facelift of the mid and lower face, whereby one suture is used to lift up the lower face. it is minimally invasive, but still requires sedation with an incision in front of the ear. Some also call it an S- Lift. For further inquiries or questions, you may want to visit my website at DrRoyamd@aol.com. Good Luck!!!!

There are many types of so-called mini facelifts which make smaller incisions undermine the skin less and remove less excess skin. Just remember that the more limited the procedure, the more limited the results.

A permanent suture is inserted via a small incision to attach to the underside of the skin and secured with tension to the scalp/temple area. It does not provide a lasting improvement compared to a standard facelift. Facelifting should be considered a procedure that repositions facial and neck skin and retains the normal tension of the skin. Abnormal tension--as in suture lifts--will always produce some undesirable facial changes and will not be long lasting

A one stitch facelift can refer to a number of things depending on what the surgeon is referring to. Some cosmetic doctors may be referring to a non-surgical thread lift in which threads are inserted under the skin and the lower face and mid face are lifted. This results in a modest lift that lasts anywhere from 3-12 months. It can also refer to a mini-facelift in which a shorter incision is placed just from above the ear down to the base of the ear and the tissue under the skin (SMAS) is tightened with a single stitch. This is a true surgical procedure and can often be done in the office. The results are more noticeable and longer lasting than a thread lift but not as dramatic or long lasting as a full deep plane or smas-ectomy facelift in which more lift is performed.

Never heard of it. Sounds like a marketing ploy, as some surgeons try to stand out by attaching a catchy name to her procedure. Probably some sort of mini facelift with shorter scarves and shorter recovery.

As always, if it it too good to be true...it's another scam!!

There are so many variations to facelifts that it is hard to keep track of them all. One universal goal is to obtain maximal results with minimal surgery. This reflects a disconnect with the reality of facial surgery. A properly done, traditional facelift is a major surgery that involves extensive, but very well hidden, incisions, wide release of the skin of the lower face and neck, and tightening of both the skin and underlying muscles of the face. It takes several hours, requires real anesthesia, and has a real downtime of 7-10 days with a total recovery time measured in months. Lesser procedures, often referred to as mini-facelifts, can produce OK results in carefully selected patients, but it is agreed that the results will either not be as good as for a full facelift, will not last as long, or both. What constitutes a mini-facelift is open to question. Some mini-procedures involve little more than a very small incision, a stitch or two to tighten the muscle, and that's about it. One should view these with some skepticism, especially if the surgeon is promising dramatic results. The best example of this is the now defunct LifeStyle Lift, which at one time was the largest provider of facelifts in the US. It was essentially a mini-facelift that promised incredible results with little surgery and just local anesthesia. Why is it defunct? There are several reasons. It did not work well as evidenced by over 50% unfavorable reviews online. The Lifestyle Lift stayed afloat as long as it did due to its saturation marketing but that caught up to it. It was fined in New York for false advertising and in Florida the Attorney General made it stop calling the surgery "revolutionary" and hyping it other ways. Eventually, the company went bankrupt from falling revenues and excessive costs of advertising. There is no single procedure called a "one stitch facelift" and I would be very skeptical of anyone doing such a thing and promising great results. 

Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS

A 1 stitch facelift is a marketing gimmick that lifts the face with supposedly 1 stitch. Most of these type of lifting procedures do not withstand the test of time.