300 MACS-lift short scar rhytidectomies: analysis of results and complications

Abstract

Between November 1999 and April 2004, 300 MACS-lifts (Minimal Access Cranial Suspension–lifts) were performed. Starting from the idea of suspension of sagged soft tissues with permanent purse-string sutures, a new comprehensive approach to facial rejuvenation was developed, in which the vertical vector appeared to be essential.The neck is corrected by extended submental liposuction and strong vertical traction on the lateral part of the platysma by means of a first vertical purse-string suture. The volume of the jowls and the cheeks is repositioned in a cranial direction with a second, slightly-oblique purse-string suture. The descent of the midface is corrected by suspending the malar fat pad in a nearly vertical direction.The skin excess generated by these actions is redraped in a pure vertical direction and excised at the temporal hairline and the paracanthal region. As no horizontal pull on the skin is exerted, a retro-auricular incision becomes obsolete. The result is a pure antigravitational lifting procedure, which produces a natural facial rejuvenation through a short scar.