Jowls after Facelift
March 16, 2010
Jowls after a facelift will always come back. The type of facelift you have will determine when. Jowls are the fat of the jaw line that sags as the SMAS layer sags over time. How that layer is lifted will be more or less successful in correcting the problem.
No one is doing a skin-only facelift anymore. Many surgeons do some version of a SMAS-lift; others (like me) do some version of a sub-SMAS or deep plane lift. In order to correct jowls, the lifting along the jawline has to lift the SMAS effectively at the jowl. This is best accomplished by lifting beneath the jowl. In my hands, I can do this best using a deep plane facelift approach.
Regardless of how well the lift is performed, as you age the jowl will return. The only question is, “When?” With deep plane facelifts, usually the jowls are improved for so long that a revision lift is not needed for over 8 to 10 years.
