Deep Plane Facelift

A Deep Plane Face Lift (as the name says) indicates that the procedure is performed at a deeper level than conventional facelifts. This is Dr. Niamtu’s go to facelift procedure. Although social media makes it sound like it is a new procedure, surgeons have been performing this technique for decades. The most important things about facelift surgery are patient safety and natural outcome and Dr. Niamtu’s deep plane facelift technique does both. The deep plane lift does not require extensive subcutaneous (under the skin) skin dissection, so in that respect it is less invasive and reduces the “pulled” or “windblown” look that can occur with extensive skin dissection. Since less skin is undermined, there is less chance for hematoma after the procedure. Also due to more conservative skin undermining, there is less chance of skin necrosis after the procedure and it is safer to perform simultaneous laser skin resurfacing. The reason for the above is that the more conservative skin dissection does not disturbs the blood supply to the skin that other procedures may do. The deep plane face and neck lift is an advanced procedure and should only be performed by surgeons with extensive facelift experience.
Although the “deep plane” procedure on the face is very effective, the “deep plane neck lift” can make the biggest difference to most patients, especially those with heavy necks and increased skin and fat under the chin. The deep plane facelift and deep plane neck lift are performed as the same time by Dr. Niamtu to give the most natural and lasting results.

A recent magazine article by Jolene Edgar summed up the Deep Plane Facelift.

“Visionary surgeons are constantly moving the needle toward undetectable results, shorter scars and easier recoveries, but without forsaking the fundamentals that have long kept patients safe. And quite a few “somethings” have materialized of late, finding their way into our social media. There’s been the fine-tuning of a popular approach, fresh data legitimizing a scrutinized technique, and a growing regard for a radical form of neck surgery., These evolutions in facelifting are yielding next-level results and making the experience more palatable for patients. While the earlier facelifts merely pulled skin taut and trimmed any excess, the techniques used today (the deep plane and the SMAS, or superficial musculoaponeurotic system) adjust the muscle layer of the face to give a more natural and thorough result that lasts longer—without the windswept look of the past. The deep plane facelift (particularly the latest iteration, called the extended deep plane) is said to most dramatically hoist fallen cheeks. During the procedure, surgeons cut into, raise, and go under the SMAS (fibrous tissue covering the facial muscles) into the so-called deep plane layer, where they untether various ligaments to fully free up and resuspend the face. (All modern facelifts manipulate the SMAS along with the platysma muscle, which rises from the collarbone, spans the neck, and marries with the SMAS along the jaw. While deep plane facelifts reposition the SMAS from below, SMAS procedures address this layer from above.) Another hallmark of the deep plane lift: The soft tissue layers of the face (the skin, fat, and SMAS) are uprooted and moved as a cohesive unit rather than being divided through the fat and treated separately as is customary with SMAS facelifts”

Adding to this article, I feel that one of the major benefits of the deep plane facelift is the more comprehensive treatment of the neck. Whereas past facelift procedures ignored the deeper structures in the neck, contemporary surgeons address these structures. In my facelift techniques I frequently reduce the digastric muscle, the submandibular glands and the deep fat underlying the platysma. This provides a more defined and sculpted profile that was not common with past techniques. The deep plane technique is advanced facial surgery and requires a surgeon with advanced facelift experience.
Joe Niamtu, III DMD

Additional deep plane facelift videos are on the Face and Neck Lift Video Page