ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The improvement of nasolabial folds by either lateral superficial musculoaponeurotic system rhytidectomy (SMASectomy) or minimal access cranial suspension (MACS) lift alone is commonly performed, but patient satisfaction is often limited in East Asians. An innovative technique named cable-stayed facelift, which combined the strengths of lateral SMASectomy and MACS lift, was developed for improved results.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 2016 and 2019, 20 cable-stayed facelifts were performed in a single Hospital. All cases were performed by a single plastic surgeon (Dr. X. Lin). Two plastic surgeons independently evaluated post-surgery outcomes using a 5-likert scale: excellent (5), good (4), fair (3), no change (2), worse (1). Patient satisfaction was assessed by relevant items from the FACE-Q questionnaire.
RESULT: Twenty patients with a mean age of 51 years old underwent face lift surgery. The average follow-up was 11.3 ± 9.8 (mean ± SD) months. The 5-likert score evaluated by surgeons was 3.65 ± 1.08. Patient-perceived age visual analogue scale (7.8 ± 4.4) exhibited a difference between preoperative actual age and postoperative apparent age. Patients demonstrated high satisfaction with outcome (67.5 ± 16.2) and the satisfaction with lower face and jawline (76.2 ± 14.9). No major complications, hematoma or seroma were observed.
CONCLUSIONS: Our approach -cable-stayed facelift, offers a good alternative to provide a more effective effacement of nasolabial folds, by lifting the nasolabial folds with parallel vector and lower face and neck with the vertical vector.

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