For years, facelift patients had to choose between a younger look and a natural one. Skin-only tightening left many patients with a stretched, wind-swept appearance that signaled surgery rather than concealed it. Dr. Andrew Jacono changed that equation by moving past the surface-level approach that had defined the procedure for generations.
Instead of pulling skin tighter, Dr. Andrew Jacono developed a method that repositions the deeper structures of the face. He introduced the extended deep-plane facelift in the early 2000s and published his first peer-reviewed results in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal in 2011, drawing on outcomes from 153 patients.
Working Beneath the Surface
Conventional facelifts separate skin from the tissue beneath it, then reposition only that outer layer. Dr. Jacono’s technique keeps skin, muscle and fat connected as one unit while it moves. He operates underneath the superficial musculoaponeurotic system, releasing the ligaments that hold facial tissue in place and shifting the midface, jawline and neck vertically.
The results have earned a nickname among patients: “ponytail-friendly.” Incisions run roughly a third the length of those used in traditional facelifts, tucked behind the ear or along the hairline where hair covers them completely.
Outcomes Bear Out the Method
Clinical figures back the technique’s reputation. Early studies recorded a 3.9 percent revision rate, a 1.9 percent hematoma rate and a 1.3 percent rate of temporary facial nerve injury, figures that sit below typical industry numbers for facelift procedures. Later research found that deep-plane techniques carry lower odds of nerve injury than superficial lifts because the dissection preserves blood supply and anatomical relationships.
Patients also report longer-lasting results, often citing effects that hold for over a decade. Dr. Jacono has said the added durability comes from correcting the structural causes of an aged appearance rather than only smoothing its surface signs. That distinction, more than any single statistic, explains why surgeons around the world have taken notice of his approach and why the extended deep-plane technique now sits at the center of conversations about how facelifts should be performed. Visit this page, for related information.
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