SMAS lift

A SMAS lift is a face­lift tech­ni­que that tigh­tens not only the skin but also the SMAS. SMAS stands for “super­fi­ci­al mus­cu­lo­a­po­n­eu­ro­tic sys­tem”, a lay­er of mus­cle and con­nec­ti­ve tis­sue that sup­ports the face like a net.

Appli­ca­ti­on

Becau­se the lift takes place in this sup­port­ing lay­er, the skin its­elf bare­ly needs to be put under ten­si­on. This helps avo­id a tight, “ope­ra­ted” look and gives a lon­ger-las­ting result. To achie­ve this, the SMAS is pli­ca­ted, fold­ed or part­ly remo­ved and then resecu­red. The pro­ce­du­re main­ly sof­tens jowls, deepe­ned naso­la­bi­al folds and a blur­red jawline.

Good to know

The SMAS lift is now stan­dard in many face­lif­ts. It dif­fers from the deep pla­ne face­lift, in which the dis­sec­tion is car­ri­ed out beneath the SMAS. Down­ti­me and risks are simi­lar to tho­se of a con­ven­tio­nal face­lift. It should not be con­fu­sed with ultra­sound lif­ting, which tar­gets the SMAS with heat and wit­hout incisions.

Matching tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Face­lift Alternatives