SOOF Facelift
Overview of SOOF
SOOF - What is it?
An acronym for a type of endoscopic facelift - this procedure is the medical name for an improved plastic surgical technique that provides facial rejuvenation with minimal scars.
Endoscopy is a surgical technique that may prevent the need for long incisions, may allow faster healing, and results in fewer side effects than traditional techniques.
Endoscopic techniques were first developed for use in general surgery, gynecology, and orthopedic surgery, but has found successful applications in plastic and cosmetic surgical procedures.
To perform a traditional, brow and facelifting, a surgeon made incisions from ear to ear on top of the head, and around the ear to the posterior neck. Endoscopic techniques are now preferred by many surgeons, as they require fewer, smaller incision, thereby reducing the amount of scarring.
Using a slender, wand-like tube with a fiber-optic camera attached, a plastic surgeon can lift and re-position various areas of the body through use of these smaller incisions. The endoscopic technique generally requires less recovery time and provides more natural-looking results than standard facelift procedures.
Another advantage of endoscopic brow and facelifting is that it allows our surgeons to successfully treat areas that were difficult to improve with traditional facelifting. This generally includes the central third of your face, extending from the center of your brows, to the frown lines and folds adjacent to your nose and mouth (the nasolabial folds).
Using the endoscope, the surgeon can lift and re-position the mid-facial tissues at the deep layer (the periosteal layer), just above the cheekbone. For this reason, the procedure is also called an endoscopic subperiosteal facelift. In this way, the whole sagging cheek can be lifted in a vertical direction, helping smooth the nasolabial fold and enhancing the volume of the upper cheeks, resulting in a more natural, youthful look.
The subperiosteal facelift seems to provide a longer lasting cosmetic result than traditional procedures. With these techniques in the hands of experts, the average years of rejuvenation obtained may be double than that obtained with traditional facelifts.
The younger looks achieved by the subperiosteal facelift occur because the surgeon can work directly under the tissues and muscles that are sagging. The surgeon can tighten these tissues by pulling them upward, outward, or by re-positioning them. (The standard techniques, on the other hand, work only with skin, which is pulled out toward the ear.)
Few complications have been reported after an endoscopic facelift. The surgeon operates under the deep layers of the face, decreasing the risk of nerve damage. Only a few, small incisions may be required; this reduces the risk of infection, scarring, numbness and hair loss. Complications that occur after surgery, such as numbness and hair loss, are temporary and usually are resolved within a few weeks or months.
You may elect to have a partial, semi-complete or complete facelift. This will depend on your aging characteristics and what your desired goals are. For some patients, our surgeons may advise a combination of endoscopic techniques with traditional methods to remove excess and sagging skin.
If your goals are to have your brow raised, to soften the horizontal creases in your forehead, and to erase your frowning lines, the endoscopic technique is recommended.
The process begins with 3-5 small incisions (less than 1" in length) in your scalp above the hairline. Next, a fiber-optic tube connected to a microscopic camera is inserted through one of the incisions. The camera relays the image to a video monitor, allowing the surgeon to view the surgical area. Then through the other incisions, the surgeon will place small, surgical instruments under your scalp and forehead to remove the unwanted frowning muscles and to reposition your brow.