Expert guide: Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery 2015 26 June 2015 June 2015 27 I s there such a thing as a nonsur-gical facelift? Aesthetic plastic surgeons are conducting a panel discussion at The Aesthetic Meet-ing 2015, the annual meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plas-tic Surgery (ASAPS), to determine whether a nonsurgical facelift is a legitimate cosmetic procedure. Sur-geons discussed what constitutes a nonsurgical facelift and how it im-pacts the longitudinal care aesthetic plastic surgeons can provide to ad-dress facial ageing. According to ASAPS member Dr. Bar-ry DiBernardo, there is such a thing as a nonsurgical facelift. “The key is to define what a facelift is intended to accomplish. A facelift should ad-dress wrinkled and sun damaged skin, loss of volume, fat under the chin and laxity of facial muscles. The difference between a surgical and a nonsurgical facelift lies in what tools are necessary to achieve the desired result: scalpel or injectables and light or energy-based tools – but both can accomplish the desired effect to dif-ferent degrees,” he explains.There is a paradigm shift occurring in how aesthetic plastic surgeons ad-dress facial ageing –combining skin-care products and minimally invasive procedures with a potential face and/or neck lift surgery over the course of a patient’s lifetime, depending on their individual needs.Panel Moderator Laurie Casas, MD has a different view: “While I don’t personally believe that there is such a thing as a nonsurgical facelift, I do believe that we can effectively treat the signs of ageing using the new wealth of nonsurgical tools at our disposal to potentially stave off a facelift for a while. Facial ageing is not dependent on a patient’s age ex-clusively, but rather on the quality of their skin (tone, texture, colour, and thickness) as well as muscle tone, subcutaneous thickness, weight fluctuations and of course, genetics. We are now able to treat facial age-ing longitudinally by protecting, pre-venting and treating the key signs,” explains Casas.Barry DiBernardo, MD Garry Monheit, MD Goesel Anson, MD Jason Pozner, MD Nonsurgical Facelift – Marketing Gimmick or Legitimate Cosmetic Procedure?By Barry DiBernardo, MD; Garry Monheit, MD; Goesel Anson, MD; Jason Pozner, MD usa “A nonsurgical approach to facial rejuvenation is not for every candi-date,” notes Dr. DiBernado. “If a pa-tient has excess skin hanging low, a machine won’t tighten it to produce the desired effect. At this point, they are good candidates for a surgi-cal procedure and should consult a board-certified plastic surgeon.”“Board-certified aesthetic plastic surgeons are the genesis of facial ageing solutions because they have the training and experience to pro-vide patients with comprehensive care ranging from skincare products and minimally invasive techniques to surgical procedures with natu-ral-looking results,” Casas explains. “They have a comprehensive under-standing of anatomy, skin composi-tion and musculature and can there-fore create a targeted long-term plan to prevent and/or address facial age-ing as needed.”The panel of aesthetic plastic sur-geons agreed that the best ap-proach to addressing facial ageing is to establish a long-term mainte-nance plan which involves applying skincare products such as sunblock, retinoids and injectables including Botulinum Toxin as wrinkles begin to form, light energy-based products to tighten the skin around the jowl and neck area, and fillers to restore volume in the face. A timely surgical procedure such as a facelift and neck lift should be considered when the less invasive tools aren’t producing or can’t produce the desired result.