Facelift is the operation where the words on the clinic’s website tell you the most about what will actually happen in the operating room. SMAS, deep plane, endoscopic, mini, mid-face: these terms describe genuinely different operations with different results and different recovery, and most pages use them interchangeably. This page explains what I do (deep plane surgery, endoscopic or open, on the mid-face or the full face), how I choose between them, and what the week in Istanbul looks like in practice.
SMAS and Deep Plane: What the Words Actually Mean
Every modern facelift works on the SMAS, the muscular-fibrous layer under the skin of the face that sags with age. The difference between techniques is not whether they touch the SMAS, but how.
In a classic SMAS lift, the skin is lifted off the face, and the SMAS underneath is tightened from the surface with sutures (plication) or by removing a strip of it. Let me be fair to this operation: in the right patient (lighter tissue, mild to moderate laxity, ageing concentrated along the jawline) a well-executed plication gives excellent, natural results, and a skilled surgeon doing a SMAS lift will beat a mediocre surgeon marketing a “deep plane” every time. The label matters less than the execution.
In a deep plane facelift, the dissection goes underneath the SMAS. The ligaments that tether the face are released, and skin and SMAS are moved together as one composite block, repositioned upward rather than pulled backward. Because the tension sits in the deep layer and not in the skin, the result looks like the face moved back in time rather than sideways, the skin heals under no tension, and the scars behave better. The advantage of the deep plane shows most in the mid-face and in heavier tissue, where surface tightening runs out of reach.
Every facelift I perform is a deep plane operation. The choice I make case by case is not the plane; it is the extent and the access.
Endoscopic or Open, Mid-Face or Full: How I Choose
Endoscopic mid-face lift
For the patient whose ageing sits in the middle of the face: descended cheeks, deepening nasolabial folds, hollowing under the eyes, but a clean jawline and neck. Through small incisions hidden in the hairline, the mid-face is released and repositioned vertically with an endoscope, with no visible scar in front of the ear. This is often the right operation for patients in their late thirties to early fifties, and I frequently combine it with lower blepharoplasty because the two areas age together.
Deep plane full facelift
For the patient with jowls, loose skin along the jaw and descent across the whole face. The incision runs discreetly around the ear; the deep plane is released from cheek to jawline and the whole face is repositioned. This is the operation most people mean by “a facelift”, and in my practice it is always a deep plane procedure, never a skin-only pull.
And the neck
A neck lift is added when the neck needs it: loose skin under the chin, banding, a blunted jaw-neck angle. When the neck is still clean, I do not add it, whatever the package price of doing so might suggest. Combining for the sake of a longer operation name helps nobody.
Mini Facelift, Thread Lift, Liquid Facelift, Ponytail Lift: Other Names You Will See
Beyond SMAS and deep plane, facelift marketing has produced a vocabulary of its own. Some of these names describe a real operation, some describe a smaller version of one, and some describe something that is not a lift at all. What each one means in my practice:
- Facelift, face lift, facelifting, rhytidectomy. The same family of operations. “Rhytidectomy” is the term on the consent form; “facelifting” is how most German and French patients search for it.
- Mini facelift, short scar facelift, MACS lift. A smaller incision with a more limited reach, usually aimed at early jowls. I do not perform mini facelifts. When a patient asks for a “mini”, what she usually wants is a shorter recovery and a smaller scar; when the ageing is limited to the middle or the outer upper face, an endoscopic mid-face lift or a temporal lift may be the smaller operation that fits.
- Lower face lift, jowl lift. A lift concentrated on the jawline and the jowls. In my practice this is the lower part of a deep plane facelift, not a separate technique.
- Neck lift, “turkey neck”, platysmaplasty. Treatment of loose skin and muscle bands under the chin and along the neck. Added to a facelift only when the neck needs it; explained on the neck lift page.
- Ponytail lift, fox eye lift, temporal lift. Lifts of the upper and outer face through small incisions in the hairline. I perform the temporal lift endoscopically; it raises the brow tail and the outer corner of the eye, and it does not treat jowls. See the brow lift and canthoplasty and fox eye lift pages.
- Thread lift. Barbed sutures passed under the skin to pull tissue upward without an incision. The effect is real on the day and short lived, and it does not reposition the deep layer. I do not perform thread lifts.
- Liquid facelift, non-surgical facelift. Fillers or fat injected to restore volume. Volume and descent are different problems: a liquid facelift can refill a hollow cheek, but it cannot lift a jowl, and too much of it makes a face heavier rather than younger. Fat grafting is often combined with a facelift for the volume part: why fat transfer is not a filler.
- Skin-only facelift. The older operation in which only the skin is lifted and pulled. Because the tension sits in the skin, the result relaxes early and the scars widen. I do not perform it.
- Secondary facelift, revision facelift. A second lift, either years later as the face continues to age, or sooner to correct a first operation that went wrong. The first is covered in how many facelifts you can have; the second in the revision section below.
For the longer version, read the facelift guide.
Who Is a Good Candidate
Three groups make up most of my facelift patients. Patients in their forties and fifties whose mid-face has descended but who are told everywhere that they are “too young for a facelift”; the endoscopic mid-face lift exists precisely for them. Patients in their fifties to seventies with full-face descent, for whom the deep plane full facelift, often with blepharoplasty and sometimes a canthopexy, produces the most complete change. And patients after major weight loss, including on GLP-1 medication, whose facial deflation and sagging I have written about on the Ozempic face page.
If your concern is skin quality, sun damage or fine lines rather than descent, a facelift is the wrong tool and I will tell you so; those need resurfacing or volume, not repositioning.
The Operation
Facelift surgery is performed under general anaesthesia. An endoscopic mid-face lift takes around two to three hours; a deep plane full facelift takes six to seven, because releasing and repositioning the deep layer across the whole face is slow, deliberate work, and it is exactly the part I refuse to hurry. You stay one night in hospital.
Whether drains are used depends on the case. Often a haemostatic net makes them unnecessary: a fine quilting of sutures placed across the treated area for the first days that closes the space where fluid would collect, distributes pressure evenly, and protects the skin flap. It looks unusual in photographs and patients are sometimes alarmed when they first search for it, so let me say it plainly: it comes out painlessly on day three, and it is one of the reasons bruising and swelling after a deep plane facelift are milder than most patients expect.
Your Week in Istanbul
- Day 0: surgery, one night in hospital.
- Days 1 to 3: at your hotel with a compression garment, thin adhesive strips along the incision lines, and the haemostatic net if one was placed. Daily contact with my team.
- Day 3: the net comes off, drains, if any were used, come out, and the face is checked.
- Day 5 to 7: final examination, and you fly home. Five to seven days in Istanbul is enough.
Back home, most patients are presentable in ordinary company at around two weeks, back to desk work in the same window, and exercising from week four to six. Swelling settles over weeks; the final result is judged at months, not days. The recovery planner will build a day by day calendar around your surgery date.
Risks and Honest Limits
The risks that matter in facelift surgery are haematoma in the first hours, which is why you stay the night in hospital; temporary weakness of a facial nerve branch, which is rarer in deep plane surgery done by surgeons who work in that plane routinely, because the nerves are seen and protected rather than worked over blindly; numbness of the cheeks and ears that fades over months; and scars, which sit in and around the ear and behave well when the skin is closed without tension, which is the whole point of lifting in the deep plane.
Two honest limits. A facelift resets the clock; it does not stop it. Expect the result to age with you gracefully rather than to last forever. And smoking is a real problem in facelift surgery specifically, because the skin flap depends on its blood supply; if you smoke, read my guide to smoking and surgery before you plan anything.
When a Facelift Goes Wrong: Revision Facelift
Some of the facelift patients I see have had a lift elsewhere and want it corrected. The problems repeat, and most have a name: the pulled or “windswept” look, where the skin was tightened sideways instead of the deep layer being lifted upward; the pixie ear, an earlobe dragged down and forward because the closure was under tension; wide or visible scars in front of the ear and behind it; a sideburn or temple hairline that has moved upward or disappeared; jowls and neck bands that returned within a year or two, typical of a skin-only lift; and a face that looks tight but not younger, because volume was lost and nobody replaced it.
Most of these can be improved, and the correction works on the cause rather than the symptom: tension moved from the skin back into the deep layer, scars revised once the pull behind them is gone, and lost volume restored. Fat grafting that went wrong has its own page: fat transfer to the face gone wrong.
Secondary facelift surgery is more demanding than a first lift because the planes are scarred and the anatomy has been moved. Unless there is a problem that cannot wait, I ask for six to twelve months after the previous operation, so that swelling has settled and the scars have matured. Send photographs from the front, both sides and both oblique views, with your hair pulled back so the scars and hairline are visible, and the operation report if you have it.
Facelift Cost in Turkey: What Shapes the Price and What Is Included
A deep plane facelift in Istanbul costs substantially less than the same operation in London, Germany or the United States, where deep plane surgery has become the most expensive item on the aesthetic menu. The difference is local operating costs, not the operation. I do not publish a single price, because what moves the figure is specific to you:
- Mid-face or full facelift. An endoscopic mid-face lift takes two to three hours; a deep plane full facelift six to seven.
- What is combined. A neck lift, brow lift, blepharoplasty, canthopexy and fat grafting can all be done in the same session, and each adds operating time.
- First lift or secondary lift. A revision is planned as a separate category, because scarred planes slow every step.
I quote in writing after reviewing photographs and, for facelift patients, usually after a video consultation, because the plan depends on how your face moves, not only on how it photographs. Every quotation is all inclusive: the surgery, the hospital stay, the anaesthesia, medication, the compression garment, your accommodation, airport and clinic transfers, and the follow-up visits and post-operative contact in Istanbul.
Send your photographs for an assessment. Front and profile views, relaxed and smiling, are enough for a first opinion on whether your face needs a mid-face lift, a full deep plane facelift, or neither yet. Send them on WhatsApp, +90 544 772 0772, or by email, info@mustafaaydinol.com, whichever you prefer.
Facelift Before and After: How to Read the Photographs
Facelift photographs reward a careful eye. Lighting from the front flattens every fold; a slight chin lift tightens the jawline; makeup and hair arranged over the ears hide exactly the places where a facelift shows. Compare the same view, with the same expression, under the same light, and look at the profile and the oblique view rather than only the front, because the jawline and the neck are where the change is real or not. Ask to see the ear, the earlobe and the hairline after surgery, since a good lift is invisible there and a poor one is obvious. And ask when the after photograph was taken: at three months most swelling has gone, but the honest photograph is at six to twelve months.
Facelift results are the hardest to show, because many patients do not want their face published, even with the eyes covered. My results with consent are in the before and after gallery and in a deep plane facelift case study, and how the face settles week by week is described in the facelift swelling timeline. In a video consultation I can show you more cases with a starting point similar to yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a deep plane facelift cost in Turkey?
Substantially less than in the UK, EU or US for the same operation. The figure depends on the extent (mid-face or full) and what is combined; I quote in writing after seeing photographs and usually a video call.
Is a deep plane facelift better than a SMAS facelift?
Not automatically. A well-executed SMAS plication in a well-selected patient gives an excellent result, and published series support it, particularly in younger patients with milder laxity. The deep plane’s advantage shows in the mid-face and in more advanced descent, because it releases the ligaments and repositions skin and SMAS together with the tension in the deep layer. Execution matters more than the label. My own practice is deep plane in every case.
What is an endoscopic facelift?
A mid-face lift performed through small incisions hidden in the hairline using a camera, with no scar in front of the ear. It suits patients whose ageing is central, in the cheeks and under the eyes, with a clean jawline.
Do I need a neck lift with my facelift?
Only if your neck needs it. If the skin under the chin is loose or banded, yes; if the neck is clean, adding one changes nothing except the operating time.
How long does a facelift take?
An endoscopic mid-face lift takes two to three hours; a deep plane full facelift six to seven. You stay one night in hospital.
What is the haemostatic net?
A fine temporary quilting of sutures over the treated area that often replaces drains, reduces bruising, and protects the result in the first days. It is removed painlessly on day three.
How long do I stay in Turkey after a facelift?
Five to seven days: one night in hospital, net and any drains out on day three, final check before flying.
How long does a facelift last?
The repositioning is permanent, but your face continues to age from its new starting point. Most patients consider the benefit to hold for around a decade, ageing naturally rather than snapping back.
Is a facelift in Turkey safe?
The risks of a facelift are the same in every country; what changes is who operates and where. Choose a board-certified plastic surgeon who performs facelifts regularly and works in the deep plane routinely, an accredited hospital with a physician anaesthesiologist and an overnight stay, and a written plan for follow-up after you fly home. I have written a separate guide on how to judge whether plastic surgery in Turkey is safe.
What is a mini facelift, and do you perform one?
“Mini facelift” usually means a shorter incision with a more limited lift, aimed at early jowls. I do not perform it. Every facelift I do is a deep plane operation; when the ageing is limited to the mid-face or the outer brow, an endoscopic mid-face lift or a temporal lift may be the smaller operation that fits.
Can a facelift be combined with eyelid surgery or a brow lift?
Yes. A facelift, eyelid surgery, a brow lift, a neck lift and fat grafting can all be done in one session when the face needs them. The plan is decided by what your face needs, not by fitting procedures into a package.
About the Surgeon
Dr Mustafa Aydınol is a plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon practising in Istanbul, a member of ISAPS and of the Turkish Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. The practice holds Health Tourism Authorization from the Turkish Ministry of Health. An overview of everything I do for the ageing face, including non-surgical options, is on the facial rejuvenation page.
