What exactly IS the Lifestyle Lift? No one will tell me.

The short answer is twofold: heavy marketing and a quick procedure

The Procedure: Designed for speed

There is no aspect of a Lifestyle Lift (that has been published in the literature), which distinguishes it as unique to any of the previously described facelift techniques.The Lifestyle Lift is performed under local anesthesia.  Speed is a quality that most good surgeon's have, but finishing a procedure too quickly can sacrifice the eventual aesthetic result.  As described in Dr. Jafri's excellent post, the Lifestyle Lift procedure is a facelift-type procedure that is performed to enhance the surgeon's speed. 

For example, a pre-auricular incision is generally used instead of a retrotragal incision.  It is easier, simpler, faster, and  technically less complicated to perform and close than a pre-auricular incision.  In my own practice, I almost always use a retrotragal incision, meaning the incision follows a path behind the tragus (cartilaginous shield of the ear canal).  In my opinion, supported by much of the literature and by many colleagues who are experience at facelift, the retrotragal incision produces a cosmetically superior result (for both men and women). 

Secondly, the procedure employs a SMAS plication procedure.  This means that there has been no true mobilization of the SMAS (the SMAS is the layer of tisse that bears the tension in a facelift, taking tension off of the skin).  Again, a plication procedure is easier, simpler, faster, and less technically complicated to perform than either a true SMAS flap or a deep plane facelift.  In my opinion, and in the opinion of many accomplished facelift surgeons, mobilization of the SMAS produces a superior and longer lasting result than simple plication.  Is it possible to produce an acceptable result with plication?  It is.  Is a plication likely to hold up for as long as a SMAS mobilization procedure?  Doubtful;  not in my hands at least.

Thirdly, a lifestyle lift, as marketed, will not address a heavy neck, platysmal bands, or a low hyoid bone.  In order to properly tackle a heavy neck, an incision, skin undermining, appropriate defatting, and contouring of the neck muscle is required.  Addressing the neck, combined with the procedures decribed above, will take substantially more than one hour. In my practice, a patient will be comfortably and safely sedated (similar to a colonoscopy) when having this procedure performed.  Laying still and awake for 3 hours, hearing the sounds, and seeing the sights of a surgical facility are definitely not for the faint of heart.  In fact, this experience can be very anxiety provoking.

Most surgeons have some variability in the way they perform facelifts and certain techniques work better in certain surgeon's hands.  However, one axion that can be applied to facelift is that if a patient has significant aging changes, a one hour procedure is not likely to produce substantial and lasting results.

Heavy Marketing:

Lifestyle lift is a registered trademark owned by a company known as Lifestyle Lift Holdings based out of Michigan.  The company owns centers throughout the country that offer a facelift-like procedure.  Surgeons are recruited in a local area to perform this procedure at a Lifestyle Lift Center.  The Lifestyle Lift company lays out a heavy marketing campaign in an area and over the internet to recruit prospective patients.  These patients are then generally screened by non Physicians and sometimes non medical personell who appear to make preliminary decisions about the acceptability of a prospecticve patient.