TY - JOUR
T1 - Facelift and patterns of lymphatic drainage
AU - Meade, Ricardo A.
AU - Teotia, Sumeet S.
AU - Griffeth, Landis K.
AU - Barton, Fritz E.
PY - 2012/1
Y1 - 2012/1
N2 - Background: It has commonly been assumed that deeper facelift dissection causes greater and more prolonged swelling. Objectives: In this preliminary report, the authors compare the lymphatic reconstitution after multiple techniques of rhytidectomy by means of dynamic lymphoscintigraphy. Methods: Three patients were enrolled in this study. All three were female, were similar in age, and exhibited similar signs and degrees of facial aging. Each woman underwent a facelift with a different technique: (1) subcutaneous dissection with superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) plication, (2) subcutaneous dissection with SMASectomy, and (3) a "high SMAS" composite facelift. Postoperatively, 99mTc-sulfur colloid was injected into a standardized infraorbital location in each patient to compare patterns of lymphatic drainage using lymphoscintigraphy. Postoperative scans at two weeks, six weeks, three months, six months, and one year were compared to the preoperative scans taken seven days prior to surgery. Results: All rhytidectomy techniques appeared to temporarily create a significant and similar degree of interruption in lymphatic drainage. There was a subtotal recovery of lymphatic pathways within three months and complete return to baseline drainage pattern after six months, regardless of surgical technique. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it appears that the extent of facial dissection, rather than the depth, is the most significant factor in postoperative edema.
AB - Background: It has commonly been assumed that deeper facelift dissection causes greater and more prolonged swelling. Objectives: In this preliminary report, the authors compare the lymphatic reconstitution after multiple techniques of rhytidectomy by means of dynamic lymphoscintigraphy. Methods: Three patients were enrolled in this study. All three were female, were similar in age, and exhibited similar signs and degrees of facial aging. Each woman underwent a facelift with a different technique: (1) subcutaneous dissection with superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) plication, (2) subcutaneous dissection with SMASectomy, and (3) a "high SMAS" composite facelift. Postoperatively, 99mTc-sulfur colloid was injected into a standardized infraorbital location in each patient to compare patterns of lymphatic drainage using lymphoscintigraphy. Postoperative scans at two weeks, six weeks, three months, six months, and one year were compared to the preoperative scans taken seven days prior to surgery. Results: All rhytidectomy techniques appeared to temporarily create a significant and similar degree of interruption in lymphatic drainage. There was a subtotal recovery of lymphatic pathways within three months and complete return to baseline drainage pattern after six months, regardless of surgical technique. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it appears that the extent of facial dissection, rather than the depth, is the most significant factor in postoperative edema.
KW - Extended SMAS
KW - SMAS
KW - SMAS plication
KW - SMASectomy
KW - Sub-SMAS
KW - Subcutaneous facelift
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U2 - 10.1177/1090820X11430683
DO - 10.1177/1090820X11430683
M3 - Article
C2 - 22231411
AN - SCOPUS:84858212194
SN - 1090-820X
VL - 32
SP - 39
EP - 45
JO - Aesthetic surgery journal
JF - Aesthetic surgery journal
IS - 1
ER -