Ads for the Lifestyle Lift® stating a person can “look years younger” with this “breakthrough medical procedure” bring to mind the adage caveat emptor: let the buyer beware. My skepticism comes from the experience of having observed similar miraculous procedures come and go over the years. The Lifestyle Lift® is a limited or “mini” facelift and is said to be a cheaper, faster procedure with less recovery time than a traditional facelift. These claims may be true yet they come without warnings that the improvement will be proportionately less than with standard procedures.
It concerns me that I find no references to the Lifestyle Lift® in the peer-reviewed scientific medical literature. I am suspicious of any surgical procedure I hear about on tabloid television or read about in a paid ad in a woman’s magazine before I see it published in a professional journal.
In print ads and at the website for the Lifestyle Lift® (www.lifestylelift.com ) I find only in fine print that most of the featured patients have had additional procedures such as “optional neck firming.” I wonder why they don’t show patients who have had the Lifestyle Lift® only. In the same ads I notice photographic sleight-of-hand, such as smiles and make-up in “after” pictures that are absent in the “before” photos; ears covered by hair in “after” pictures in a possible attempt to hide scars in this area; and chins tucked in “before” photos and extended in “after” pictures to make the neck look tighter. I find some concerning comments about the procedure at websites such as www.infomercialscams.com/scams/lifestyle_lift_complaints .
There is no doubt that traditional facelift surgery is expensive and entails significant recovery time. But my experience has shown that what people are really saying when they indicate they wish to refresh their facial appearance without a facelift is that they don’t want to drastically alter their appearance with surgery. When properly performed, traditional facelift surgery offers a refreshed appearance without a pulled, tight, or unnatural appearance while shortcuts often leave patients wanting more.
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