Facelift: Info, Prices, Photos, Reviews, Q&A

The name Y Lift was coined by a doctor who utilizes dermal fillers to add volume to the face and to give a subtle appearance of a lift in the mid-face region. Dermal fillers are a popular option for candidates that show early signs of aging but are not ready for surgery.

The Y Lift or any other procedure based on dermal fillers alone can enhance a patient’s appearance with little to no down time but it is a temporary solution that does equal the same value of a facelift.

A facelift can successfully restore lost volume back to the face, lift sagging facial tissues and remove excess skin and tissue from the face resulting in a more youthful, rejuvenated appearance. Each patient’s individual needs and desired results will determine whether the best option is a non-invasive approach such as dermal fillers or a surgical facelift procedure. (Scott Chapin, MD, FACS, Philadelphia Plastic Surgeon)

The Y Lift is a non invasive procedure which uses hyaluronic acid to plump and in effect, to lift the face. It can be beneficial for patients that have lost volume in the ageing process but due to the absorption of hyaluronic acid the results will only last a few months.

The problem with a non invasive method, when compared to a surgical procedure, can be that overuse or regular filler can lead to unattractive or undesired results. (Yannis Alexandrides, MD, London Plastic Surgeon)

The Y Lift and Other Non Surgical Options

The Y Lift is a non-surgical technique for addressing facial laxity. There are many other non-surgical options for addressing aging in the mid-face. Typically, non-surgical techniques will not be as effective or last as long as surgical procedures like a facelift.

For optimal results treating facial aging, often surgical and non-surgical procedures are combined. Surgical procedures will give you more permanent results than any non-surgical techniques. Most non-surgical treatments, like hyaluronic acid fillers, will only last a few months up to year. (Amir M. Karam, MD, San Diego Facial Plastic Surgeon)

The Y lift is a nonsurgical facelift that lifts the facial tissues upward. I think it is a very similar to my MM lift that accomplishes the same type of lift using fillers. The downside to nonsurgical facelifts is the longevity.

It lasts as long as the filler. The advantage is if you’re aging primarily through volume loss then fillers is your answer. If you’re aging primarily through sagging, then you need skin removal through a surgical facelift.

Most people have both and need a combination. (Mike Majmundar, MD, Atlanta Facial Plastic Surgeon)

For years, many thousands of bright and innovative surgeons have tried MANY “minimally invasive” “scar less and nearly scar less” techniques to lift faces – the results have been both short-lasting and disappointing.

If you have early signs of aging – the use of Botox and fillers can rejuvenate the face and postpone the need for a formal Facelift. In early / moderate facial aging a short scar Facelift (MACS) can be done with great results.

But, in advanced facial aging the best option is to customize the operation to the patient’s needs and do a formal Face and Neck Lift. If you want a MINI result – have a MINI procedure.

Whenever your hear of a new, revolutionary, unprecedented, amazing results producing – the XYZ-Lift – put both your hands in your pockets, grab your purse tighter and keep on walking. You will save money and a disappointment.

The ONLY new thing with 100% of these Lift procedure is how they lift your money from your purse into their bank account. (Peter A. Aldea, MD, Memphis Plastic Surgeon)

Y Lift: Another Never-Never Land Procedure

Once again, procedures like the Y-Lift which offer Never-Never Land scenarios are based on the principle that “miracles really do happen”. Miracles can happen, but not with a no incision, no stitch, no touch titanium plate procedure.

Be very skeptical. (Stephen Prendiville, MD, Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Y lift or just fillers

If you check the photos on the doctor’s web site regarding the Y lift, I will say that the same results could be obtained with the fillers alone. This just looks like a gimick. (Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)

Effectiveness of Y Lift

The Y lift appears to be another marketing driven proprietary name applied to a minimally invasive procedure. Its effectiveness in rejuvenating the aging face is likely very limited. (Mario J. Imola, MD, DDS, Denver Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Look for long-term results rather than a catchy name

The gold-standard approach for long-term, natural-looking, and significant improvement of the aging face and neck is the facelift/ necklift operation. There are dozens of procedures that have been described, such as the one mentioned here, that are an attempt to get around this approach.

Y Lift can improve facial contours with results lasting 6-12 months, but is in no way comparable to a surgical facelift or necklift.

I would ask the doctor more about this and look at long-term before and after photos. (Lara Devgan, MD, MPH, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Not sure what the “Y Lift” is but what matters is not what you look like at one week but what you look like at one to two years. Ask for a 2 year photo. Also beware of other procedures that can be combined with a Y Lift. That would confuse what the actual Y Lift is doing. (Francisco Canales, MD, Santa Rosa Plastic Surgeon)

There are so many branded “lifts”, it can be very confusing. The Ylift involves injectable fillers to “lift” the tissues. Similar procedures are often referred to as a “liquid facelift”. I would recommend consultation with a facial plastic surgeon to discuss the best option for your concerns. (Elizabeth Whitaker, MD, FACS, Atlanta Facial Plastic Surgeon)

All procedures are worth it, the important issue is to choose the right candidate for the procedure. It is natural for the patients to be inclining for non-surgical procedures but normally they have limited results and limited durability. (Alejandro J. Quiroz, MD, FACS, Mexico Plastic Surgeon)

There are a myriad of non-surgical facelift alternatives. I have tried a number of them including radiofrequency and ultrasound. Unfortunately, I am sad to report, that I was disappointed with the results of all of them.

That is not to say you may not experience any improvement. However, when you factor the small benefit (if any), the cost, the discomfort, a Changes Rapid Lift is a much better alternative. Most patients I speak with come to me having tried non-surgical facelift alternatives.

They are usually out of pocket $3500, disgruntled that they saw no result, and now want a facelift. My advice would be to save the $3500 and put it toward a gold standard tried and true procedure which will give you significant improvement every time. (Gilbert Lee, MD, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)

I would be very sceptical about any technique that offers instant results with no scars and minimal recovery time. In my extensive experience, the only way to have a stable, long lasting results is to have a full surgical procedure which reshapes and repositions the soft issues of the face.

As with many areas of life, ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’. (James Murphy, FRCS(Plast), Manchester Plastic Surgeon)

There are an overwhelming number of ‘branded’ non-surgical techniques which represent some minor variation on a theme, this case being an example of a modification of a so-called ‘liquid lift.’ I would be mindful of bold promises that sound to good to be true.

Additionally, evaluate before and afters objectively. Many of these websites show pre-op patients with no make up or hair styling and their chin down (to accentuate neck fullness), and then post-procedure look as if they just got made up for the runway, and have their chin up in the air to hide the redundancy of the neck.

In short, I strongly advise any patient considering a procedure on their face (or anywhere else for that matter!!) to have a formal consultation with a plastic surgeon to identify goals and reasonable treatment plan to accomplish them. (Bryan Correa, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

nonsurgical lifts are performed by adding volume to hollow areas to plump and support them. Botox can relax lines related to muscle activity. Skin can be peeled or tightened with laser. All of these options are not surgery.

Done well, they can improve appearance,but they are no substitute for surgery when needed. (William C. Rigano, MD, Dayton Plastic Surgeon)

Patients need to understand that every facial rejuvenation procedure should be individualized to the patients needs and desires. There are many “branded” procedures (such as the “Y” lift, the Lifestyle Lift, the Quik-lift, The Vampire Lift, etc.), but in general, one size doesn’t fit all.

Each of these procedures may provide satisfactory results in the right patient but not everyone is an appropriate candidate. Be sure and consult a board certified plastic surgeon and together you will decide on a procedure or combination of procedures that addresses your concerns and rejuvenation priorities.

The magic of a beautiful result comes from performing the right procedure for the right patient. (Kevin L. Smith, MD, FACS, Charlotte Plastic Surgeon)

The Y Lift is a Marketing Term for Correcting Facial Aging Using Injectable Fillers

The Y lift is not a technical term that describes a specific type of facelift. The procedure involves releasing the facial soft tissues and then using hyaluronic fillers to add volume to the face. None of this represents an advance in plastic surgery.

Juvederm and Restylane have been used for years to combat facial aging. The term represents a marketing approach that we frequently see in plastic surgery, where descriptive terms are added to standard terms like facelift to make them sound as if they represent new technology. (Richard J. Bruneteau, MD, Omaha Plastic Surgeon)

Cosmetic surgery is a business and everyone wants to be branded as unique and on the cutting edge of the field.

I have watched and reviewed the Y-lift website and am struck by two things. First, most of the photos are not long term photos with multiple facial views such as seen with traditional facial rejuvenation techniques.

I see very little difference in the before and after photos except for volume enhancement, something plastic surgeons have been doing for years. Second, I do not believe that Dr. Trokel and his “special” instrument instantly lifts the muscles, fascia and skin and that they are held in place by the hyaluronic acid filler.

This makes no sense from an anatomic viewpoint. If he actually lifted the muscles, this procedure would put the patient at risk of facial paralysis. As a filler/volume enhancement technique, this procedure seems comparable to other volume enhancement techniques but you should not believe it is comparable to a facelift.

It is not. Caveat emptor – let the buyer beware. (John Zavell, MD, FACS, Toledo Plastic Surgeon)

The procedure is not much different than placing fillers in your tissue to help with volume. The Y-Lift is not a widely accepted technique. Most often a facelift is the procedure of choice for patients with significant facial aging. (Christopher Khorsandi, MD, Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon)

There are many proprietary lifts in the market. I usually reference a paper by Dr. Peter Adamson comparing the various lifts. It found that the deep plane facelift had the longest longevity of all facelifts, about 7 years in duration for improvement. (Jose E. Barrera, MD, FACS, San Antonio Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Brand-name isn’t the same thing as better.

Whenever a hot new technique becomes available, I remind my patients of the old saying: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If there were a minimally invasive procedure that delivered the same results as a traditional facelift in a fraction of the time with virtually no recovery, then every plastic surgeon in the world would be using it.

My recommendation is to stick with the tried-and-true traditional facelift techniques that have a long and proven track record. There’s no reason to waste your time on something that may or may not work when there’s a solution out there that we know enhances your appearance. (Glenn M. Davis, MD, FACS, Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon)

I generally say that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This sounds like a liquid lift which in my opinion does not compare to a traditional facelift with regards to efficacy and duration of results. (Christopher J. Davidson, MD, FACS, Boston Plastic Surgeon)

There has been a well-documented dramatic increase in less invasive facial rejuvenation procedures coinciding with growing scientific evidence of one of the major contributors to facial aging…..specifically loss of deep facial fat. Plastic Surgeons have been at the forefront of the research and clinical use of fat and other injectables to help our patients look more youthful and refreshed with or without surgery.

The public has a craving for all things cosmetic and there are no shortage of health practitioners of all levels of expertise “inflating” their own expertise through marketing to inflate their bank accounts. To emphasize a few points: Branding a procedure with one’s own name is nothing new and should be considered suspect until subjected to critical peer review.

Misleading claims such as no swelling and lasting 2 years are dishonest. (David J. Levens, MD, Coral Springs Plastic Surgeon)

If you are looking for a non invasive procedure to improve the lost volume that you have sustained over the past years, this is a terrific procedure with minimal downtime and risk. This procedure utilizes Allergan products Juvederm and Voluma in significant amounts to cause a very pleasing natural look.

For truly permanent structural changes to occur, surgeries like a facelift, brow lift and eyelid surgery or fillers like Bellafill are still the only long-term solution. (Mark Berkowitz, MD, Sterling Heights Oculoplastic Surgeon)

Y facelift – non-surgical minimally invasive procedure that requires no incisions, stitches, or general anesthesia.

Any Facelft that requires no incision = no ability to remove any excess skin of the face. Any Facelift that requires no sutures = no ability to dissect, trim and re-suture the SMAS muscle layer. Any Facelift that does not include these two, all important aspects of facial rejuvenation are not facelifts by definition.

These are more likely marketing hyped procedures. (Francis R. Palmer, III, MD, Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Be very careful with all the gimmicks available out there that offer similar results with minimal interventions. For the most part they don’t perform as advertise and many of them carrie significan risks and complications.

HA or hyaluronic acid is not a glue or adhesive, so it cannot hold tissues. During traditional facelifts we use strong sutures to hold the structural layers of the face in position, otherwise the results are limited and short lasting.

Y-Lift sounds iffy to me. , and remember, investing in your facelift is a big deal. Don’t settle for less. You will probably spend over 20K on a car that will last about 5-10 years. I am sure you can get a traditional reliable facelift for less than that and you will enjoy it for many more years.

After all is your face and health. (Humberto Palladino, MD, FACS, El Paso Plastic Surgeon)

Y Lift

About the Y lift. It’s an office treatment with hyaluronic fillers (Juvederm, Restylane), it releases facial tissues with a tiny dissector, this makes sense but is not unique. Photos suggest a lot of filler is used, so it’s expensive, some photos look touched-up and all are too early to assess results, Fillers are popular because they work.

I don’t see the Y lift adding much more.. (Elizabeth Morgan, MD, PhD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

Well, a lot of the ladies on Dr. Trokel’s website thought so, but don’t forget that a “special titanium instrument” can be no more than a cannula that is used to introduce a great deal of hyaluronic acid filler.

There cannot be any “lifting of muscle and fascia”. That is ridiculous, and it is disturbing that the doctor would say this is being done on his web site. The only thing that can be done in the lifting of a surgical facelift is the skin and fat overlying facial muscles.

If you start interfering with the facial muscles with an instrument, they are very delicate, they are going to be damaged, and you will have altered facial expression or distortion. So this is not happening.

The volumizing I saw in his before and after photos would not be pleasing to everyone. Some of those faces look abnormally wide. To get these effects there has to be a lot of filler placed.

So be sure you agree with the doctor’s aesthetic judgement before having your face overly pumped up. You can always add more, which is my approach. The “sculpting” part is simply that just after fillers are injected they can be massaged around a bit to give less or more prominence where they have been injected, or smoothed out if they feel a bit lumpy.

After about six hours, you can’t do this. Currently all doctors doing fillers have access to a “specialized instrument”. Two of the manufacturers are TSKlabs.com and magicneedle.com. These non-cutting thin flexible cannulas can access all areas of face through a few tiny needle punctures.

These access points are the only spots that need numbing as the cannula passage is not painful. While I applaud Dr. Trokel’s desire to expand the facial skin with large amounts of hyaluronic acid filler, don’t forget that this material will be absorbed over time.

The only way to get ongoing benefit is to continue to supplement what has been injected every six to nine months or so. It’s not like this single injection is going to last for a couple years.

Therefore you have to weigh the ongoing cost for the benefit. The cost to use this much filler would probably be 2-5,000, instead of the usual 1,000 or so for two syringes. If you want this much filler and want to have it done to your jawline as well as cheeks, I am sure your local plastic surgeon can give you equivalent results.

Hyaluronic acid fillers give instant results. With the use of one of these blunt cannulas, the risk of bruising is about 5%. How much and where to inject it is up to you and your plastic surgeon.

Dr. Trokel is very aggressive in the amount he injects, which is how he gets the nice volumizing effect. It would be more interesting if he would publish a picture of his “specialized titanium instrument” so the medical community can see if he has something better than what is available. (Robert M. Lowen, MD, Mountain View Plastic Surgeon)

Many procedures have been promoted over the years that claimed to produce facial rejuvenation without invasive surgery. In general, these procedures have not stood the test of time and have not been widely adopted. Unless a procedure can be widely replicated, I would be very cautious about analyzing the results.

Minimal procedures tend to give minimal results. I do not understand the science behind the titanium tubes, but from my research in wound healing, I do not believe hyaluronic acid will hold tissues in a new position. (Thomas A. Mustoe, MD, FACS, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)

Adding volume, especially to the front cheek area, and creating a less square-shaped and more heart-shaped face are two of the guiding principles of the Y lift. These concepts alone do not constitute a facelift, and are not comparable to true facelift results.

Any trademarked “concept” lift that hides behind proprietary instruments and special training is code for “less than a true facelift.” We all agree that filler material to re-contour the face and restore cheek volume is a good idea for many women, but there is no special name applied to this aesthetic goal. (Alyson Wells, MD, FACS, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon)