Against the “visible” short scar face lift

According to the author, the short scar face lift seeks to eliminate the retroauricular scar by exerting a vertical pull on the cheek, but residual excess skin frequently remains below the ear lobe. More importantly, this vertical elevation of the cheek creates significant skin excess at the temporal level. To eliminate this excess, a precapillary temporal skin excision is usually performed. A potentially obvious temporal scar is thus created in a very visible part of the face. In this article, the author outlines his views on the drawbacks of the short scar face lift and advocates a different technique, using a vertical retroauricular incision, with the goal of avoiding the disadvantages of the short scar approach.