Radical face lift surgery: a plea for caution

Radical face lift procedures, such as midface lifts and deep-plane or composite face lifts, increase the potential for complications and increase morbidity. Although a small percentage of patients may require these radical techniques to achieve optimal results, there is no evidence that radical procedures produce better or longer-lasting improvement in the vast majority of patients than properly performed standard methods. The author discusses the potential complications of radical face lift techniques and describes his preferred approach. (Aesthetic Surg J 2002;22:86-88.).