BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment of the superior third of the face should usually involve an extensive area, including the frontal and temporal regions. However, the open coronal technique has been avoided because it carries a risk of potential complications and a wide scar. The technique has been supplanted by endoscopic and other less-invasive techniques, which are perhaps less efficacious. This article proposes an open technique that maintains the coronal lifting efficiency without its typical complications. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 20 consecutive female patients who underwent cervicofacial facelift from February 2008 to July 2011 was performed. The patients had a mean age of 53.3 years (range, 46-71 years). The sensitivity of the regions covered (i.e., anesthesia, hypoesthesia, hyperesthesia, paresthesia), motor function of the temporal branch of the facial nerve (i.e., frontal muscle movement), and healing (i.e., widening and alopecia) were evaluated. RESULTS: There were no sensory, motor, or vascular complications. Moreover, neither cicatricial enlargement nor alopecia was observed. One patient required revision of the corrugator muscle myectomy, and another underwent myectomy of the lateral orbicularis muscle of the eye for optimal results. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed technique is simple, safe, does not require special equipment or devices, and has the advantage of wide and harmonious distribution of the flap, including the temporal and frontal regions.
Rhytidoplasty; Face; Plastic surgery
