Deep Plane Facelift Korea: Compare the Layer, Not the Name

I am Im Young Min, Chief Director and board-certified plastic surgeon at VG Plastic Surgery in Seoul, and an adjunct professor of plastic surgery at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. Every facelift in our clinic is planned with me, from the consultation through the follow-up. Some of the messages I receive ask for a deep plane facelift Korea quote by name, and my first reply is always a question back: what do you want lifted?

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Im Young Min

Chief Director · Board-certified in Plastic Surgery

• — Ph.D. in Medicine
• — Internship and residency, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital
• — Board-certified plastic surgeon, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital

What people mean when they search "deep plane facelift Korea"

A face is built in layers: skin, the fat beneath it, then a thin sheet of fibrous tissue called the SMAS, and under that the muscles. When a face sags, the SMAS has descended along with the skin. That is why a lift that only pulls skin stretches back, and the face looks taut rather than younger.

"Deep plane" is a name for working in relation to that SMAS layer rather than in the skin alone. Surgeons who use the name do not all mean exactly the same steps, and the term is not a standard of its own. So when someone asks me for a deep plane facelift in Korea, I translate it into the things that can actually be checked.

1. The layer: is the SMAS lifted, or only the skin?
2. The anchor: what is the lifted tissue fixed to, and does that tissue stretch?
3. The incision: where does it run, and how far?
4. The range: does the plan include the jawline and neck, or only the cheeks?

What we lift instead, layer by layer

Our facelift works one layer below the skin. Through an incision in front of the ear that follows its contour, the skin is separated from the loosened SMAS, and that tissue is trimmed. The SMAS is then fixed to the temporal muscle in front of the ear and drawn up.

Because it is anchored to tissue that does not stretch, the lift holds. Only after that is the excess skin trimmed and closed, without tension, so the skin itself is not pulled taut. How far the incision runs and how much is lifted are not fixed in advance; they depend on how far things have descended and on your skin, and I decide them with you at the consultation.

The first photo is the side view of the case at the top of this page; you can see this full-face facelift case in full. The profile view shows why the neck has to be part of the conversation: the change sits as much under the jaw as in the cheek.

Our three facelifts, compared by the layer they lift

Instead of a deep plane facelift, Seoul patients who come to us choose between three operations. All three reach the SMAS. What differs is how wide the dissection goes and whether bone is involved.

If you were looking for a deep plane mini facelift

Some people search for a deep plane mini facelift because they want the layer lifted but a smaller operation. Our mini facelift is the closest answer to that wish: it still pulls down to the SMAS, but the dissection is smaller and the incision is limited to part of the scalp and around the earlobe.

It suits sagging that sits mainly in the cheeks and the folds around the mouth. If the jawline and neck have come down too, the mini range will not reach them, and I will say so rather than plan a smaller operation than your face needs.

When the face is wide as well as loose

No depth of lift changes bone. When a projecting cheekbone or an angular jaw makes the face look heavy, the Crystal facelift reduces the bone while the loosened layer is lifted. The bone work itself is covered on our facial contouring page.

More results, filtered by face, neck, forehead and other areas, are in our facelift before-and-after gallery.

Surgery day and recovery

Whichever facelift is planned, I draw the plan on your face before surgery and go through it with you, with the interpreter present. Nothing starts until you agree to what is drawn. The SMAS and Crystal facelifts take about 2–3 hours under sedation, and no hospital admission is needed.

The week-by-week detail, and how surgery compares with threads, is in my longer guide to the Korean facelift. This page stays on the question of layers and names.

Coming to Korea for a facelift: stay, follow-up and fee

For a face or neck lift, plan to stay in Korea at least 14 days. That covers the swelling peak, stitch removal at one week, and the checks before I confirm you are safe to fly. The day-by-day stay planner lays this out against your own dates.

After you go home, follow-up continues for three months by photograph review, written responses from me, and a request for more photographs from set angles when the first ones are not enough. One coordinator stays with you from your first message, and an interpreter is with you throughout your visit.

What decides the cost

People often ask for the deep plane facelift cost in Korea as a single figure. I cannot give one before seeing your face, because the fee depends on which of the three facelifts is planned and what is combined with it: neck, forehead, under-eyes or fat grafting.

International patients pay the same surgical fee as Korean patients, with no foreigner surcharge. After I review your photographs you receive one written, itemised quote before you decide; our pricing policy explains what it covers.

What I check first in consultation

I also tell people when a facelift is not the answer. If volume loss, rather than sagging, is the main cause, we look at fat grafting first. A diagnosis of hypertrophic or keloid scarring, an uncontrolled systemic illness or bleeding disorder, or a schedule without two weeks in Korea are all reasons not to go ahead.

My training and the areas I operate in are on my profile page.

Risks, whatever the facelift is called

A deeper or wider lift does not remove the risks of surgery, and no name does. Swelling is expected, asymmetry can show while tissue settles, and a scar sits in front of the ear. Recovery differs from person to person.

• Scarring: the incision follows the contour of the ear and the skin is closed without tension; a history of keloid scarring is a reason not to go ahead
• Anaesthesia: an anesthesiologist stays with you for the whole operation, monitoring blood pressure, pulse, oxygen and breathing
• Bleeding: an uncontrolled bleeding disorder or systemic illness is screened for before anything is planned
• Leaving too early: the 14-day minimum exists so that stitch removal and the checks happen here, not by guesswork after your flight

If you came here from a search for deep plane facelift Korea, our facelift page sets out the three operations and the results by area in more detail.