How Dr. Andrew Jacono’s Deep-Plane Method Actually Works
Understanding why a facelift looks natural or artificial comes down to which tissue layer a surgeon manipulates. Dr. Andrew Jacono built his career on operating beneath the superficial musculoaponeurotic system, the connective layer linking facial muscles to the skin above them, rather than simply tightening it. Traditional facelifts separate skin from the tissue underneath, then reposition only that thin surface layer. Pulled tight enough to look youthful, it often produces the stretched, flattened appearance long associated with cosmetic surgery. Dr. Jacono’s extended deep-plane technique instead keeps skin, muscle and fat attached as a single, connected unit.
Releasing the Ligaments
By releasing the facial ligaments that anchor tissue in a sagging position, Dr. Andrew Jacono can reposition the midface, jawline and neck vertically, restoring their original architecture instead of stretching skin sideways. That distinction, vertical repositioning of deep structures rather than horizontal tension on skin, is what separates the technique from earlier methods.
The results carry a nickname among patients: ponytail-friendly. Incisions measure about a third the length of those in conventional facelifts and remain hidden behind the ear or along the hairline, meaning hair can be worn up without revealing any trace of surgery.
Clinical data support the approach. Early outcome studies documented a 3.9 percent revision rate, a hematoma rate near 1.9 percent and a temporary facial nerve injury rate of just 1.3 percent, figures that compare favorably with industry averages for facelift surgery generally. Later research reinforced the pattern, finding that deep-plane techniques carry lower odds of facial nerve injury than superficial approaches because the dissection preserves natural blood supply and tissue relationships.
Dr. Jacono first outlined the method’s outcomes in a peer-reviewed study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal in 2011, drawing on 153 patients. That early data set has since expanded considerably, with his 2021 textbook synthesizing findings from more than 2,000 procedures performed under the same underlying principles.
For a field long defined by visible tightening, Dr. Jacono’s method offers a structural alternative grounded in anatomy rather than tension. Surgeons who have adopted the approach through his conference lectures and master classes often cite the combination of lower complication figures and longer-lasting results as the reason it has become a reference point rather than a niche alternative. See related link for additional information.
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Understanding why a facelift looks natural or artificial comes down to which tissue layer a surgeon manipulates. Dr. Andrew Jacono built his career on operating beneath the superficial musculoaponeurotic system, the connective layer linking facial muscles to the skin above them, rather than simply tightening it. Traditional facelifts separate skin from the tissue underneath, then…