Surgery of the superficial musculoaponeurotic system: principles of release, vectors, and fixation.

The SMAS was described more than 25 years ago, yet its full potential in face-lift surgery has become appreciated only more recently. A reappraisal of the various aspects of SMAS surgery is now appropriate. These include aspects of its release from the deep fascia, the several considerations underlying the vectors of flap redistribution, and the rationale underlying the methods of flap fixation. These are unique, compared with the traditional considerations in subcutaneous face lifts and en bloc subperiosteal lifts.