A new facial rejuvenation surgery known as the Deep Plane facelift is drawing attention in Israel and abroad because it can make results look natural for about a decade. The procedure can cost up to 130,000 shekels, takes around four hours, and involves separating muscle from bone, unlike older facelift methods that mostly tighten skin.
The article centers on Zehavit, a 41-year-old interior designer and mother of a toddler, who underwent the surgery about two and a half years ago. She says she now looks better with time and no longer uses makeup at all, aside from moisturizer. Her result is unusually dramatic for her age, since most facelift patients are over 50, and she says the operation effectively erased about ten years from her face.
In the Deep Plane method, surgeons make a small incision in the neck to expose the platysma muscle, lift it, remove deep fat under it, and reattach it near the floor of the mouth to restore a sharp jaw and neck angle. They then make an incision around the ear and lift facial tissues from below the muscle, close to the facial bones, which helps avoid the stretched, artificial look associated with traditional facelifts. The technique has existed for about 35 years, but improved significantly in the past decade and is now in demand in the United States and Israel.
Zehavit paid about 80,000 shekels, a midrange price for the category. Israeli surgeons say a combined operation that includes Deep Plane facelift, neck lift, lip lift, brow lift, eyelid surgery and fat injections can reach 130,000 shekels, while the same operation in the United States may cost as much as 1 million shekels. The surgery is now Israel’s fourth most common cosmetic procedure, after liposuction, rhinoplasty and eyelid surgery, and only about 20 Israeli plastic surgeons are considered highly experienced in it.
The piece contrasts Deep Plane results with the simpler SMAS facelift, which is believed to have been used by Kris Jenner, 69. Her procedure reportedly leaves her worried that the results are beginning to sag again, while actresses such as Denise Richards are cited as examples of longer-lasting Deep Plane outcomes. The article also notes that 53% to 54% of women experience short-term depression for three to four weeks after a facelift, likely tied to rapid changes in self-image and physical recovery. Surgeons say the operation helps restore natural jawline and facial volume where aging, not just lack of filling, is the real problem.
