Kiya Movassaghi, MD, DMD, FACS, a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and founder of Movassaghi Plastic Surgery, has published a facelift technique he developed, The U-SMAS Lift, in the peer-reviewed journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The paper describes a method for addressing the upper midface and reports outcomes from 61 procedures.
Dr. Movassaghi is the lead author of the paper, which was first published online in August 2024 and appeared in the journal’s April 2025 issue. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is the official journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
The superficial musculoaponeurotic system, or SMAS, is the layer of muscle and connective tissue beneath the skin of the face and neck. According to the paper, surgical approaches to this layer have traditionally been classified as either low or high. The authors note that low techniques are efficient but have been criticized for limited improvement in the upper midface, while high techniques can improve that area but may carry increased surgical risk, particularly for less experienced aesthetic surgeons.
The U-SMAS lift builds on an established low SMAS approach and adds a flap of mobile SMAS over the cheekbone to address the area where the lower eyelid meets the cheek. Dr. Movassaghi describes it as a variation of the deep plane facelift technique, and the authors write that it “harnesses the advantages of traditional low and high SMAS techniques.”
The study reviewed 61 U-SMAS lifts. The authors reported a minor complication rate of 16.4 percent and no major complications over a mean follow-up period of 371 days.
"After more than 20 years of performing facelifts, I saw that the midface was often where patients first noticed aging, and it was the area a traditional low SMAS approach was least able to reach," said Dr. Movassaghi. "I developed the U-SMAS lift to address the cheek and the area beneath the eyes while keeping the foundation of an approach I have relied on for years."
Dr. Movassaghi also directs a one-year aesthetic surgery fellowship at his practice, endorsed by The Aesthetic Society.
"Teaching has always been an important part of my work, and publishing the technique gives other surgeons the full method along with the complication data," said Dr. Movassaghi. "They can evaluate it for themselves and decide whether it belongs in their own practices."
In his own practice, Dr. Movassaghi uses the U-SMAS lift as the technical foundation of his facelift surgery, which he plans with a three-level classification matched to each patient's anatomy. The same SMAS work underpins the facial rejuvenation surgery he performs, including the deep plane facelift.
"Publishing meant looking hard at my own results, including every complication, over an average of about a year of follow-up," said Dr. Movassaghi. "That kind of scrutiny is how I continue to refine the way I plan each facelift."
Dr. Movassaghi earned his medical and dental degrees at Harvard and completed his plastic surgery residency in the Harvard Combined Plastic Surgery Program. He served as the 2024-2025 President of The Aesthetic Society and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University. He has authored more than 30 articles and edited a textbook on breast surgery published by Springer in 2021.
Dr. Movassaghi has served patients in Eugene and throughout the Pacific Northwest since 2002. Movassaghi Plastic Surgery & Ziba Medical Spa is located at 330 S. Garden Way, Suite 100, Eugene, OR 97401. For more information, visit the practice's website or call 541-686-8700.
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For more information about Movassaghi Plastic Surgery & Ziba Medical Spa, contact the company here:
Movassaghi Plastic Surgery & Ziba Medical Spa
Niloo Marashi
541.686.8700
info@drmovassaghi.com
330 S Garden Way #100, Eugene, OR 97401