What will happen at the initial consultation?
During the consultation, you and your surgeon will discuss the changes that you would like to make in your appearance. He/she will explain the different options available to you, the procedure itself, and its risks and limitations. He/she will also explain the kind of anesthesia required, surgical facility, and costs.

Your surgeon will begin with a complete medical history and examine. Be sure to ask all the questions you have about the surgery, and ask to see photos of the doctor’s recent patients, before and after surgery. Also ask for, and follow up on, patient references. Learning everything you can about your options, risks and benefits is the key to making an informed decision. See Questions to ask your doctor below.

How long does the surgery take?
A facelift takes an average of two to three hours and can be performed using either a local or general anesthesia. Preferences will be discussed with your cosmetic surgeon during your consultation. Facelift surgery generally requires a few hours to perform, depending upon the complexity of the condition and the desired results.

Will I need to stay in a hospital?
A facelift can be done in the hospital or in an office surgical suite, depending on your preferences as well as your surgeon’s. It may be performed under local anesthesia with light sedation, local anesthesia and deep sedation, or general anesthesia. The longer the procedure is expected to take, the more likely that general anesthesia will be recommended. You may be allowed to return home within a few hours of the surgery, and spend the night in the comfort of your own home, or it may be necessary to spend the night in the hospital so your recovery process can be monitored by a medical staff.

How much pain is there?
Minimal facelifts can be performed quickly and with little risk, but the degree of correction achieved by these lifts is also less. More extensive techniques can give better correction of the aging changes in the face, but at the cost of greater operating time, more risk, longer swelling, slower recovery, and greater cost. Make sure that you discuss your goals, budget, and risk tolerance with your surgeon to decide on the plan that is best for you.

What is the recovery period like?
Patients usually feel and look okay surprisingly quickly after a facelift. Despite the fact that it is a large operation, there is usually very little pain. Swelling disappears within a few days, and bruises are usually gone by two weeks. Patients generally feel a sense of tightness and numbness that should gradually return to normal within several weeks. It is important to follow a careful plan on return to strenuous activity, in order to avoid tension on the wound (which could lead to worse scarring).

The scars will remain pink for a few months before maturing to less visible white scars, which can be hidden with makeup. Furthermore, the scars are often hidden within your hair and in the normal creases of your skin.

What is the appropriate age for a facelift?
A person should have a facelift when they feel that they are ready for it, and could enjoy the benefits it might offer them. For a person with fat deposits on the sides of the face, or on the neck, that could be as early as the twenties. For others, it could be in the eighties.

Will a facelift eliminate wrinkles?
Keep in mind that a facelift may improve but not eliminate the wrinkles and lines on your face. Your surgeon may recommend chemical or laser resurfacing to help smooth the laugh lines between your nose and the corners of your mouth, the small vertical wrinkles around your lips, or fine wrinkles over your entire face. Your surgeon may also recommend injections of collagen or Botox for deep creases in your forehead or frown lines between your eyebrows. Signs of aging around the eyes, such as excess folds of eyelid skin, pockets of fat below the eyes and fine wrinkling of the eyelid skin can be improved with upper eyelid blepharoplasty or lower eyelid blepharoplasty (eyelid surgeries) which can be performed at the same time as the facelift.