How many stitches are there in an average facelift? What's considered a normal amount?
Who is doing the surgery and what technique they are using will determine he number of stitches. Suffice to say, there are MANY stitches used to support the deep tissues, tighten the muscles, and close the skin. How many doesn't really matter - just that you get the result you want.
After a comprehensive full face/neck lift, 40-50 stitches are used to meticulously close the incision site at the hairline, in front and behind the ears. These stitches are removed at the fourth day after the surgery to avoid railroad track scars along the incision line.
The incisions themselves are not closed under any tension because the tension is placed on the muscle layer and the SMAS layer underneath. So the skin is pulled together very gingerly, which prevents the wind-tunneled or operated look, and patients heal very naturally.
It really depends on the type of facelift you do. When you do a traditional facelift with an incision that goes in front of the ear and extends all the way to the back of the ear and down the hairline, you will receive 20-30 stiches or more. If the lift you do is a minimal one and your incision only is located in front of the ear you may receive 10-15.
In general, you should expect 1-3 stiches for each cm of incision that you receive. Sometimes doing too many can create scarring and doing more on the lesser side may also create scarring. And the type of suture you use can also make a difference. You definitely want to go to a surgeon with a lot of experience.
Contact the doctor
