What Are the Pros and Cons of a Face Lift?

The advantages, clearly, are dramatic results that can be drastic or natural depending on your preference and choice of surgeon.  I'll add a video to help summarize these points.

Best of luck

Chase Lay, MD

Facelift is the "gold standard" for facial rejuvenation.

A well planned facial rejuvenation incorporates various techniques, including fillers and resurfacing, as most appropriate for each individual patient.

The "pros" of Facelift, as a surgical correction include the most effective, powerful and enduring technique to remove excess skin and lift drooping skin of the face, jawline and neck.

The "cons" include cost, undergoing a surgical procedure and recovery, scars, rsks of surgery.

Aging of the face affects each patient individually and therefore, consideration of any facial rejuvenation is a very personal decision. The facelift procedure, or rhytidectomy, addresses many aspects of the aging face in order to restore a refreshed, more youthful appearance. Areas of concern may be varied or specific.

Commonly, the regions of the jowls and cheeks are of particular interest to patients. With age, there is a loss of the youthful volume in the mid-face region in most patients. There also may be a concern regarding the definition of the jaw line, or excess tissue of the neck that can be seen as fullness, vertical bands, or the blunting of the angle below the jaw. The appearance of lines near your eyelids or around the mouth, or a lowering of the position of your brow may also be evident. While all of these issues may be addressed surgically, no cookie-cutter operation will achieve all of the goals that you may seek. The facelift operation must be specifically customized to each and every patient.

When considering a facelift procedure, careful assessment must involve evaluation of your facial balance. Your skin quality, the appearance and position of facial lines, and additionally your general health of the patient must be carefully addressed, as must the bony facial structure. The meticulous analysis of the patient's facial form is one of the most interesting aspects of plastic surgery.

As techniques in facelift procedures have evolved, many operations have been touted as the best way to achieve a youthful appearance. I believe that a safe approach to the facelift procedure is of foremost importance, and that an individual may benefit from a combination of surgical techniques. The SMAS, or suspension layer of the face, is almost always addressed in these operations. This layer is in continuity with the superficial muscle layer of the neck, and this can be taken advantage of in the contouring of a mini-facelift, or limited-incision procedure. The SMAS layer can be manipulated during surgery to provide a thinner facial shape in patients with a round face, or the SMAS can be used in different ways to provide volume to a face that appears hollowed. Improvement of the contour of the cheek may be performed by manipulation of the SMAS layer, or alternatively by lifting from a well-hidden eyelid approach. It is specific knowledge of facial anatomy, combined with a breadth of surgical techniques that allows your plastic surgeon to create an individualized approach for facial rejuvenation.

In combination with the facelift operation, ancillary procedures may be utilized to achieve optimal results. These may include eyelid surgery such as blepharoplasty, brow elevation, lip lifting or augmentation, or filling in the deeper lines above and below the corners of the mouth: the nasolabial folds and marionette lines. In depth discussions of each of these procedures allows the patient, as well as the surgeon, feel comfortable with the decision making process.

Every cosmetic treatment has its pros and cons; facelift surgery is no exception. The surgery is very safe and effective in skilled hands, such as those of a board certified ( The American Board of Plastic Surgery) Plastic Surgeon.

The clear advantage of facelift surgery is a longer lasting, more definitive correction of aging-related problems, often with results lasting for more than 5 to 10 years. Current techniques are extremely advance with more results for a lesser down time. The surgery can generally be done as a same day procedure, going home shortly after surgery.

The disadvantages of facelifting include some recovery time, often 2 weeks, with visible signs of surgery. There are always risks with the surgery, and that is the reason to go to a trained expert. In general, the pros strongly outweigh the cons, giving a natural enhancement.

All surgical procedures have benefits and tradeoffs. For facelift surgery, the advantages are a younger-looking appearance with fewer signs of aging, including wrinkles and sagging skin. A facelift can sculpt a more defined jawline and tighten the tissue in the mid-face and lower face. Most of my patients say they look 5 to 10 years younger after their surgery, and with proper maintenance, they can look young for many years.

The disadvantages of a facelift are similar to any cosmetic surgery. There are always risks associated with general anesthesia, and recovery time will be necessary. However, choosing an educated, trained, and qualified surgeon greatly reduces your risks from surgery. Good luck!

Pros - Look like you feel, more self confidence,  make you feel like "you're back !"

Cons - Face Lifts are real surgery and as such like most things in life (like driving for example) there are real risks - The risks are too numerous to list if you want to consider the uncommon and rare ones but things like excessive bruising or hematoma (blood clot under skin that may need to be removed), damage to nerves, and wound healing problems especially if you are a smoker or have high blood pressure not controlled.

The key to minimizing these risks is picking the right surgeon. To do so focus on the skill and experience of the surgeon. Always check out his/her before and after photos and ask to see long term results and most of all that he is trained and a board certified plastic surgeon.

Here are the chief pros and cons of a face lift

Pro - feeling better and more confident, because you do not have the tell tale signs of aging  - jowls, flat cheeks, lax neck, looking 'old' - that make us feel old and make others treat us as old. Face lifts are youth-preserving including in our jobs and relationships.

Con - Cost and risk of complications. Today face lifts are affordable for most people. Risks are low, although they are higher for smokers and those with high blood pressure.

This is a great operation. Recovery is 1-2 weeks, pain should be minimal. 

Starting with the cons: You will need to put your life "on hold" for about 2 weeks while you are healing. This takes some planning for most people to be out of the public eye for this period of time. Secondly, it can be expensive depending on what combination of procedures you have done. Third, you could end up with an "overdone" look, so be very careful in picking your surgeon.

Now looking at the pros: The first most obvious is the feeling of a new lease on life, rolling the clock back 10 or more years is the main motivation. A popular comment at the time of consultation is, "I want to look as young as I feel".  Another popular reason these days is feeling more competitive in a youth driven job market. The boost in self esteem helps many gain the confidence needed to seek reemployment.

Let's consider the downside first: expense and recovery time, and fear of looking overdone and fake. Advanced techniques have really minimized recovery time, and a more natural look is the norm these days. The benefits of a facelift are that it does what no nonsurgical procedure does to restore a more youthful and healthy appearance. The key is to think of it as a 3-dimensional operation, rather than simply pulled and tightened skin.

A facelift is a significant procedure that  to some extent reverses the effect of gravity. Any procedure has its risks, and these have to be balanced against its potential benefits. The question cannot be answered well without first examining you - because every patient is different in terms of what their risks are, and what they are hoping to achieve with the operation.

A surgeon who is experienced in facelift surgery would be able to turn the clock back 10 or more years, and lift parts of the face that had dropped over time, while at the same time making you look refreshed and rejuvenated, not bizarre or unnatural. Obviously, any surgical procedure results in scars and the potential for bleeding, nerve injury, asymmetry, and host of othe complications.

I would suggest that you speak to a board certified surgeon who is experienced in facelifts before proceeding.