How many years does a SMAS last versus a MACS facelift?

I wrote a paper on patient satisfaction and longevity after facelifting which used a validated patient assessment tool and was published in the top journal in plastic surgery. For a SMAS facelift, patients felt that they looked 6-10 years younger and were very satisfied with the decision to have the procedure. After 10-12 years, some patients would like a revision, but even without additional surgery feel they have aged much better and in many cases look younger than they did 10 years earlier. To my knowledge there are no studies that assess the longevity of the MACS lift with a validated outcome tool.

I think many if not most experienced face lift surgeons like some variation of a SMAS procedure, as it works reliably and tends to last.  You'll will almost always look better after the procedure than if it had not been done, though normal aging does continue.  

Dear MixTo Fan,
Thank you for posting your question.  Many factors affect how long a facelift will last - some of these are your skin tone, thickness and quality, the thickness of your SMAS (underlying support layer of the face), any significant changes in weight, if you smoke or not, sun damage, genetics....
However, in general a SMAS facelift will outlive a MACS facelift (and outperform in terms of lifting ability) as the dissection tends to be more extensive and the work to tighten the SMAS layer more involved.  There are of course different techniques within a SMAS facelift too! I tell my patients that on average a SMAS facelift lasts 7 to 10 years while a MACS lift lasts 5 - 7 years. With either, this is a gradual process as ageing continues and of course there are exceptions to every rule. You will still be ahead of where you would be without having a facelift at the end of these time frames.
I hope this was helpful and good luck with your research. You may find that an in-person discussion and assessment with a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area would be the best next step.
Best wishes