Length of time for an extended deep plane facelift?

Question

I have had 8 consultations. 6 were face only doctors and 2 were general plastic surgeons. The doctor I reserved a facelift with 3 years ago sadly died during Covid. His high smas deep plane technique was 4 hours. Anything else was added on time. His results were literally transformational as my girlfriend went and she looks exactly like she did when she got married. Literally like a magician turned back the hands of time. The other docs tell me it only take 2 hours. How is this possible?

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

Diligent806036,

Great question/observation.  Efficiencies are different among surgeons with that being said a well executed facelift typically takes around 4-5 hours depending on what technique is employed and the amount of correction needed.  In my opinion, a facelift completed in 2 hours did not have extensive surgical maneuvers performed to try to achieve the desired result.  
Best Wishes!

ESJ
#truthandtransformation

Carey Nease, MD · Answer

That is a great question, and the answer is pretty simple. All surgeons are different in their process of performing a specific procedure. Some are very meticulous and take a long time (5-6 hours) and others are very efficient and work quickly and can get the same procedure done in less than 2 hours. I am a facial plastic surgeon who has performed close to 2,000 facelifts, mostly deep plane version, and my typical OR time is 2 hours and 15 minutes. A longer procedure does not mean a better result, but it does mean longer anesthesia time, more cost and slightly higher risk of a post-op complication. Lastly, you should choose whichever surgeon makes you the most comfortable!

Anya Costeloe, DO · Answer

Hi, thanks for your question. I recommend focusing more on each surgeon's results rather than how long it takes to complete the procedure. However, two hours to perform an extended deep plane facelift seems unrealistic and I would question the quality of the work. Even if it is only the facelift, and the surgeon is not addressing your neck, that would leave less than an hour for each side after injecting local anesthesia. The deep plane is an area with many important anatomic structures, especially the facial nerve, and damaging the facial nerve can result in permanent facial paralysis. I recommend reviewing the surgeon's before and after photos and asking whether you could speak with any prior facelift patients about their experience.

Gianfranco Frojo, MD · Answer

I would not trust anyone who says they can do a proper extended deep plane facelift/necklift under 4 hours. This takes a significant amount of dissection, tissue mobilization, suturing, and intraoperative decision making. I would highly recommend seeing a board-certified plastic surgeon with experience in facelift surgery. This includes proper training such as a 6 year integrated plastic surgery residency training program followed by an aesthetic fellowship accredited by the Aesthetic Society. I would also extensively review before/after photos, Google reviews, and meet with the physician.

Konstantin Vasyukevich, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. A deep plane facelift is possibly the most advanced and complex surgical procedure for achieving a significant facial rejuvenation. While every patient is different, typically this type of facelift performed by an experienced facial plastic surgeon can take around 2 to 4 hours to complete. However, factors such as the surgeon's particular technique, the extent of the procedure, and the type of anesthesia used (local or IV sedation) can affect the length of time. Additionally, the duration can be influenced by other procedures or treatments that may be performed in combination with the deep plane facelift. Best wishes on your self-care journey, Dr. Konstantin

Jacob Tower, MD · Answer

Hello, that's a good question. In general, when you hear something that sounds 'too good to be true,' it's because you are sensing a disconnect between your existing knowledge (an anchoring bias) and new information that you are receiving. Thus, a little red flag went up in your mind. In this case, 2 hours for a very advanced surgical technique is significantly shorter than 4 hours for a more straightforward approach. So it makes sense to be suspicious of an 'extended deep plane facelift' that is performed incision-to-closure in 2 hours, because it leaves ~40 minutes for each side of the face and the central neck. That's a very impressive feat! Ultimately, find a surgeon that you trust, forget about the terminology, and look at their actual facelift results. Are they as transformational as your girlfriend's experience? If so, and it can be done in 2 hours, maybe you have found a very gifted surgeon! But always trust your intuition and ask questions when things don't add up.
Cheers,Dr. Tower

Brian M. Harmych, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question.  So sorry to hear that your planned operation was canceled due to an unfortunate circumstance.  Deep plane facelift and deep neck lift takes most experienced surgeons approximately 4-5 hours to complete.  Those that performed the highest volumes may be able to perform the procedure and less than 4 hours.  However, this is not typical. I'm always skeptical when I hear times like this. Any procedure taking less than 3 hours is highly unlikely true deep plane facelift surgery. In my experience, atypical SMAS facelift procedure (including necklift) would take me approximately 2-1/2 hours of operative time.

Mark Glasgold, MD, FACS · Answer

Your intuition is excellent and the answer is that you can call the surgery whatever you want but it is the result that matters. The term deep plane facelift has no formal meaning. The key results you should be focused on are: the neck, the jawline and jowls, the labiomental fold/marionette line and the cheek/nasolabial fold. The surgeon should be able to give you a general idea of how much each of these areas will be improved and demonstrate their ability by showing their own before and after photos of patients who have similar facial charecteristics. It is important to see photos that show at least a 6 month result as early results are often misleading. Patients worry that the surgeon is only showing their good results, which is true, but if you are not impressed by these select examples, don't expect your result to be any better.This is also an opportunity for the surgeon to discuss the limitations of the surgery, for example if the neck skin is very wrinkley and sun damaged it is unlikely that those wrinkles will be completely corrected.Patient satisfaction is achieved by setting specific expectations and then meeting or exceeding them.For context, I have been doing exclusively deep plane facelifts for over 25 years and have done over 1000 of them. It takes me at least 4 hours to get through a well done surgery.

Ronald J. Edelson, MD · Answer

You may be comparing apples to oranges. If the doctor was referring to the entire facelift with deep SMAS, that would take about four hours. The others may be talking about two hours for the deep SMAS as an add on

William Portuese, MD · Answer

It's best not to measure the results of your facelift procedure by the amount of time it takes a surgeon to perform the procedure. Study the before and after photographs of your perspective surgeon's facelift photo gallery. Make sure the hair is pulled back behind the ears so that you can see the placement of the incision. In addition, make sure the facelift photo gallery has lots of before and after examples for you to view demonstrating great results. In our practice, a lower face and neck lift takes approximately three hours

Length of time for an extended deep plane facelift?

Answers (10)

More Deep Plane Facelift Questions

Facial redness and lumps 2.5 years after facelift and rhinoplasty (photos)

Deep plane facelift for African American skin - is this type of facelift good for darker skin tones?

Loose skin under my chin and neck after facelift revision - can this be corrected? (photos)

Asymmetry reminds me of bells palsy. Would a facelift help? (Photo)

Lumps 1.5 years after facelift - what can be done about this? (photos)

WE SEND PRETTY
EMAILS