How many facelifts should a skilled facial plastic surgeon do in a year?

Hello, 
Thank you for the excellent question. It is difficult and often fruitless to say how many facelifts a plastic surgeon should do in a year to be considered "good" or "experienced."  I believe that one should rather focus on the results of the facelifts that the surgeon has performed. For example, a board certified facial plastic surgeon who has been doing facelifts for 10 years with amazing results will still be preferable to a plastic surgeon who has 20 years’ experience in performing facelifts but leaves most patients unsatisfied and with their goals unfulfilled. In searching for a board certified facial plastic surgeon to conduct your facelift, I believe there are two considerations you should put above the rest. The first one is their certifications. It is crucial that you choose a facial plastic surgeon that is certified by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, as this will guarantee that he or she is held to a very high standard of quality of safety. The other factors you should weigh when researching potential board certified facial plastic surgeons is what past patients look like and have to say about the surgeon. Can you see before and after photos of real patients that reflect what you want your surgery results to look like? Did the surgeon offer good quality care both before and after the surgery? I hope you find this helpful in your search for a good board certified facial plastic surgeon and good luck!
- Jacqueline T. Cheng, MD

Thank you for your question.  Although there is no defined number of facelifts a plastic surgeon should perform per year, it is important to seek out a board certified plastic surgeon with an aesthetic surgery practice.  The reputation of the surgeon, before and after pictures, as well as the surgeon's communication style all are important when selecting a plastic surgeon to perform your surgery. Most of my patients want results that are beautiful and natural, not too tight or severe looking.  It is very important to be able to discuss your own desires openly with your plastic surgeon so that your expectations are realistic and something that your plastic surgeon can achieve for you. Best of luck to you.

Thank you for your question. There is no exact number of procedures that I can give you to determine if your surgeon is qualified to perform the procedure or not. I know of a few doctors that perform many procedures that are not even plastic surgeons so there is no magic number to finding a great surgeon. I would say first you should seek out a plastic surgeon who is Board Certified and a member of ASAPS. Being a member of ASAPS means your surgeon concentrates on aesthetics and is held to high ethical standards. I would say your surgeon should be in practice for at least 10 years to be "experienced". As for face lifts, I would say at a minimum he/she should perform 2-4/ month for at least the last 3-5 years and be increasing that number. I would find someone who concentrates on facial rejuvenation which means 50% or more of the practice is face lift procedures. A surgeon who "specializes" in facial rejuvenation will probably perform 1-2 face lifts PER WEEK. Do your homework and look at their before and after photos. Best of luck.

 The quality of the results are much more important than the volume of facelifts performed.    Study your prospective surgeon's before and after facelift Photo Gallery to make sure that it is extensive and reflective of their practice.  Make sure you like the results you are seeing in the photo gallery which should have a very natural appearance consistently.  

There is no defined number. I have seen surgeons who get mediocre results but do a 100 or more in a year, and I have seen results of some surgeons who do 5 a year that look fabulous.

Thanks for this question! The number of facelift procedures done every year can vary quite a bit. Newer surgeons won't have performed as many simply because they are starting their practices. A new surgeon may only perform a few a year. The most experienced facelift surgeons in the country may perform well over 100 in a year. As you can see there are a lot of variables and there may be a wide range from surgeon to surgeon. I recommend finding a surgeon you trust with a good reputation and before and after photos you like. I hope this helps!~Dr. Sieber

 Hi, I have performed many SMAS facelifts for over 30 years and have performed many minimally, invasive SMAS facelifts.  Like all things "experience" is an important factor in the ability of a Facelift Surgeon to provide a natural and more attractive result.  However, equally important is knowing how to aesthetically shape the face.  Performing thousands of facelifts per year that did not make women more feminine, youthful and attractive (men more chiseled, angular and handsome) would not be beneficial to any subsequent patients.  In my humble opinion, finding a Facelift Surgeon with both experience and sound aesthetic judgement is the "key" to obtaining naturally, beautiful results from a Facelift or any plastic and cosmetic surgery procedure.     
 Following my beauty principles, women look the most feminine, youthful and attractive with heart shaped faces.  Heart shaped faces have cheeks that are full and round in the front.  If the cheeks are flat or concave in the front, Cheek augmentation with a dermal filler or using cheek implants for a permanent enhancement will create full, round cheeks that will feminize the entire face.
 If the chin is weak, this creates an imbalance making the nose appear larger, the mid face top heavy and the lower face look short that de-emphasizes the lips and allows early formation of a double chin.  Chin augmentation using a chin implant will add projection to the chin creating harmony and balance to the lower face.   I have found that placement of a silastic chin implant, through a small curved incision under the chin (also allows excess skin removal) to be very safe, quick and highly effective.
 "Jowls” are sagging facial tissues and an indication for some form of a SMAS facelift.  The underlying SMAS layer, of the face, must be dissected, lifted, trimmed and re-sutured (not merely folded or suspended with threads or sutures that will not last).  The excess skin is then removed and the facelift incisions closed.
 My most popular SMAS facelift is the minimally invasive, short incision SMAS facelift that has all the benefits of more invasive facelifts (traditional, mid-face, deep plane, cheek lift and subperiosteal facelifts) but with these added benefits:
very small incisions and no incisions extend or are placed within the hair.
minimal tissue dissection = less bruising and swelling = rapid recovery ( several days instead of weeks or months with the more invasive type facelifts mentioned)
can be performed in 90 minutes or less, with or without general anesthesia
no incisions within the hair = no hair loss
excess fat can be removed from the face and neck
excess skin removed from the face and neck
cheeks, chin and jaw line can be augmented with dermal fillers (I prefer Restylane Lyft) or facial implants
most patients fly back home to parts all over the world in as little as 3 days post-op
 I combine facial shaping with every facelift procedure.  When jowls are present, these should be done in concert and not alone or separately in order to create a naturally, more attractive face.
Hope this helps.

Dear Carole,This is a very interesting question and one for which there is no absolute answer. The fact is that if you are an attentive surgeon who is always trying to improve what you do, the more you do something the better you should be at it. It’s hard to say if there is an exact minimum number of facelifts a plastic surgeon should do to be considered to be proficient or skilled. Probably you want to be doing a couple of a month. So maybe 20 to 24 cases a year.  But not only is the number you do a year important, but also the continuing education that your surgeon receives through meetings and seminars.Recently, I wrote about the number of consultations to get before having plastic surgery. You may find this helpful too. Here's the link:All the best,David B. Reath, MD