Can I attend a major social event 3 months after deep plane facelift, fat graft, upper/lower eyelid surgery, endo brow lift?

Question

female, 55 years old, excellent health,

Kevin Sadati, DO · Answer

Yes, by three months after a deep plane facelift, fat grafting, upper/lower eyelid surgery, and an endoscopic brow lift, most patients have fully recovered and can confidently attend major social events. Typically, after four weeks, you’ll feel comfortable in public settings, with ongoing improvements continuing over the next few months.

Arthur Dean Jabs, MD, PhD, FACS · Answer

Deep plane lifts often require a little longer than SMAS lifts for the swelling to go down. This is not an absolute though. As they say, “your mileage may vary”, but in all likelihood you should be able to attend a social event with minimal extra makeup requirements after 3 months. A candid discussion with your surgeon is in order.

All the Best,

Dr. J

All the Best,

Dr. J

Jigar Sitapara, MD · Answer

Good afternoon from Maryland!

Thank you for your question as social downtime is a super common question we get in consultation. 3 months should be plenty of time to heal before a major social occasion. You likely will still have some mild swelling remaining, but you should be seeing excellent results at that stage. I occasionally get mothers of brides-to-be who want to schedule their surgeries a month before the wedding, and that is far too much pressure for the patient AND for the surgeon! I'm glad you are planning this out.

I hope that helps! As always, an in-person consultation will help you find the best surgeon for you.

Wishing you all the best!
Dr. Sitapara
Prime Facial Plastic Surgery

Lucian Ion, FRCS · Answer

Thank you for your question. Recovery from deep plane facelift, fat transfer, upper and lower eyelid surgery, and endoscopic brow lift is usually very advanced three months from surgery and would typically allow attending a major social event without substantial concerns.

Depending on the skin type, the redness of the scars may still be present and that can require makeup to mask them.

Bruising and swelling delay recovery and you can discuss with your surgeon treatment options to accelerate the process. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is also associated with accelerated recovery. I suggest that you look into this around the time of your surgery and have perhaps a couple of sessions before and three or four sessions after your intervention.

P. Alex Montague, MD · Answer

Great question! Scheduling around major social events is half the battle with facial plastic surgery. The short answer is yes. That is a big surgery and there will certainly be a lot of swelling and bruising. I tell my patients who are undergoing these procedures to not expect a full result until 3-6 months. I suspect that even at 3 months you'll likely have small areas of swelling that have not settled fully but you would look perfectly acceptable and likely very good for your event. Best of luck!

Jacob Tower, MD · Answer

Hello, hope you are well. Yes, you should feel confident that you can attend important social events 3 months after facial rejuvenation surgery. In my practice, the expectation is closer to around 1 month for most patients. We have a long discussion about the timeline of healing prior to surgery, and I encourage you to do the same with your surgeon. I often show photos at different time points so that the patient can get a sense of how things progress.
Best,Dr. Tower

Lexie Wang, MD · Answer

Yes you should be able to attend a major social event after all of htat, assuming you have no issues healing postop. Most of my patients are social function ready even at 1-1.5mo.

Tanveer Janjua, MD · Answer

The recovery from Deep Plane Facelift is usually complete by 3 months mark. However fat grafting sometimes still looks swollen. Over all there is a very good chance that you can attend a major social event but always keep in mind any unforeseen complications that might delay the recovery. As a general rule never do surgery when you have an important deadline coming up after the surgery date.
Regards
Dr. J

Stephen Prendiville, MD · Answer

There is never a 100% answer and variability exists between Surgeon's techniques and individual patient healing.  In my own practice I would say that in 3 months you have a 99% chance of being ready for your social event.  However, there are caveats: this assumes good patient behavior in terms of following instructions, a healthy diet, sun avoidance, and being positive toward your healing.  You may reach a point where you are still very aware of your healing progress, but other people will not notice that you have had surgery and tell you that you look great. It's always better to take more time than less for such situations.

William Portuese, MD · Answer

In our practice, you should be ready to attend a social event at three weeks after 3 major surgeries, not three months. Study your prospective surgeon's before and after photo gallery for all the procedures you're interested in and make sure that there's lots of example photographs that look very natural.