On a Deep Plane Facelift...is Facial Nerve Injury Risk Very High?

It is important that the surgeon understands the relationship of the facial nerve to the anchoring ligaments and the anatomy of the SMAS and subSMAS tissue spaces accurately to perform a safe and successful surgery. Actually, extended techniques such as deep and composite plane facelifts while identifying and preserving the anatomy often leads to lower complication rates than blindly working around vital structures.

    The rate of facial nerve injury is not high in deep plane facelift but is higher than in other facelift variants.   Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Dear Lacey,

The risk of permanent facial nerve injury is generally very low with any facelift technique. A deep plane facelift does involve surgery closer to certain branches of the nerve, but in experienced hands the chance of injury is still far less than 1%. It is important to discuss the benefits of different techniques for your individual case. Aside from weighing the risks of surgery, it is also important to consider which form of facelift will give you the best, long-lasting result.

Best wishes,

-Dr. Jamil Asaria, FACE Cosmetic Surgery, Toronto, Ontario

In experienced hands the deep plane face lift is quite safe and has very risk of nerve injury.  if a nerve injury occurs, it is almost always temporary.

Whether it is a deep plane or a superficial plane facelift, the risk of injury to the facial nerve is directly related to the skill and experience of the surgeon who performs the surgery.  Do your homework and select an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon.