Will losing 20lb affect my deep plane facelift results?

Hi Joan,
This is a great question about timing surgery with weight loss. Of course, the ideal situation is to reach a stable ideal weight and stay there for a while before surgery. The tricky part is sometimes knowing when you have reached a stable point, especially since many people cycle in a range all the time, and that is normal. I like to tell people that 20 lbs or less of weight fluctuation has a modest to minimal impact on tightness. More than that (like 30# or more) will start to require a revision to retighten a surgical result. That threshold really depends on age and skin elasticity and genetic factors. I have seen patients spring back after more weight loss than that and still look good, but 20# is a point where most people will still look fine. Also you never know if this is actually your new stable weight, and you might be waiting forever for the number to get lower than that. So, if you are within 20# of your goal, I would say you are basically ready for surgery, and unlikely to mess it up even with a little more weight loss. Go for it!
Hope that helps!

If you are a small person where losing 20 lbs is significant, then it may matter a lot. It also depends upon your age. A young, larger person could lose 20 lbs and look better. An older or small person will lose 20 lbs and the face will now look less tight and some wrinkles could return. It is best to be close to your preferred weight at the time of surgery, but if you are not, there are other variables to consider!

Deep plane facelift results can be affected by weight loss since weight loss would cause a decrease in facial fat volume. However, weight loss will affect deep plane facelift results less than traditional facelift or SMAS facelift. If your BMI is normal, you may not need to worry about this as much.