How long will in take to recover from a facelift where the SMAS is cut off and sewn, plus a fat transfer?

Hi Vickie: Generally patients can socialize and work without much difficulty after 10-14 days, and I would recommend giving yourself a month before a weddingor other special event.  If you are in the wedding (bride, mother of bride, etc.) best to give yourself a couple of months.  Best of luck! 

Thank you for an excellent question.
A SMAS face lift (plication or SMASectomy) recovery is approximately 1-week.
Micro-fat grafting adds more time to recovery as it is this component of facial rejuvenation that is likely to result in swelling and bruising.  I advise clients that it may take up to 3-weeks to fully recover from fat grafting; however, the results are worth the longer recovery.
I would not let the longer recovery with fat grafting dissuade you from this technique as it does significantly improve the results.  With both procedures, you can expect to be socially presentable with make-up by 10-days.
I hope this answer is helpful.

For my patients, I tell them that after about 7-10 days or so they can pretty much go back to work. They will definitely  be a bit swollen and maybe even a bit bruised.

In our practice, patients will have visible bruising and swelling for approximately two weeks. Full healing takes 3 to 4 months. In addition, we do not use painful pressure wraps or bandages, just drains that are left in place for 1 to 2 days. This minimizes the amount of bruising, since the blood goes out in the drain bottles, and is not trapped underneath the skin.

Recovery time from a facelift  varies from patient to patient.  If it is when the patient no longer feels  self conscious of their appearance my standard answer is 3 weeks.  I encourage patients to return to light aerobic activities at 1 week since I feel this aids in resolution of facial swelling.  Regards Dr. Kiener

Recovery after a
facelift will depend on the individual and the extent of the procedure.
Everyone heals differently. Most people are able to return to work between 10
and 14 days after their surgery even though some residual swelling and bruising
may take up to three weeks to disappear.
You should
refrain from any strenuous activities for at least three weeks. Strenuous
activities or exercise before that time will increase the risk of bleeding,
swelling, and bruising. Sun exposure should also be avoided during that time.
Your return to your normal activities is more determined by swelling and
bruising and by your personal feelings about how you want to look as you resume
social activities. A lot of the swelling will be resolved within eight to ten
days, which is when most patients resume more normal limited activities.
Bruising generally resolves in 2-3 weeks but it can be fairly easily covered
with make-up prior to total resolution. Many patients prefer to wait until the
bruising has disappeared before attending any major social events, or if they
want to look their best before being seen by their friends.It is
important to realize that following the advice from a surgeon on this or any
other website who proposes to tell you exactly what to do without examining
you, physically feeling the tissue, assessing your desired outcome, taking a
full medical history, and discussing the pros and cons of each operative
procedure would not be in your best interest. I would suggest you find a
plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and ideally
a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) that you
trust and are comfortable with. You should discuss your concerns with that
surgeon in person.
Robert Singer,
MD FACS
La Jolla,
California

 Hi, I have performed SMAS facelifts for over 30 years and have performed many minimally, invasive SMAS facelifts.  There are many different ways to perform a SMAS facelift ranging from a minimally invasive technique to a very aggressive "deep plane" or one that includes a "formal neck lift".  The amount of tissue dissection and the time in surgery will all have an impact on the recovery time.  
  If you have "jowls” these are sagging facial tissues and the 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. 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.  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. In my experience and despite its recent increase in popularity, fat transfer (fat injection) offers "far" less of a reliable and predictable volume for facial shaping than an off the shelf dermal filler or silastic facial implant.  For that reason, I do not use fat to shape the cheeks, chin, lips or jaw line.  Tissue physiology is quite simple.  Tissue requires a blood supply in and out as well as lymphatic connections to remain viable and alive.  Once fat is removed from the body all of these things have been disrupted and removed.  Just because the removed fat is mixed with PRP or something else doesn't make the blood and lymphatic vessels magically re-appear.  The fat at that point is not living tissue which means that it's prone to being dissolved by the body (most likely in an uneven and unpredictable manner).  Injecting fat back into the face does not create the required elements to make the fat living tissue once again.  So the argument that fat is alive and viable in the face once it's been removed and re-injected makes no sense to me as a physician and surgeon.
 The other issue that I have with fat transfer is the lack of precision.  Fat is thick by nature which means it's not the same consistency as an off the shelf dermal filler.  Fat injections use an increased volume injected in an attempt to compensate for the volume loss that "will" happen.  This means a lack of specific shape and volume that simply can not begin to compare with the specificity of using a silastic facial implant of a "known" shape and volume.  In that regard fat offers too much of an unknown to make it a reliable and predictable method for facial shaping.  There's a significant difference between a 3mm and 5mm thick cheek implant.  You can imagine the magnitude of difference there is between retaining 60% of 25cc's of fat versus 35%.  In my humble opinion, I just don’t see how fat could possibly be used to precisely shape facial features?
Hope this helps.