How long does face/neck lift surgery typically take?

There is not "typical" time. What you should receive is the time that is needed to address your concerns. Often the phrase "facelift" may actually end up meaning the patient wants the face, neck, lower and upper eyelids and maybe even the brow position improved.So, the best advice is to seek out a face to face consultation with board certified plastic surgeon. After that visit, you should have a better feel for what you want done and the time it would take. Sincerely,

Michael Kulick MD

   Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

   Member of ASPS, ASAPS

   Clinical Editor of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal

   Recipient of the Klingbeil Award – Teaching Safe Techniques and Advanced Technologies

The time it takes for facelift surgery can vary quite a bit. It mostly depends on what exactly is being done. Sometimes eyelid and brow surgery is done together with the faelift, and of course this will add time to the procedure. There are also many different types of facelift procedures and some take longer to perform than others. The skill of the surgeon is also important but many expert surgeons take a little longer because they are more meticulous or are performing advanced procedures - so don't base your surgeon selection on time alone.

The duration of a facelift surgery may vary depending on many factors. Every facelift surgery to be performed should be planned individually and specifically for the patient who is going to have the surgery. It is possible to talk about many factors such as whether the neck will be operated on along with the face, the extensiveness of the facelift surgery, skin and tissue structure of the patient, whether the patient has had similiar surgery before, whether it is combined with another operation.
The facelift surgery to be performed will take shorter if only the skin is to be draped. If deep tissues are also going to be tightened, it is expected to take longer. If the facelift surgery is focused only on the lower face and neck area, the operation may be expected to take less. If the mid-face is also targeted, it is expected to take longer.

Combining facelift surgeries with other facial operations is common. These operations include brow lift / forehead lift, eyelid operations, facial fat injections. If the facelift surgeries are combined with one or more of these other operations, the operation duration is prolonged.

Since there can be many variations, it is not possible to talk about a single, specific surgery duration. Taking into account the aforementioned variables, the duration of a facelift surgery generally can vary from 2 to 6 hours.
Hope this helps,Ali Rıza Öreroğlu, MD FEBOPRASEuropean and Turkish Board Certified Aesthetic, Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeonIstanbul, Turkey