What procedure should I do first, total facelift or eyelid surgery, after chemo?

If your chemo was completed 4 years ago, it would not likely affect your wound healing now. If you're nervous and want to do one procedure first, I would recommend doing the eyelid surgery first. These incisions heal well in general. The eyelid skin is thin and has minimal if any tension on it as it heals, and it typically heals with a barely visible scar. The facelift incisions may or may not have some tension (depending on surgeon and technique) while they heal, and the surgery itself is a more involved operation than the eyelids. The facelift and eyelids could be done at the same time too, unless there was another reason to separate them (other medical issues, or financial, or social downtime etc) Also, for both facelifts and eyelids, how well the scar heals has a lot to do with the surgeons level of skill and the technique used, so keep that in mind and ask to see before and afters to get a sense of how that surgeon's results look. In my office we have patients who do not want their facelift photos online but don't mind the photos being shown in the office, so we offer that to patients to get a sense of what to expect.

Congratulations on being a survivor and for giving yourself a gift of “a new you.” Chemotherapy should not be interfering with your healing process at this stage. I always recommend doing eyelid surgery and a facelift on the same day to minimize downtime. The scars should be minimal and mostly hidden. I hope this helps.

Thank you for posting your question. First and foremost, congratulations on making it through your chemotherapy treatments. When considering surgery after chemotherapy, the most important thing is to is prioritize your health. Once your doctors give you medical clearance for surgery under general anesthesia, then you can schedule your procedures. With regards to your concerns about healing, this should be discussed with your surgeon at the time of your consultation. In my experience, I find it best to consolidate downtime and do these procedures together. This will also minimize the number of times you go under general anesthesia, which can take a toll on the body. For more information, please schedule a consultation with a board-certified facial plastic surgeon. Best of luck!