I had a stroke three years ago I am fully recovered is it safe for me to have a facelift?

It should be safe if you are otherwise healthy, but I would advise doing under sedation rather than general anesthesia and avoid a very lengthy procedure and choose your surgeon carefully in terms of experience.  You would need clearance from your physician and to stop any blood thinners for at least a few days.

If you get medical clearance from your primary care physician, and your neurologist, you may well be a candidate for surgery.  Best of luck.

Yes, certainly. If you have fully recovered and subject to passing a thorough preoperative assessment in joint discussion and agreement with your hospital consultants and GP and subject to their clearance, you should be able to have your surgery.

Thank you for your question. From your description, it does sound as if you would be fine to proceed with a facelift from a medical standpoint. If you are on blood thinners, these would need to be stopped before surgery. Given your history, your surgeon probably will want to get a medical clearance. Barring any issues with this, you should be fine for elective surgery.

First of all, I would like to say that I’m happy to hear that you have fully recovered. As long as you are cleared by your physician (such clearance is mandatory in my practice for my surgical patients), you will be good to go for surgery. It is also important to follow your surgeon’s protocols carefully, such as refraining from the use of blood thinners for a period of time before surgery. Please consult with a board certified plastic surgeon with a wealth of experience in facelifts.  

To accurately answer your question would require an examination and review of your medical history. I have safely performed facelifts on many patients with a previous history stroke and heart attack. What is important to know is how stable and well managed their medical problems are to access the level of risk. I require most of these patients to get medical clearance from their internist or cardiologist. If they are on blood thinners such as coumadin, Eliquis, Pradaxa, etc, they must be able to off of these medications for a period of time. I recommend performing the operation under intravenous sedation and local anesthesia , as this has lower anesthetic risk than general anesthesia, and less risk of bleeding issues. Consult an experienced surgeon to discuss your suitability for a facelift.

Yu would require clearance from your neurologist or cardiologist.  Also if you are on blood thinners they would need to be stopped prior to surgery.  If they cannot be safely stopped I would advise against a facelift.

Hello and thank you for your question.  The best advice you can receive is from an in-person consultation.  If you are otherwise in good health and can obtain full medical clearance from your primary physician, and are not taking any blood thinner medications which cannot be stopped for surgery, then you should be safe to proceed with surgery.  This decision should be based on a detailed discussion with equal input from both you and your surgeon.   Make sure you specifically look at before and after pictures of real patients who have had this surgery performed by your surgeon and evaluate their results.  

Best wishes and good luck.


Richard G. Reish, M.D.  FACS

Harvard-trained plastic surgeon
 

The major concern in a patient who has had a stroke is that they must take an anti-coagulant as a preventative. The problem is that you must be off the anti-coagulant (especially aspirin) for a period of time before and after surgery. Most doctors do not want to risk taking the patient off their meds for fear of another stroke. Therefore, medical clearance will determine your eligibility for surgery. Consult with you physician and an experienced facial plastic surgeon to discuss your concerns.

Providing that you are in stable health and that you are cleared for surgery by your physician (with minimal risks) there is no reason not to consider face lift surgery. In our practice this is done in twilight (similar to anesthesia used for colonoscopy) and local anesthesia. Consultation with a reputable board certified plastic surgeon with experience in facial rejuvenation is recommended. Good luck.