What is the average time for facelift surgery? I was told 5 - 6 hours.

Thank you for your question.  For a face and neck lift the average time is four hours although there are many variables that play role in these surgery like experience of the surgeon, size of the patient, other procedures done during the surgery etc…

Thank you for your question. The duration of a facelift varies widely, depending on the experience and comfort level of the surgeon. Every surgeon has a pace at which he or she is comfortable, and to take them out of that comfort zone is not optimal. I have seen average operative times vary from 90 minutes to 12 hours. To be honest, the best facelift I've ever seen was by a surgeon who was able to do it in a little over an hour. He did not hurry at all, and his technique was stellar. It was obvious he had a command of the procedure that was at the top of his profession. There was very little swelling or bruising. On the other hand, I have seen some very good results in the hands of people who have taken 12 hours. Perhaps the better question to ask if you are concerned about the anesthesia time (complication rates do go up with longer anesthesia time) is whether you want to do this with general anesthesia, IV sedation, or local anesthesia with some mild sedation. It all depends on the comfort of the surgeon and what you are comfortable with. I prefer the latter, as patients seem to recover better, and they remember little of the procedure.