How important is it to be at a weight prior to a facelift? Lost 20 lbs. Should I work on the additional 30 lbs first? (Photo)

you appear to be an excellent candidate for a facelift.  Many patients are concerned that if they have a facelift and lose more weight, they will need the facelift redone.  I have never seen that become an issue.  There would be no problem having a facelift done at this point.

One of the key signs of aging can be loss of volume in the face.  In many cases adding fat to the face, during a facelift, can dramatically improve the surgical results.  I would definitely suggest that you lose the majority of the weight you plan to lose before you have a facelift.  However, be aware that too large a weight loss may make your face look even older than it currently does.

Yes, I would urge you to be very close to your goal weight before undergoing a facelift. If you are actively continuing to lose weight, you'll want to reach a point of equilibrium before pursuing surgery. I say "equilibrium" because you want to be at a weight you can easily maintain. The main reason: It's difficult to predict how the face responds to weight loss or gain. For some patients, the face remains essentially unchanged; for others, there are significant volume fluctuations in the face. This can make the results less predictable. Once you are at a comfortable weight that you can maintain, your surgeon will be able to give you a better idea of your expected outcome. Best of luck to you.

I feel patients need to be at a comfortable weight that they can realistically maintain prior to surgery.  An additional 30 lbs of weight loss could be fine if that is what your goal  is.  At the time most patients are contemplating a face lift, most have already noticed atrophy or loss of facial fat volume.  A 30 lb weight loss will clearly affect these volume changes in the face associated with aging, and this may affect what your surgeon chooses to do with regard to volume restoration (i.e.: autologous fat transfer).  I don't ever recommend crash dieting before surgery.  I would again recommend that you be near your comfortably maintainable goal weight +/- 10 lbs.  Best of luck.

When someone is looking to lose massive amounts of weight, I typically recommend they do this prior to surgery. However for patients who have a 20-30 pound weight loss it really does not make much of a difference for various reasons. I've explained this in the following video and hope you find this helpful.

Hello.  Thank you for your question.  Congratulations on your weight loss!  I always recommend to my patients that they try to get as close as possible to their goal weight prior to facelift to allow us to get the best result.  However, I never discourage continued efforts at necessary weight loss, even after a facelift.  If someone loses 10 - 15 lbs after a facelift, it probably won't make that much difference in the result.  However, if someone loses 20 - 30 lbs, or more, after a facelift, then they are likely to get thinning of the face and neck which may result in some skin laxity along the neck and jawline.  If this happens, it may require an additional "tuck-up" procedure to tighten up the loose skin.  So, do your best to lose the weight first, and you will likely get a better, longer lasting result.  I wish you the best in your weight loss efforts and achieving your aesthetic goals.

Hi ~ It is a good idea to lose weight prior to your facelift surgery. We tell our patients that being within 5-10 pounds of your goal weight is the best option. The reason for this is as you lose weight many people will have more skin laxity. Your best results from surgery will be obtained if you are very close to your desired weight.

Its great to have lost 20 lbs but how realistic is it to lose another 30lbs?  If this was a gradual weight loss after a long period of diet and exercise, its best to wait on surgery until you are done with your regimen.  However, if further weight loss is only a minor amount, it shouldn't make much difference in doing the procedure now vs later.

Ideally patients should be at their best way for any operation. However facelift will not be substantially influenced by weight loss before or after the operation.

Weight loss best before facelift surgery. Otherwise you could have excess skin if you lost it after the facelift.