Does it take 8 hrs to do face, eyelid, and forehead lift surgery?

Thank you for your question.  A Face lift procedure combined with upper and lower eyelid surgeries, and a brow lift will take between 5-9 hours.  Board Certified Plastic Surgeon will take many precautions, such as clearance by your primary physician, operating in an accredited facility, SCDs, etc to minimize complications.  Discuss your concerns with your Plastic Surgeon. Best Wishes.  

My technique for facelifting generally includes a neck lift and a lateral brow lift. I perform a modified deep plane lift with SMAS resection and undermining. This takes me about 2.5 hours to perform. If I add on upper/ lower eyelid surgery, it adds on another 30-60 minutes (depending on if both are performed).  Many surgeons routinely take double this time for various reasons.  Regardless, the length of time required to perform a procedure is less important than your results and the care you receive afterwards. It's all about quality work and quality care. If you will be undergoing surgery for 8 hours; however, be sure to inquire about the details of where this will take place and the type of anesthesia used.I wish you well,Parker A. Velargo, MD

Depending on the details of your procedure - it could very easily take 5-8 hours to do the things you have listed, if your surgeon is meticulous, careful, and not trying to rush.

In my experience this procedure will take 4-5 hours of operating time. Some surgeons operate more slowly or less efficiently but still do a wonderful job. The main consideration should be the surgeon's qualifications, your level or trust and the results that they create. If you have concerns, seek another opinion from a plstic surgeon who specializes in facial procedures. I hope this information is helpful for you.Stephen Weber MD, FACSDenver Facial Plastic Surgeon

You raise a good point about how long anesthesia time should be for elective cosmetic surgery. I personally limit total anesthesia time to 4-5 hrs. max. That amount of time is within operating time for many surgeons (myself included) to do what you describe  but many qualified surgeons take longer.  I believe they should probably divide the procedure up if they need 8 hrs. to keep anesthesia time to a safer 4 hr or so limit. This is a legitimate difference of medical opinion.

Longer surgery means longer anesthesia and higher risks, so my policy is to not schedule anything I expect to take longer than 5 or 6 hours, which would be sufficient for facelift, eyelids, and possibly browlift. Operative time is quite a sensitive issue however as you can tell from the answers. Slower surgery does not necessarily mean more meticulous and detail oriented. 

This surgery should take 6-8 hours if it is a full facelift.Quality is more important. It takes me 6 hours to do this but 8 hours is fine as long as the work is good.

It can take 6-8 hours with the combined surgeries that you listed. Facelift surgery has many variations from simple skin lifts only (hardly done alone) to more complex tissue rearrangement under the skin. This could be muscle tightening, excision, suspension, deep plane lifting, fat grafting, laser, short scar lifts, etc. This is based on the surgeon's training, level of experience and skill. A full brow-lift is rarely indicated or done anymore. You can divide your surgery into two stages, brow and eyelids first followed by facelift a few days later. See a board certified plastic surgeon for an in person consultation/evaluation. With longer surgeries like this, leg compression garments are used to prevent blood clot formation and the operating room bed is warmed for the patient to decrease risk of hypothermia.

Dear Kurnia59Although the lenght of surgery varies from surgeon to surgeon, scheduling multiple procedures at once with lengthy surgery can increase the risks of peri-operative complications. 5 hours is generally considered a safer length of anesthesia for ambulatory surgery.When you consider other fators, such time for recovery and cost, the choice of longer surgical times and more procedures can be considered if u are willing to accept higher risks. Based on type of face lift, type of eyelid surgery and type of brow lift the range of above combination can vary significantly in the hands of the same surgeon, let alone different surgeons. (deep plane lift with 4 lid skin muscle bleph with open brow lift can take 8 hours when a basic SMAS, upper lid bleph and endobrow can take 4 hours).In my opinion discuss these issues with your surgeon and if you dont feel confident get a second opinion. I highly recommend you seek consultation from a board certified Plastic surgeon.

I would say that 8 hours is not an unreasonable amount of time to perform a facelift, forehead lift and eyelid surgery.  However, some surgeons could perform these procedures in less time and some could possibly take more time.  The most important aspects of picking a surgeon should be your comfort with him or her and the final result.  A surgeon who takes more time may employ different closure techniques that require more time but could potentially result in a better final appearance.  A healthy person should be able to undergo surgery for 8 hours without much risk.