How Long Will a SMAS Facelift Last?

A facelift will reverse 10 to 20 years of ageing from your face and neck. Unfortunately you will continue to age but from a position of 10 to 20 years earlier. A facelift should never actually fail it is simply that we cannot stop the facial tissues from continuing to age over the years. One very important factor in facelift and necklift outcomes is the type of SMAS facelift that was performed. The term "SMAS facelift" simply means that something was done to the SMAS. There are countless variations of how the SMAS can be manipulated during this surgery. The facelift and neck lift technique that has won the most accord in the recent 15 years is the deep plane facelift type of SMAS lift. This makes an incision in the SMAS close to the problem areas and raises a smaller skin flap. This leads to a greater longevity of results and more natural results with a shorter recovery. 

Thank you for your question.  Fist the sutures don’t slice down  is possible that the different sutures use are absorbable or permanent but ones it heals what maintains the results is the quality of your  skin and what   the SMAS  really helps is the support of the deep tissues and reduction of the skin tension. 

In some ways, a SMAS facelift lasts forever, in that a patient should always be better off than if they had never done anything at all. That being said, the aging process continues, and some patients will start to notice some return of laxity after a few years. Most patients that have a "tuck-up" or second facelift procedure will do so about 10 years after the first, but many will never want or need a second procedure.
While it is possible for any sutures to break, tear, or slice through tissues, the sutures are placed into tissues that are strong and hold without tearing. These are most importantly placed into the SMAS layer of fibrous tissue that is very strong and does not tend to tear.
Finally, pouches beside the mouth could be due to a particular patient's anatomy or the particular technique used by the surgeon.
All the best,

As in any surgery, the sutures used to close the wound in an SMAS facelift either dissolve or are removed within a week to 10 days. Therefore, the face is not “hanging” off of thin threads. Rather, the sutures act to seal the tissues together as they heal, allowing them to form scar tissue that can then support the new position of the face for up to 10 years even as the patient continues to age. As for the fat pouches beside the mouth, these will not occur in a facelift that has been performed by a board-certified facial plastic surgeon with deep knowledge of anatomy and facial aesthetics. Lifting the face is not sufficient; all of the elements of the patient's facial structure must be in symmetry and harmony and look perfectly natural. That is the mark of a successful SMAS facelift. I hope this helps.

First, the longevity of a facelift depends on skin quality, elasticity, genetics, and the type of facelift performed.  If there was a point in time when your skin was stressed with excess UV radiation, or excess inelasticity runs in your family, or if you were engaged in other external activities such as smoking or tanning, the results of the facelift won't last as long as someone who hasn't participated in those activities.  However, if a proper maintenance program is performed, which includes taking care of your skin with medical grade products and if you support the lifted tissue with volume to address the volume that all of us lose over time, then you can make that lift last much longer. 

The SMAS is a firm layer of tissue in the face that can be safely mobilized and utilized to hold a facelift. The SMAS layer must be dissected to mobilize it and reposition the face on it. This decreases tension on the SMAS tissue so there is no tearing through the tissue. Not all SMAS facelifts do this, and unfortunately few plastic surgeons are performing a sub-SMAS dissection into the cheek and neck to unload the SMAS for long lasting repositioning.

The longevity of a facelift can vary depending on the initial procedure. A facelift that addresses the underlying descent of facial soft tissues provides the greatest longevity. A facelift that lifts the underlying SMAS will re-elevate descended facial tissues and improves the appearance of the cheeks, jowls and often the neck. In a patient with good skin quality, this facelift should last 7-10 years.

You will always have improvement of your appearance following a SMAS facelift. Depending on your age, exam and skin elasticity it could turn back the hands of time 5-15 years.That being said the analogy I like using is; turning back the hands of time with a procedure. It would be nice if the clock stopped but it keeps on ticking. An experienced board certified surgeon will usually turn back your appearance in a natural manner a bit more than others and allow the clock perhaps to tick a bit slower

With a good technical SMAS facelift, the results may last 5-10 years or longer.  This type of facelift not only removes the excess skin of the face, it lifts the internal structures (SMAS) and tightens the skin.  It should smooth out the folds beside the mouth and lift the jowls.  As long as you take care of your skin afterward, you should expect a long-lasting result.  Good luck!

Most patients have only one facelift in a lifetime if it is well-executed.  A SMAS facelift heals in a matter of days and at that point the sutures are irrelevant.  The tissues that have been repositioned are biologically sealed.  Patients will continue to age, obviously, but most don't reach a point where a full secondary facelift is indicated.  I do secondary facelifts, but probably on less than one in 25 patients.