Can you have a deep chemical peel at the same time as a Facelift?

I frequently perform additional procedures along
with a facelift at my practice, including chemical peels, laser resurfacing,
liposuction, fat transfer, and cheek or chin augmentation. Facelifts will
address skin laxity, but they do not address wrinkles or acne scars, so if you
want to improve your skin texture at the same time, a chemical peel or laser
resurfacing procedure may be a good idea. It’s important to visit a skilled,
experienced, board-certified facial plastic surgeon for these procedures, since
it is very important to know where it is safe to perform a peel and at how
intense the peel can be before it is too risky.

Thanks for your question. I'm inclined to agree with
your doctor, especially because you specify that you're interested in a deep
chemical peel. Deeper peels can be quite invasive and are likely incompatible
with facelift surgery. Undergoing the 2 procedures at the same time would
likely leave you quite uncomfortable as you recuperate, too. However, you may
be able to undergo the peel on certain areas of your face that won't be as
affected by your surgery. This includes your forehead and cheeks. Best of luck
with your decision.

Thank you for your question. I understand you’d like to know if you can have a deep chemical peel at the same time as a facelift to address deep wrinkles and acne scars.I can certainly help you with this as a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, practicing in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years. Facelifts and facial rejuvenation are a big part of my practice, and over the years I have gone through and experienced using different modalities in treating these concerns.Let us first understand what happens when facelifts are done. If you’re doing a facelift where you’re elevating the skin separately from the underlying superficial musculo aponeurotic system (SMAS), what happens is that the skin is separated away from the blood supply. If you are doing something like a deep plane facelift where you are going under the SMAS, then you have a little more blood supply going to your skin and there may be some room to work. I think what’s important is to consider which procedure will give you the best results and not so much how many procedures you can have done at one time.When it comes to depth of wrinkles and acne scars, there’s a basic rule of thumb: the deeper you go, the more aggressive you have to be, the better results will be up to a certain point, but also the greater the risks are for complications. If you plan to do a more aggressive chemical peel or a deeper peel, then I wouldn’t recommend to do it on the area of the flap. An area where we can be more aggressive on with a laser, such as a fractional CO2 laser, would be around the mouth or the perioral area because the skin has not been separated from the blood supply. It’s important to keep in mind that there’s a balancing act here. What I have observed, which is likely the same for many other experienced cosmetic surgeons, is that as people get older, the acne scars and wrinkles tend to look deeper, because of the diminishing volume and collagen in the skin. By getting a chemical peel and a facelift, you may be over treating the situation. A facelift can achieve some more tone for the skin when the procedure is completed, so I am more inclined to recommend to do the facelift first, allow things to heal, and then see what else needs to be addressed.Something that we use to address the flap area or acne scars is platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which is a concentration that is derived from your own blood. This is somewhat of a secondary procedure, and it’s not really something I routinely do when performing facelifts, however it is another modality that you can consider and discuss with your doctor.Just remember that there’s already a certain degree of risk when it comes to lifting, and I don’t think you should be taking more risk than necessary. Even if technically you can do lasers and have a chemical peel on the flap areas, you have to be careful because if the skin is overly compromised, then you’ll lose it anyway.Ultimately, you want to rely on your doctor’s experience and recommendation and try to understand the logic behind why your doctor is not recommending both procedures at the same time. There are many ways to do this procedure and you will get many different opinions, but once you find a doctor who you trust and feel confident in, then you could follow that doctor’s advice.I hope that was helpful and I wish you the best of luck!This personalized video answer to your question is posted on RealSelf and on YouTube. To provide you with a personal and expert response, we use the image(s) you submitted on RealSelf in the video, but with respect to your privacy, we only show the body feature in question so you are not personally identifiable. If you prefer not to have your video question visible on YouTube, please contact us.