Is there a downside to having eyes done first and facelift at a later date?

Your plan for staging your procedures is perfectly fine.  Have already had blepharoplasty, chin work and fat grafting should not pose any issues. 

It is optimal to do the upper and lower eyelids and facelift simultaneously, as
there is one recovery of about 10-14 days. One can also do them out of sequence. One can do
the eyelids first and the facelift at a later date. The recovery
is similar, it is two operative procedures with two recovery times. This should
be done in the hands of a Board Certified
Surgeon with expertise in Facial Rejuvenation.

The only downside is two surgeries, two recoveries and if done in a surgery center 2 operating room and anesthesia costs. Otherwise as an elective procedure, it is fine to separate these two procedures

Optimally, all the needed procedures for facial rejuvenation should be done
at the same time, such as facelift and blepharoplasty. On the other hand some
patients elect to undergo just eyelid surgery and at a later time successfully
undergo a facelift, although on occasion some fine tuning of lower eyelid might
be required.

There is not a downside to having your blepharoplasty (and possibly lipo) done first and waiting to have a facelift at a later time, as long as harmony of the face are maintained by the surgeon. Desirable aesthetics of the face usually depend on the balance between the upper, mid and lower face.  You want to make sure that after your surgery your eyes do not look years younger than the rest of your face. When you meet with a plastic surgeon, just explain your surgery goals and your concerns about only having a blepharoplasty at this point. 

There's really no right or wrong answer to your question. If you're convinced you want the eyes in the face done I would do them together. If you're uncertain do only those operations that you're certain about.

You can have your eyes done (blepharoplasty) done at the time of the facelift, before, or after without a downside. You mentioned volume loss, and this can be corrected with fat grafting at the time of the facelift or before as a standalone procedure or with your eye procedure.

Hello StillSouthern,Thanks for your question.  If your eyes and chin area bother you the most, and you are a candidate for those procedures, I say go for it.  If you have the time to recover twice, then staging the surgeries is no problem at all.  Most people like to get it over will all at once, but the recovery is greater and the costs are greater too.  If you are not emotionally ready for a facelift, then by all means, do not have one.  As we age, volume loss is a big part of what we see in the mirror.  In my opinion, the eyes are the first area to show this effect.  Blepharoplasty is a great procedure, when done by expert hands, that results in younger looking eyes for a long time.  Lipo under the chin is a great procedure also and can really sculpt the neck nicely.  Lipo can also expose split platysmal muscle bands (the turkey neck) by removing the overlying fat which is not so nice.  Some of my patients have been candidates for chin lipo and split platysmal muscle repair without necklifting or facelifting which can avoid the problem of the turkey neck entirely.  Fat grafting definitely can add volume back to the cheeks and the areas around the mouth that seem to be caving in with time.  Having an honest conversation with your surgeon about your needs and your fears is important before embarking on elective facial plastic surgery.  Good luck,Dr. Shah

Thereis no significant downside to having your eyelid surgery prior to yourfacelift. Having two different recovery time may become an issue for people whoare working and do not have much of free time for recovery. Most of the timethese two procedures are combined.

Hi StillSouthern, thanks for your excellent question.
There is no medical reason to avoid undergoing a facelift at a later date after
your eye surgery. Although combining your surgeries may save you a bit of
recovery time or money on expenses such as surgeon's or facility fees, it's
perfectly safe to have your blepharoplasty now and keep your options open for
further facial rejuvenation later. Good luck with your decision!