Most face and neck lift techniques entail a tightening and lifting of the deeper tissues of the face followed by a more delicate removal of the excessive skin created by this deep tightening. Although you could theoretically reopen the face and release the tissues that were tightened at the deep level it would be impossible to replace any tissue removed such as deep fat, SMAS or skin. In addition dissection of tissue always causes some permanent changes as a result of the healing mechanism including scar tissue and fibrosis. So to answer your question some of the aspects of a facelift could be reversed but many of the changes are permanent.
In 32 years I've never had a patient ask me to reverse a facelift. The question implies the reversal of the effects of the facelift: Not many people actually want to look older even if they are unhappy with the results of the facelift. I'm going to take the liberty of rephrasing your question as it is impossible to actually reverse a facelift operation done correctly. Many people have asked for improvement in scarring and even "softening" of the result for those with extreme fat loss due to aging. I have revised a number of facelifts to create a more natural looking result. In a nutshell, changing the direction and intensity of the SMAS vectors and liberal fat grafting can go a long way to creating a softer, more natural, youthful result without reversing the facelift. The only way to truly reverse a facelift is by living another ten years.
