Face and Neck Lift

When you meet with us for your facial rejuvenation consultation, we will have an honest discussion about your desires, expectations, and concerns, as well as the limits and risks of the facelift and neck lift surgery. We will review your medical history and recommend options that can best help you achieve your goals. We will give you thorough written instructions to prepare for your facelift surgery and will answer any questions you have.

At Summit Health, the patient experience is of primary importance to us. We customize every single facelift and/or neck lift procedure we do so that it is tailored to what is best for you and you alone. We will recommend the facelift and/or neck lift technique that we believe will give you the results you want, whether you wish to treat the cheeks, the jowls, the neck, or a combination of those areas.

Our goal is to do safe and quality work – and to make you happy. Making you happy requires considerable discussion so that we thoroughly understand what you want to accomplish from your facelift surgery. Planning is very important. We spend a great deal of time working to understand exactly what parts of the anatomy between the upper hairline and the clavicle that you want to improve. Then, we can design your customized facelift surgery to provide you with the best results.

Your facelift and/or neck lift surgery will be performed under general anesthesia, but most patients do not have to stay overnight in the hospital.

Lower facelift and neck lift incisions are usually placed behind the ears, within the creases of the ears, within the hairline at the temples, underneath the chin, or behind the sideburns. We do everything we can to place incisions in discreet areas while also providing you with the outcome you want. If you wish to improve your neck, however, we cannot do so with an incision in the hairline at the temples. Similarly, we cannot lift the cheeks with an incision behind the ears. So, the areas you wish to be improved will have a lot to do with where the incisions are located.

During the facelift and/or neck lift surgery, excess skin and fatty tissue are removed, the muscles and under-structure of the face are tightened, reshaped, and the overlying skin is then gently tightened, redraped, and stitched into place.

You will be given thorough written instructions to prepare for and recover from your facelift procedure. The facelift and neck lift recovery time is largely the same for all of the different techniques. Expect some soreness, bruising, swelling, tightness, and numbness. Oral over-the-counter or prescription medications can be taken to manage any discomfort you experience.

Bruising and tenderness should subside within 7 to 10 days, and 90% of swelling usually goes away within 3 weeks after a facelift surgery. It may take a few months for all the tightness and numbness to resolve.

You will wear a gauze bandage around your neck and jaw line the first night after facelift surgery. In rare cases, tubes may be placed under the skin to drain any excess fluids during the first day or 2 of healing. We will see you in the office the next day to make sure that you are healing well.

Usually, all stitches are removed in 1 week. In most cases, you may shower within 2 days and dye your hair in 3 weeks. Most patients dye their hair a few days before their facelift surgery. 

You will need to sleep sitting up for a few days to reduce swelling, but you should be able to return to work and normal, non-strenuous activities in about 2 weeks. We ask that for 3 weeks, you do not strain yourself with any exercise that could raise your blood pressure. High blood pressure is what causes bleeding under the skin. Light exercise can be resumed in 3 weeks, and strenuous exercise in 6 weeks. 

You should be presentable 1 week after your facelift surgery, when it is safe to wear makeup to cover any residual bruising. Most patients are safe to drive after about a week. Most facelift and neck lift patients refrain from social activities for about 2 weeks. We do recommend that you wait 2 to 3 months before scheduling a big event after your facelift surgery, such as a wedding or presentation. Please be careful to wear sun block for 6 months after your facelift surgery.

You will need to follow up with your surgeon periodically for a year to check on your facelift recovery progress.

When the stitches have been removed, we will begin our scar regimen, which we continue for a few months to improve the incision areas as much as possible. We apply scar cream and perform massage. We also usually provide cortisone injections anywhere on the incisions where the skin might thicken. This prevents the scars from becoming raised and prominent.