A variety of factors affect how long a facelift lasts. These include: the type of procedure performed, the skill of the surgeon, the genetics of the patients, the amount of sun damage, and the patient’s lifestyle decisions such as cigarette smoking. All of these factors impact the result of facelift procedures and their longevity.It’s important to realize that facelifts turn the clock back, but don’t stop the clock from ticking. Most surgeons will tell you that the procedure will generally last about ten years. We feel that if a facelift makes you look 15 years younger, you should be back to your original starting point in approximately 15 years.
Using this logic, more aggressive procedures will set the clock back further and hence tend to last longer. A SMAS procedure (where the deeper tissues are tightened) would be expected to have a greater impact than a mini-facelift and would therefore be expected to last longer.
At Aesthetic Surgical Images in Omaha, Nebraska we feel that facial rejuvenation procedures should be tailored to the individual. The exact procedure utilized will depend upon the anatomic findings associated with the patients aging phenomena.
We feel that the entire face should be evaluated since the face frequently ages as a unit. For these reasons, we feel that many patients benefit from eyelid surgery and endoscopic browlift at the time of facelift surgery.
We believe that early intervention impacts the longevity of the result. Younger patients typically have better skin tone than older patients; because of this, they are less prone to recurrent sag. In other words, falling behind on the facial aging curve makes it hard to get caught up.
In summary, how long a facelift lasts depends on a variety of factors. In most cases, it will last approximately ten years.
