Are there significant risks associated with facelift surgery?

The facelift is one of the safest procedures in plastic surgery because there are just a few post-operative complications or risks associated with it. Such potential complications are common to any surgery, and they are temporary in nature.

Some patients experience nausea or a general feeling of sickness due to the anesthesia administered during the facelift procedure. This is a temporary condition that goes away within a few hours. Hematoma, bleeding and infection are the other common risks associated with facelift surgery. But these are avoidable complications if proper care is exercised before, during and after the surgery.

The chances of anything going significantly wrong with the surgery are almost nullified if the facelift is performed by a recognized surgeon with a perfect safety record. However, the modern techniques of a facelift can sometimes tempt the surgeon to push the limits.

The surgeon, in his or her endeavor to achieve exceptionally long-lasting results, may address the underlying structures of the face more invasively than required. That can restore a youthful configuration to the underlying muscles, fat and connective tissues beneath the facial skin. But if the limits of safety are compromised, it can produce potentially adverse results to the patient’s face.

Over-zealousness is a mark of inexperience in the art of plastic surgery. An experienced plastic surgeon would prefer a conservative approach to the surgery. In an attempt to achieve more long-lasting results, the surgeon may be putting the patient at the risk of incurable post-op complications. There may be just one or two percent of patients who may actually become the victims of such complications. But these one or two percent may get adverse results such as drooping of the eyelids or drooping of the mouth.

Highly experienced surgeons with a perfect career record of safety will never perform a surgery that has a possibility of any irreparable complication. A highly invasive facelift procedure where the entire facial structure is taken off the bone puts the patient at risk. Even if the failure rate is only one to two percent in such a procedure, anything less than 100 percent safety makes the whole effort not worthwhile.

In essence, the risk of permanent damage with a facelift is non-existent if the surgeon is fully equipped to handle such a procedure, and adopts a conservative approach. Compromising the safety is not an option, particularly for cosmetic procedures such as facelifts.

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