One of the first questions my patients ask who are seeking a facelift in Houston is how long is recovery. This depends on the type of facelift you require. The type of lift best suited for you will depend on your age, your desires, and your exam.

Patients who are younger and concerned only about slight jowling but not their neck, are good candidates for a mini facelift. This type of facelift requires incision predominantly in front of the ear and corrects the skin laxity along the jawline and improves the jowls. Patients can expect a 7-10 day recovery time after this type of facelift.

Patients whose main issue is their neck and have limited skin laxity in the face and no jowling may be good candidates for a neck lift. The incisions here would be under the chin and behind the ears. This will address any banding in the neck, the so called “turkey gobbler neck”, and the skin laxity in the neck. Again, recovery here is about 10 days.

Lastly, patients who are in their mid 50’s to 70’s likely will have signs of aging in their neck, face, jowls, and jawline. These patients would most benefit from a facelift AND neck lift. Dr. Funk specifically performs a deep plane face an neck lift where not only the skin is elevated, but the deep muscles are elevated. This type of facelift places the tension on the muscle and not the skin and prevents the windswept or pulled appearance. This type of lift provides the most correction and the longest lasting results. Recovery after a deep plane face and neck lift is 2-3 weeks.

Dr. Funk is a board certified facial plastic surgeon in Houston, TX.