1. Find the right doctor.
A facelift is important surgery, so take time to find the right doctor. Read reviews and consult with multiple plastic surgeons to address all your concerns. Investigate your potential doctor's qualifications to ensure that they have ample experience. Look for board certifications, ASAPS membership, and that he/she has completed a fellowship in plastic surgery.
“Find out who the other surgeons go to for their facelifts,” says community member yogajan in a RealSelf review. “If you spend more time with a ‘closer’ than you do with the surgeon, run. They work on commission and try to sell you more surgery than you may need. Fancy addresses are just geography and have nothing to do with the results you get. Also, you are paying for those high rents. Go for the best surgeon, not the best address. Go online and check out the programs for plastic surgery meetings and see who is invited by their peers to lecture. It may give you some idea who is respected professionally; though not a guarantee, but something most of us have not considered.”
2. What to ask during your facelift consultation.
It’s important to have realistic expectations about what you will look like after a facelift. Talk to the doctor about what you can realistically expect. Look at before and after photos to see what the doctor’s work looks like, and, if possible, talk to the doctor’s other patients.
“When interviewing the doctor's patients, focus in on the stitch sites,” says community member David22 in a RealSelf review. “If there are visible scars after eight months, most likely the doctor did not take the time to do the best job. Remember you are not his patient just to make him money, you have elected to do this for results which should last for awhile.”