Facelift

Medically reviewed by Dr. Shirin Milani / Dr. Veith Moser — Specialists in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (Austrian Medical Chamber)Last updated: 26.03.2026

A facelift addresses excess skin on the face and sagging cheeks. Our face reveals almost everything about us. It tells the people around us whether we are happy or not. It shows whether we are genuinely pleased or sincerely annoyed. And with one small movement it can put into perspective everything we had just insisted upon so firmly. With 52 facial muscles, this is hardly surprising.

Treatments

Facelift

The facelift addresses wrinkles on the face

The top priority in a facelift at Moser Milani: facial expression must be preserved! In a classic lift, the forehead area as well as the contours of the face and neck are tightened and thereby noticeably rejuvenated. In addition to the resulting smoothing of wrinkles, the cheeks can be shaped according to aesthetic preferences.

Facelift im Überblick

Duration of surgery: 3 – 5 hours

Anaesthesia: local anaesthesia with twilight sedation or general anaesthesia

Hospital stay: one night

Showering: with disinfecting shampoo the day after surgery

Exercise: after 3 – 4 weeks

Presentable in public: after 1 – 2 weeks

Time off work: 1 – 2 weeks

Before Surgery

For a period of approximately 14 days before the facelift, you should avoid medications containing acetylsalicylic acid (e.g. Aspirin, ASA, etc.), as these impair blood clotting.
In addition, you should largely avoid alcohol, cigarettes and sleeping pills. Nicotine, too, can reduce the blood supply to organs and delay wound healing. For this reason, refrain from nicotine for two weeks before the operation and during the wound-healing phase.

After Surgery

Head dressing: 2 days
Follow-up check: after one day
Suture removal: after 7 to 10 days
Recovery period: 1 to 2 weeks
Exercise: after 3 weeks

Surgery Highlights

In the upper facelift, the upper forehead is tightened while the eyebrows are lifted. The incision is made in front of the ear, extending somewhat further into the hair-bearing scalp region or running along the hairline of the forehead. In a facelift, the SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system) must in principle be included, as tightening the skin alone is not sufficient. The SMAS is the superficial system containing muscle and connective tissue, which in a classic facelift is dissected, tightened and fixed in place. The skin is then gently laid over it, secured with sutures, and the excess skin is removed. Depending on the findings, the facelift can also be performed without dissection of the SMAS. In this case, the SMAS is merely tightened with sutures.

The short-scar facelift allows the lower part of the face and the neck to be tightened in an even gentler way. Here, following a much shorter incision made exclusively in front of the ear, the Superficial Muscular Aponeurosis System (SMAS) located beneath the skin is tightened and lifted using several slowly dissolving suture loops.

Possible Risks

Any swelling and discolouration from bruising usually subsides after two to three weeks, as do possible sensory disturbances and a feeling of tightness in the skin. In rare cases, particularly in heavy smokers, circulatory problems and wound infection may occur. Weakness of the facial nerve is very rare and disappears again after just a few weeks.

Duration

30 min