What happens during the surgery?
Before the day itself: reading about the operation
The operating room depends on technique and setting
What happens in the operating room depends on the technique, the setting, and the surgeon. Three reputable descriptions and a few direct questions get you a specific answer for your own procedure.
Anesthesia, length and location in three overviews
Read the NHS overview of facelift (rhytidectomy), the Stanford Health Care page on facelift surgery, and the plastic surgery society's page on facelift surgery. Compare what each says about anesthesia, length of the operation, and where the surgery takes place. Where they differ, write down the difference and ask your surgeon about it.
For the weeks before the operation, the same society's blog has a post on how to prepare for a traditional facelift. It is general guidance, so ask your surgeon where your procedure would take place and what applies to you.
Questions about the day of surgery
- Ask which type of anesthesia is planned and who administers it.
- Ask where the surgery would take place and who is in the room.
- Ask what you should expect on the day before, the day of, and the day after.
Your surgeon's written plan for the day
General descriptions are not advice on how your own surgery should go. Your surgeon's written plan is the document that matters for your case.