As more people live longer it is not surprising that many of them also have a second, or third, facelift.

A recent study showed that although older patients do have special needs they can get a good and safe result from a second facelift.

About 1 in 50 people have a complication of the second lift , about the same as for a first facelift. Older patients are often more likely to have another operation done at the same time but this does not seem to increase the number of complications of the facelift.

Because there are more medical problems in older people it is important that the surgeon does a more extensive medical evaluation before surgery. This is important to identify high blood pressure which can cause bleeding or hematoma.

The method of surgery is often different from the first facelift. Older the skin is thinner and has less elasticity.

Also older patients are more likely to lose hair so the surgeon may try to avoid an incision that could cause hair loss.

Less correction of the deeper layers is needed in second operations because these layers are often tightened in the first facelift.