Facelift: find a top facelift surgeon near you
The top facelift surgeons in the US, ranked on their research, their teaching and the work they show. Then what to know before you book: how the modern facelift works, why it is safer than it was, what it costs and how recovery goes.
Dr. T. Gerald O'Daniel, MD
Facelift and neck lift surgeon in Louisville, Kentucky. Board certified by the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
- Operations
- Facelift · Neck lift · Submandibular gland reduction
- Practice
- O'Daniel Studios
The facelift, then, now and next
How the operation changed, what top surgeons do today and what is coming.
The modern facelift
A facelift once pulled the skin tight; today it lifts the layer under the skin, treats the neck with the face and closes the skin without tension. No named technique has been shown to last longer than the others, so the surgeon's plan for each face decides most of the result.
Why facelifts are safer now
Facelift surgeons have lowered the old risks of bleeding, skin loss and a pulled look by lifting the deeper tissue, controlling blood pressure and nausea, and asking patients to stop nicotine. The risks that remain are known, and a patient lowers them by choosing an accredited facility, treating high blood pressure and stopping nicotine weeks ahead.
The papers that changed the facelift
Today's facelift grew out of papers by surgeons who dissected faces in the anatomy lab or followed their own patients for years. Their work moved the lift into the deeper tissue, added fat for lost volume, reshaped the neck and made bleeding rarer, and surgeons still debate how far the deep work needs to go.
The future of the facelift
More men, younger patients and people who lost weight on GLP-1 drugs now ask for facelifts. Surgeons are moving toward deeper release, hidden incisions and work under the neck muscle, and research has not yet shown which of these methods works best.
The top 10 facelift surgeons in the US
From the national Top 500, ranked on research, teaching and the work each practice shows.
Dr. Benjamin Talei
Beverly Hills Center for Plastic & Laser Surgery
Dr. Babak Azizzadeh
CENTER for Advanced Facial Plastic Surgery
Dr. James Stuzin
The Institute of Aesthetic Medicine
Dr. Foad Nahai
MetroDerm & Center for Plastic Surgery (Center for Plastic Surgery at MetroDerm)
Dr. T. Gerald O'Daniel
O'Daniel Studios
Dr. Bahman Guyuron
Zeeba Clinic & Medspa
Dr. Steven Cohen
FACES+
Dr. Renato Saltz
Saltz Plastic Surgery & Saltz Spa Vitoria
Dr. Dino Elyassnia
dinomd.com
Dr. Michael Lee
Park Cities Cosmetic Surgery
Procedures
What each operation does, who it suits and how recovery goes.
Facelift
Deep-plane facelift · SMAS facelift techniques · Short-scar facelift and MACS lift
Neck lift
Deep neck lift · Platysma bands and platysmaplasty · Submandibular gland reduction
Midface and cheek
Midface lift and cheek · Buccal fat removal · Fat grafting and volume with facelift
Eyelid surgery
Upper blepharoplasty · Lower blepharoplasty · Tear trough and lid-cheek junction surgery
Brow lift
Endoscopic brow lift · Temporal and lateral brow lift · Hairline brow lift and forehead reduction
Skin resurfacing
CO2 laser resurfacing · Erbium laser resurfacing · Phenol-croton oil peel
Lips, chin and fat
Lip lift · Corner lip lift · Chin implant
Safety and recovery
Facelift complications and outcomes · Signs of a bad facelift · Facelift recovery timeline
Cost, recovery and before-and-after photos
What top-ranked surgeons charge for a facelift and a neck lift, how they describe recovery week by week, and their before-and-after photos, each from the practice's own site.
Facelift surgeons near you
Each marker carries the surgeon's national rank. Every region, city and state has its own ranking and map.
Each marker carries the surgeon's Top 500 rank and sits on the practice's street address where it is known, otherwise at the centre of the practice's city. Markers that would cover each other spread into a ring and move back as you zoom in. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Regions
Cities
States
The research, in plain words
What the studies show about each part of the operation.
Lower blepharoplasty
Lower blepharoplasty treats lower eyelid bags by removing or moving fat through the skin or inside the lid.
Neck lift and platysma
A neck lift tightens the platysma muscle and removes excess fat and skin from the neck and jawline.
Upper blepharoplasty
Upper blepharoplasty removes excess upper eyelid skin, and sometimes muscle and fat, through a crease incision.
Blepharoptosis repair
Ptosis papers raise a drooping upper eyelid by shortening or reattaching the levator or Muller muscle.
Brow and eyelid with facelift
Combined procedure papers cover brow lift, forehead lift and blepharoplasty done with a facelift.
Facelift technique, general
General technique papers describe a surgeon's facelift method, its steps and the results in a patient series.
Canthoplasty and canthopexy
Canthal papers tighten or reset the outer corner of the eye to support the lower lid.
Facial fat grafting, nanofat and microfat
Fat grafting papers move processed fat into the face for volume, lips and skin quality.
Facelifts on the record
Public figures who said in their own words that they had a facelift, eyelid, brow or skin procedure.
Portraits from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licences; photographer and licence on each person's page. Everyone on the record
The papers that changed the facelift
The work surgeons still build on, from the SMAS to the deep plane.
Where surgeons learn new facelift techniques
- Advanced Endoscopic Facial Rejuvenation. 2026 (AASURGERY live surgery course)2026-10-07 · St. Petersburg, Russia
- 1st International Warsaw Aesthetic Meeting: Face, Breast & Body2026-10-08 · Warsaw, Poland
- ASOPRS 57th Annual Fall Scientific Symposium2026-10-08 · New Orleans, USA
- International Hybrid Course with Live Surgery: Modern Blepharoplasty and Periorbital Rejuvenation. 20262026-10-09 · St. Petersburg, Russia
New facelift research
The newest papers, each with a plain summary where one is written.