Facelift surgery with Dr. Henry Sandel
Facelift
Your friends will likely notice that you look younger and more vibrant, but they probably won’t guess that you’ve had plastic surgery.
At a glance
Surgeon
Dr. Henry Sandel
Procedure time
Typically 2 hours
Anesthesia
Light anesthesia
Setting
West Annapolis Surgery Center
Sutures out
Day 7
Full activity
At two weeks
Results last
7–10 years, typically
Facelift in Annapolis with Dr. Sandel
Facelift techniques have advanced dramatically in recent years. While this procedure formerly made only superficial alterations, today’s techniques allow surgeons to make deeper, longer-lasting changes. Dr. Sandel lifts the supporting layer of the skin to contour the lower face and neck together, removes the excess skin hanging in the upper and mid-neck, and lifts the jowls to sharpen your jawline, producing a more natural-looking result.
Skin-tightening creams, chemical peels, injectable fillers, and Botox can counter the early effects of facial aging, but a facelift is a more effective and longer-lasting solution when your skin becomes too loose for these remedies.
A facelift can reverse
Sagging skin on the face and neck
Jowls and loose, hanging skin under the chin
Deep creases and wrinkles beside the mouth, nose and jawline
Vertical neck bands
Fullness in the skin and excess fat in the lower face and neck
Loss of facial muscle tone
Facelift options
Dr. Sandel will tailor your facelift procedure to your anatomy and rejuvenation needs. You can choose from several options:
Every surgical plan is individual, and candidacy is determined in consultation. Results vary from patient to patient.
Facelift with chin implant, pre-jowl implant, and upper eyelid surgery — an actual patient of Dr. Sandel.
A second facelift case.
“Facelift procedures have changed a lot over the past 20 years. We are now focusing on specific parts of the face, most commonly the lower face and neck, with procedures that are less invasive and require less downtime.”
Henry D. Sandel IV, MD, FACS
Often combined with
The process
From consultation to final result.
01
Consultation
An assessment of your facial anatomy, a discussion of your goals, an outline of the facelift procedures available, and a review of recovery and aftercare.
02
Your plan
Dr. Sandel tailors the procedure to your anatomy and rejuvenation needs, and our staff provides a detailed cost breakdown.
03
Surgery
Performed at our West Annapolis Surgery Center under light anesthesia, with local numbing medication so you feel nothing during surgery.
04
Recovery
Detailed post-operative instructions and scheduled follow-up appointments to monitor your healing progress.
Incisions and placement
Where the incisions are placed.
Facelift incisions are made so that they can be hidden as completely as possible. Dr. Sandel places none of them in front of the ear or in front of the hairline.
Around the ear
The incision hugs the earlobe in a natural skin crease, extends inside the front of the ear, and curves around into the hairline. In men it is left in front of the ear to avoid facial hair growth on the ear.
Behind the ear
Placed just above the ear crease to prevent scar bands, then gently extended into the hairline high enough not to be noticeable. Patients can style their hair any way they like afterward.
Beneath the chin
A small incision in the lower chin crease treats the neck, and is virtually invisible once healed. It is also where neck liposuction is performed if needed.
How they heal
Incision lines are difficult to see within a few days of surgery, even with the sutures still in place. They continue to fade over the first several months. An actual patient of Dr. Sandel.
The technique
Lifting the muscle layer to support the skin.
Dr. Sandel uses a modified deep plane rhytidectomy technique, combined with a corset platysmaplasty. Together they give a long lasting lift without an unnatural or pulled appearance.
Step one
Modified deep plane
The muscle layer beneath the skin is released and repositioned, so the lift is supported from below. The skin is simply re-draped over it in a very natural way, without pulling on the corners of the mouth.
Step two
Corset platysmaplasty
The treatment of the neck and the angle beneath the chin and jawline. This is the key to defining the chin-neck angle, removing the bands of skin, and supporting the facelift. Only a very small incision beneath the chin is required.
The sequence
What the operation involves, in plain terms.
The release is complete across the layers that are actually falling. It stops where further dissection stops rewarding the patient.
01
The neck, first
Through a small incision hidden in the crease beneath the chin, Dr. Sandel removes the excess fat with careful liposuction, deliberately sparing the jowls so the jawline stays smooth, then brings the front edges of the platysma muscle together in the midline. This is what defines the neck from the front and sharpens the angle beneath the chin.
02
Then the face
The incisions are hidden in the natural lines around the ear. The skin is lifted, then the SMAS layer is fully elevated across the cheek, the jawline and the upper neck, and that release is carried up over the cheekbone in the deep plane, freeing the attachments that hold the midface down. The lifted layer is anchored to two sturdy fixed points, the firm tissue in front of the ear and the bone behind it, so the lift is held by the deep layer and not by tension on the skin. A small drain stays in overnight to keep bruising down.
03
Where the dissection stops
What Dr. Sandel deliberately does not do is carry the dissection beneath the midface periosteum, or take the skin out to the corner of the mouth. In his experience those steps add days of swelling and nerve exposure without a result patients can see. This is not a lighter operation. It is a complete one that stops where the anatomy stops rewarding you for going further.
Recovery
What the first two weeks actually look like.
Recovery in Dr. Sandel's practice follows a predictable arc. Restraint in the operating room is what makes it short.
Recovery varies by individual. Dr. Sandel will give you a realistic timeline for your own case at your consultation.
The morning after
The face wrap and the drain come off, and an ice wrap takes their place for a day or two. After that no dressings are needed, apart from one at night as a reminder while you sleep.
Pain
Minimal. Tylenol is what most patients need.
The first week
You will feel tight and swollen, and for most patients that is all it is. The job that week is to rest and keep your heart rate and blood pressure down, even if you feel fine, because that is what keeps swelling and bruising down.
Day 7
Sutures come out. Flying is fine from about this point.
Around day 10
Most patients are presentable in public.
Two weeks
Full activity, coming back gradually rather than all at once.
Questions patients ask.
If the skin on your neck and jawline is so loose that creams, injections, and other nonsurgical treatments don’t make much of a difference, a facelift is probably the only way to restore a more youthful look. If you feel self-conscious about sagging skin on your face and neck, think the face you see in the mirror is older than you feel, or worry that your aging looks are holding you back at work, schedule a consultation with us to find out how a facelift can help.
Yes. A facelift rejuvenates the middle and lower parts of the face, below the eyes. It can be combined with a brow and forehead lift to smooth and tighten facial skin above the eyes and to raise drooping eyebrows, or with eyelid surgery to correct overhanging upper eyelids. Because a facelift does not correct problems with the texture and tone of the skin, you might consider following it with laser skin resurfacing, or treatments for volume loss in the cheeks such as fat grafting or dermal fillers.
Like all plastic surgery procedures, a facelift does leave scars, but they are carefully placed to be virtually invisible once they have fully healed. Depending on your procedure, they may be hidden under the chin, in the natural creases of your ears, or behind your hairline. Scars are more noticeable in the first months after surgery, before they fade to match your skin color.
The face wrap and the drain come off the morning after surgery, and an ice wrap takes their place for a day or two. Pain is usually minimal — Tylenol is what most patients need. You will feel tight and swollen through the first week, and the job that week is to rest and keep your heart rate and blood pressure down, because that is what keeps swelling and bruising down. Sutures come out at day 7, flying is fine from about a week, most patients are presentable in public around day 10, and full activity resumes at two weeks. Dr. Sandel provides detailed post-operative care instructions, and follow-up appointments are arranged to monitor your healing. Recovery varies by individual.
It is the operation Dr. Sandel performs every week: a modified deep plane rhytidectomy combined with a corset platysmaplasty. The SMAS layer is fully elevated across the cheek, the jawline and the upper neck, and that release is carried up over the cheekbone in the deep plane to free the attachments that hold the midface down. The lifted layer is anchored to two fixed points, the firm tissue in front of the ear and the bone behind it, so the lift is held by the deep layer rather than by tension on the skin. What it does not include is dissection beneath the midface periosteum or undermining out to the corner of the mouth — steps that in Dr. Sandel’s experience add swelling and nerve exposure without a result patients can see. It is not a lighter operation. It is a complete one that stops where the anatomy stops rewarding you for going further.
Flying is fine from about a week after surgery. Full activity resumes at two weeks, coming back gradually rather than all at once. Sutures come out at day 7, and most patients are presentable in public around day 10. Recovery varies by individual, and Dr. Sandel will give you a realistic timeline for your own case at your consultation.
While individual results may vary based on factors such as age, genetics, and lifestyle, most patients can expect their facelift results to last between 7 to 10 years. A healthy lifestyle, including proper skincare, a balanced diet, and avoiding smoking, can help prolong the effects of your facelift.
The fee Dr. Sandel quotes is the surgeon’s fee, and it runs from about $8,000 for a mini lift to about $13,000 for the full modified deep plane facelift with corset platysmaplasty. Facility and anesthesia fees are separate, and every patient receives a written itemized quote at consultation. Financing is available. Why is the fee what it is? Facelifts are the core of this practice, and Dr. Sandel performs them weekly. A mini lift typically takes about an hour and a half, and the full modified deep plane about two and a half hours. Shorter operative time means less time under anesthesia, which means lower facility and anesthesia costs. Specialization doesn’t just show up in the result. It shows up in the bill. Fees current as of 31 August 2026.
Talk it through with Dr. Sandel.
A consultation includes a full facial assessment, a review of surgical and non-surgical options, and an honest answer about what a facelift would and would not change.
Dr. Sandel on this
Do you need a deep plane facelift?
The deep plane facelift is a real and valuable operation, but the modified deep plane is the more modern version Dr. Sandel performs. The label is being used to sell extent, and extent is not the same as quality.
83-second commentary · Last reviewed 30 August 2026