I am a 71-year-old female and I had a facelift about 15 years ago. Once again I have noticed my skin has begun to sag and many wrinkles are returning to my face. Is it advisable to have another facelift? What are the complications associated with a second lift?

You might benefit from another facelift. A second facelift has the same risks as your first facelift; however, there are some other potential risks. For example, I have performed second facelifts on patients who had wide scars as a result of the first facelift that was performed by a different surgeon. For these patients, I inform them that I will attempt to remove the wide scar at the time of the second facelift. Also, another issue is the facial nerve. There is a slight higher risk of injury to the facial nerve during a second facelift. That said, a second facelift can be performed safely and provide a very nice, natural result. One other issue to mention is skin elasticity. Sometimes, patients benefit from a non-invasive laser skin tightening procedure rather than a second facelift to address skin elasticity issues. I have been using the SkinTyte by Sciton with nice results. This procedure is performed approximately once a month for 4 months and may require a maintenance procedure every 3 months. This technique is an excellent option to address skin elasticity issues without surgery and/or downtime in the appropriate patient.