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Face and Neck Lift in Essen

Free consultation

from €2,150 (≈ $2,400)

The price is fixed in the contract before surgery

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Real case
SMAS facelift: a patient's face before and after surgery before after
A defined jawline and a lifted neck with a SMAS facelift. Your individual surgical plan is discussed at a free consultation

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Facelift in Essen: price and key facts

Facelift for patients from Essen at City Medical Centre starts at €2,150 (from $2,400). The first online consultation is free; the doctor names the final price and it is fixed in the contract.

Price
€2,150 (from $2,400)
Anaesthesia
general (inhalation)
Recovery
about 2 months to full recovery
Final result
3–6 months after surgery
How it works
Send photos on WhatsApp or Telegram, get a free doctor assessment and the price, then confirm the plan and dates before anything is booked.

How it works · Facelift prices

Information current as of 3 November 2026

Free online consultation on WhatsApp and Telegram

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Results

SMAS facelift results
of our patients

Facelift before and after photos of real patients of the clinic.

Facelift before and after — SMAS faceliftbeforeafter

SMAS facelift

50 years9 months

Facelift before and after — SMAS faceliftbeforeafter

SMAS facelift

58 years8 months

Facelift before and after — SMAS faceliftbeforeafter

SMAS facelift

34 years5 months

Facelift before and after — SMAS faceliftbeforeafter

SMAS facelift

32 years7 months

Facelift before and after — SMAS faceliftbeforeafter

SMAS facelift

40 years6 months

Facelift before and after — SMAS faceliftbeforeafter

SMAS facelift

45 years8 months

Facelift before and after — SMAS faceliftbeforeafter

SMAS facelift

38 years5 months

Facelift before and after — SMAS faceliftbeforeafter

SMAS facelift

33 years6 months

1 of 8

Comparison

SMAS facelift options compared

The scope of a SMAS facelift depends on your anatomy and how much correction is needed. Compare two options — the surgeon will help you choose the right one at the consultation.

SMAS facelift (mid and lower face)

Incisions hidden along the hairline and ears

SMAS facelift of the mid and lower face: a diagram before and after

from $2,400

Main goal
Lift the cheeks and remove jowls
When it is done
Jowls, sagging cheeks, nasolabial folds
Scope of correction
Skin and SMAS of the mid and lower face

Lower face and neck lift (SMAS)

Focused on the lower face, chin and neck

Lower face and neck lift: a diagram of the face and neck before and after

from $2,400

Main goal
Remove a double chin and jowls
When it is done
Sagging of the lower face and neck
Scope of correction
Small incisions, barely visible scars

The benefits and recovery times shown are averaged for each technique and given for guidance: the scope of correction and rehabilitation depend on your anatomy and individual features, and the surgeon confirms them at the consultation.

At the consultation the surgeon draws up a plan for your case and explains how your SMAS facelift will go.

Free, before surgery and with no obligation.

Book a consultation

About the clinic

A clinic where you can feel at ease

Modern equipment, comfortable rooms and care for every patient

A patient and a member of staff in a clinic ward

Contact us the way that suits you

We will answer your questions and find a convenient time for a consultation

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Get a free consultation

A facelift is not for everyone

If your case can be solved without surgery, the doctor will tell you so at the consultation — and you will not spend money for nothing.

Suitable

A surgeon shows a patient the layers of the face and neck on an anatomical model at the consultation

A SMAS facelift solves

  • Marked sagging of the face and neck
  • A loss of jawline definition, jowls
  • A double chin and loose neck skin
  • Deep nasolabial folds and marionette lines
  • Brows that droop, giving a heavy look
  • Skin firmness lost significantly after 40

Not suitable

A surgeon goes through tests and contraindications with a patient
  • Patients under the age of 30
  • Acute skin inflammation
  • Pregnancy or the breastfeeding period
  • Severe cardiovascular disease
  • Impaired blood clotting
  • Cancer
  • Decompensated diabetes

Not sure the surgery is right for you?

Message our coordinator — you can send photos, and the surgeon will tell you whether a facelift suits you. No surgery booking needed.

Find out if it suits me
A member of staff talks to a patient in a clinic ward

Prices

You know the price
before surgery

Your final cost is calculated individually once you have been examined

Facelift prices

  • Surgeon consultationFree
  • Endoscopic brow / temple liftfrom $2,400
  • All-inclusive faceliftfrom $2,400
  • Full (circular) facelifton request
Book a consultation

Find out your facelift plan and price

The surgeon assesses your skin and the soft tissues of the face and neck, listens to your wishes and defines the scope of your SMAS facelift.

A nurse talks to a patient in a clinic ward

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Free online consultation · Reply within 15 minutes

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A patient in a surgical cap before a SMAS facelift

all inclusive

What the price includes

From preparation for surgery to a year of follow-up.

  • One-to-one consultation
  • A highly experienced medical team
  • Combined inhalation anaesthesia
  • Comfortable inpatient rooms for your stay
  • Medical staff monitoring you 24/7
  • Meals included during your stay at the clinic
  • Individual support before and after surgery
  • Follow-up with your plastic surgeon for one year post-op, until the result settles

from $2,400

Book a consultation

How it works

From consultation —
to the final result

An agreed surgical plan, inpatient monitoring and follow-up by your surgeon for a year.

A surgeon shows a patient the face and neck lift plan on a monitor1

Consultation
and surgical plan

The surgeon examines you, assesses the degree of sagging and the areas to correct, and explains the surgery and recovery. The first consultation is free and can start online.

Paying the deposit by card at the clinic reception2

Booking the date
of surgery

We book a date that suits you. The scope of surgery and the final price are fixed in the contract — no hidden extras.

A blood sample for tests before surgery3

Check-up before
surgery

You complete the check-up prescribed by the surgeon and see the anaesthetist. The specialists assess your health and readiness for surgery.

The surgical team during the operation4

The operation

Under general (inhalation) anaesthesia the surgeon lifts and secures the SMAS layer, redrapes the skin and removes the excess. Incisions are hidden along the hairline and around the ears.

A hospital ward at the clinic5

Inpatient stay

After surgery you stay in a comfortable inpatient room with meals, under 24/7 monitoring by medical staff.

A patient and a member of staff in the ward during recovery6

Recovery

For the first 7–10 days — rest, a compression bandage and reduced physical activity. Your operating surgeon follows you up for the whole first year.

Book a free consultation — the surgeon will plan every step with you.

A surgeon on a video call with a patient, with SMAS facelift diagrams on screen
Book a consultation
A surgeon on a video call with a patient, with SMAS facelift diagrams on screen

Recovery after a SMAS facelift

For the first 7–10 days you need rest, a compression bandage and reduced physical activity. For the first few days you may feel discomfort and tightness, which are relieved with medication prescribed by your doctor.

Swelling and bruising fade in 2–4 weeks, and full recovery takes about 2 months. The first clear changes appear once the swelling goes down, after 3–4 weeks; the face takes on its final look within 3–6 months. Your operating surgeon follows you up for the whole first year.

A surgeon visits a patient in the ward after a facelift

Advantages

Why patients come to City Medical Centre

A surgeon discusses the final SMAS facelift plan with a patient

Doctors with over 10 years of experience

Certified plastic surgeons only, all with real surgical practice. We work honestly — no surgery where it isn't needed, and nothing extra prescribed.

A surgeon talks calmly with a patient in the clinic lounge

A free first consultation

The surgeon examines you, assesses the degree of sagging and the areas to correct, and explains the surgery and recovery. No pushing, no pressure.

The surgical team at work in the clinic operating room

Operating room, fully licensed

We have our own inpatient unit with an accredited operating suite, and work under our licence and national healthcare standards.

A tablet reading “No hidden fees” in the surgeon’s hands at the consultation

Fixed price in the contract

The price is fixed in the contract before surgery, with no hidden extras.

A patient writes down a convenient visit time in her planner

We put your schedule first

We fit around your busy schedule: open 24/7, flexible booking and a personal approach — we adapt to you

FAQ

We answer what
people ask before booking

What is a SMAS facelift and who is it for?

City Medical Centre performs surgical facelifts only. The surgeon tailors the scope of surgery at the consultation, after assessing the changes and explaining every stage. The skin, subcutaneous fat and the SMAS layer (muscles and ligaments) are corrected layer by layer, so the face looks natural, without an “overdone” effect, and the result is long-term — while natural skin ageing continues.

From 40–50, skin slowly loses its firmness — tissues noticeably sag, jowls appear, the jawline loses definition and the cheeks drop. A surgical SMAS facelift goes deeper than cosmetology: it repositions the muscle and fascia layer, addressing the cause of sagging, not its effects, and so the result lasts even when changes are significant.

A surgeon talks with a patient about a SMAS facelift at the consultation

How our SMAS facelift is performed

  • Surgical lift only

    City Medical Centre performs surgical facelifts only: work on the SMAS layer treats the cause of sagging rather than its effects

  • Three levels of correction

    Skin, subcutaneous fat and the muscle and fascia layer are corrected layer by layer — a natural look with no “mask” effect

  • Hidden incisions

    Incisions are hidden along the hairline and around the ears, so once healed the scars are barely visible

Other services of our clinic

Facelift in Essen: price and what is included

Prices are shown in EUR, converted at the rate of 02.10.2026; the amount in brackets is the base price in US dollars. The final price is fixed in your contract.

How much does a facelift in Essen cost?

Prices start from €2,150 (≈ $2,400). The surgeon sets the final price at the free consultation, and it is fixed in the contract, with no hidden extras.

What is included in the price?

A one-to-one consultation, the medical team, anaesthesia, inpatient care with meals, 24/7 monitoring and twelve months of follow-up by the surgeon.

How do I get my exact price?

Message us on WhatsApp or Telegram using the buttons below. A coordinator will answer your questions and book a free consultation where the doctor names the exact price.

Message us on Telegram

By messaging us, you agree to our Privacy Policy

Facelift in Essen: types, stages and price

What is the difference between a standard and a SMAS facelift? A skin-only lift affects just the top layer and gives a short-lived effect. A SMAS facelift is deeper surgery: the surgeon lifts and secures the facial muscle and fascia layer, addressing weakened ligaments and descended muscles. For anyone researching a facelift in Essen, that depth is what makes the outcome natural and long-lasting.

Discomfort and tightness in the first few days are normal and are relieved with medication prescribed by the doctor. Your operating surgeon then follows you up for the whole first year, until the final result. For those in Essen, this means the same surgeon who performed the operation monitors how the face settles, answers questions along the way and assesses the outcome at the end.

Start with a free, no-pressure consultation: you get an assessment of your ageing type, an explanation of the expected result and answers on recovery. If you decide to proceed, a facelift costs from €2,150 (≈ $2,400), with anaesthesia, the inpatient stay, meals and a year of follow-up included. People in Essen can send a request online or message a coordinator.

Between the Emscher and the Ruhr: Essen and its medical density

Essen stretches between two rivers — the Emscher in the north and the Ruhr in the south — and with 573,618 residents within the city boundary on 31 December 2025 (IT.NRW) it is the fourth-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia. Once a mining and steel town, it is now often called Germany's energy capital, because two of the country's largest energy providers have their headquarters here.

Less well known is how strongly the city is shaped by medicine. Essen counts more than 1,350 doctors in private practice and almost 6,000 hospital beds across 13 hospitals, including a university hospital, and since 2003 it has shared the University of Duisburg-Essen with its neighbour. For someone considering a facelift, that density simply means a GP, a dermatologist or an ophthalmologist is rarely far away for the routine questions that come up in the months after surgery.

A facelift is usually recommended from about age 40 when sagging is marked, occasionally from 35, and the decision is always made after an examination. It is worth arriving at that appointment with a clear picture of what bothers you most — jowls, a heavy neck, deep folds — rather than a general wish to look younger.

Grey skies, damp air and the first month after surgery

Essen's weather is softer and wetter than its industrial reputation suggests. At the Bredeney station in the south of the city, the 1991–2020 normals show a January average near 2.9°C, a July average near 18.7°C and about 925 millimetres of precipitation spread over roughly 193 days a year. December brings only about 45 hours of sunshine.

For healing skin, that cloud cover is a quiet help. During the first 7–10 days you rest with a compression bandage and keep activity low, and in a typical Essen autumn or winter the scars along the hairline and around the ears meet very little strong light. In June and July, when sunshine rises to around 200 hours a month, a hat and the protection your surgeon recommends become part of the daily routine.

Damp outdoor air does not mean moist indoor air. Heating dries rooms in the colder half of the year, and many people notice tight, itchy skin near the incisions. A simple moisturiser, used only once the surgeon has cleared it, and plenty to drink usually solve this. Swelling and bruising fade in 2–4 weeks whatever the weather, and full recovery takes about two months.

What results to expect, and when

The first clear changes appear after 3–4 weeks, once most of the swelling has gone, and the face takes on its final look within 3–6 months. That gap is worth knowing before any family celebration or photographed event: a date four weeks after surgery is early, a date three months later is much safer.

Technique determines how long the effect lasts. A classic SMAS lift works on both the skin and the deeper muscle-and-fascia layer of the mid and lower face, with incisions hidden along the hairline and around the ears; with that approach the result is long-term. A single operation is enough for the complete result, and a repeat procedure is a choice that may come up after that period, not a planned second step.

Checking the surgeon, and where to turn if something goes wrong

Essen belongs to the North Rhine region, so its doctors are members of the Ärztekammer Nordrhein, the statutory chamber that awards specialist titles under its further-training rules. For a facelift the title to look for is Facharzt für Plastische und Ästhetische Chirurgie; ask to see the certificate, and use the DGÄPC's member list by city as an independent cross-check.

Bring a short list of questions to the consultation. Which areas will be treated — mid and lower face only, or forehead, temples and neck as well? Will the deeper layer be repositioned or only the skin tightened? Where will each incision lie, and how will it look once healed? Who will see you in the weeks after surgery, and how are check-ups arranged across the twelve months in which the operating surgeon follows you up? Clear, specific answers are a better sign than reassurance.

German law sets out what you are owed during treatment. § 630c of the Civil Code requires the doctor to explain the diagnosis, the expected course and the measures to take during and after treatment in understandable terms, and if circumstances suggest a treatment error, to tell you about it when you ask or when it is needed to avert a health risk. § 630g lets you inspect your complete record and obtain copies.

Should a dispute about a treatment in the region ever arise, the Ärztekammer Nordrhein has had an independent expert commission for medical treatment errors since 1975, the Gutachterkommission für ärztliche Behandlungsfehler, whose current procedural rules came into force on 1 December 2020. It exists to assess such complaints outside court.

Insurance and pay: what the law does and does not say

A facelift for appearance is not treatment of an illness under § 27 SGB V and is never paid by statutory health insurance. If complications later need treatment, § 52(2) SGB V obliges the insurer to make you contribute appropriately to the cost and to refuse or reclaim sickness benefit, in full or in part, for that time.

There is also no clear right to continued wages. § 3 of the Continued Remuneration Act applies to incapacity through illness that is not the employee's fault, and the law does not say that an elective cosmetic procedure qualifies. Employees in Essen usually take the first 7–10 days of rest as holiday or agree the absence with their employer; if a doctor signs you off for more than three calendar days, a certificate is needed.

Is Essen's cloudy winter a good time for a facelift?

It can be convenient: with little strong sunlight from October to February, the scars along the hairline and ears are easy to protect. Medically, any season works if you shield the scars from sun.

How soon will I see the result?

The first clear changes show after 3–4 weeks as swelling subsides; the final look settles within 3–6 months, and the result of a SMAS lift is long-term.

At what age does a facelift make sense?

Usually from about 40 when tissue sagging is marked, occasionally from 35. The recommendation is individual and follows an examination.

Who looks after me once the operation is over?

The operating surgeon follows you up for the whole first year. Ask at the consultation how those check-ups are scheduled and whom to contact if something worries you in between.

How do I check a surgeon's specialist title?

Ask for the certificate for Facharzt für Plastische und Ästhetische Chirurgie, awarded by a physicians' chamber such as the Ärztekammer Nordrhein, and cross-check the DGÄPC member list by city.

What if I suspect a treatment error?

Under § 630c of the Civil Code a doctor must tell you about circumstances suggesting an error when you ask. In the North Rhine region, the chamber's independent Gutachterkommission assesses such complaints.

Will my employer pay me during the recovery?

Not automatically. § 3 of the Continued Remuneration Act covers illness without fault, and an elective cosmetic operation is not clearly included, so plan holiday or agree the time off.

Can I send photos from Essen for a first opinion?

Yes. Coordinators answer 24/7 on Telegram and WhatsApp and can give an initial view on the type of lift before any consultation is fixed.

Sources and further reading

  1. NHS — Facelift
  2. American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Facelift
  3. MedlinePlus — Face lift
  4. PubMed / NCBI — Systematic Review and Comparative Analysis of Reconstructive Rhytidectomy (Cureus, 2024)
  5. PubMed / NCBI — Rhytidectomy: current concepts, controversies and the state of the art (2012)

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