All medical treatments no matter how big or small involve risk. While rare when performed by a board-certified surgeon, the risks of a facelift surgery include prolonged swelling, bleeding, infection, facial nerve injury, fluid accumulation or hematoma, temporary numbness, unfavorable scarring, asymmetry, recurrent laxity of the skin and tissues, poor wound healing with skin loss, suture dehiscence, hair loss, and need for further treatment.