September 06, 2026 | Uncategorized
The most common question in my consultation room is not about scars, or recovery, or how long it holds. It is what this costs.
So here are the numbers, and here is what sits inside them.
The Range, Then the Tiers
A facelift at my practice runs from $15,000 to $75,000, depending on the combination it takes to get the result you want. Here is where each facelift surgery tier starts.
| Procedure | Starting Fee |
|---|---|
| Mid facelift (mini or S-lift) | $15,000 |
| Lower facelift (lower face and neck) | $19,500 |
| Full facelift | $25,750 |
| Endoscopic facelift (the ponytail lift) | $30,000 |
| Neck lift alone | $15,000 |
“Those prices are minimums, and they include anesthesia, the surgical facility, medical tests, garments, and recovery products. Because pricing does change, please confirm current pricing at agulloplasticsurgery.com/fees, which is the page we keep updated.
A final quote is only given after a consultation, and it will include everything.”
What Is Inside That Number
“The fee covers the surgeon’s fee, the anesthesia, the accredited surgical facility, your medical tests, your garments, and your recovery products. Prescription medications from the pharmacy are the one thing you pay separately.”
One line of exclusions. I spell it out because a quote from another practice may be a surgeon’s fee, with facility and anesthesia arriving later on a separate invoice.
What Moves the Number Up
“With most facelift procedures we also do fat grafting. We usually recommend Morpheus8 with Iriescence PDGF, or the Sciton MicroLaserPeel with Profractional, depending on your skin type. We can also use exosomes or nanofat. We recommend ELIXIR MD, which is LED light therapy, for almost double the speed of recovery. And a lot of patients will require an upper blepharoplasty, a lower blepharoplasty, a lip lift, or an earlobe reduction. Those all do increase the cost.”
Why Combining Costs Less Than Staging
“Combining does change the total, but usually in your favor compared to doing things separately. The first hour of operating room and anesthesia time is the most expensive, because of the equipment and the setup, and you only incur that once instead of two or three times. The same goes for medications, moisturizer, scar cream, and lymphatic massages, you only pay for those once.
That said, each additional procedure adds surgical time, and pricing reflects the time and the complexity of the combination. Adding eyelids, a lip lift, an earlobe reduction, fat grafting, or a skin resurfacing treatment will increase the total.”
More efficient than staging. Not free.
What the Technique Names Mean for Your Bill
The deep plane facelift and the deep plane neck lift are not separate line items. They map onto the tiers above.
The fully endoscopic version, the ponytail lift, is the exception and carries its own line. It takes a little bit longer, and it always requires fat grafting, so the graft is bundled rather than optional. Operative time and a second procedure, not a trend premium.
Which technique you get is decided by anatomy:
“The differentiator is how much excess skin there is. If there’s substantial excess skin, then we do a deep plane open facelift with an incision in front of the ear. If there’s not a lot of excess skin, we can get away with doing everything through the incisions behind the hairline. Nevertheless, a full facelift is always going to have the endoscopic portion of the forehead and brows.”
What You Are Really Paying For
“Cost varies with the doctor’s experience. Surgeons in high demand consistently deliver good results in a safe environment with top-quality products, and that increases cost. I allow sufficient operating room time to work in a paced fashion, for safety. Low-cost surgeries get compressed to cut anesthesia and operating room fees.
Our patients get direct nurse access 24 hours a day, and all surgeries are done in an accredited surgical center.”
Pace is not a luxury item. Compressed surgery is how a low quote becomes possible.
On a Bargain Quote
“I always feel like when things are too good to be true, they usually are. If a price seems far below what everyone else is charging, you have to ask what’s being cut, the surgeon’s experience, the accreditation of the facility, the type of anesthesia, or the follow-up care.”
It is always one of those four.
Where the Field Is Heading
“I think the deep plane lift and the endoscopic deep plane lift are great procedures, which create very natural and long-lasting results, and we’re seeing patients completely avoid the noninvasive procedures and go straight to the surgical procedures early on.”
Paying for It
“Patients can finance through PatientFi, AlphaEon, Cherry, or CareCredit. We also offer direct financing through the practice, where you make payments directly to us ahead of your surgery. That lets you schedule the procedure out for the time you need, and make the payments periodically at your convenience.
Beyond that, patients can pay by credit card or cash, or arrange financing through their own bank or another institution.”
Why Choose Dr. Agullo
Double board-certified. Mayo Clinic plastic surgery fellowship. Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Castle Connolly Top Doctor thirteen consecutive years. Endoscopic deep plane training at the Ponytail Academy in Pittsburgh, then the advanced course in Santa Monica.
Ready to Talk?
Come in with a budget and a question, and leave with a real number that includes everything. Call (915) 590-7900, text 1-866-814-0038, or book a consultation. #StayBeautiful
@RealDrWorldWide on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, @Agullo on X, or @AgulloPlasticSurgery on Facebook.
