In short. The questions worth asking differ by option, and a clinic offering a fixed answer before examining the face has told you something.

Key points

  • A treatment recommended before your face has been examined is a treatment recommended from a menu.
  • It does not matter whether the recommendation is an operation or a course: if the plan does not change when the findings change, the findings were never part of it.
  • Ask what would make this the wrong option for you, and listen to whether the answer is specific.

The questions worth asking are different for the two options on this site, and a patient who asks the wrong set gets reassuring answers that tell her nothing. One signal applies to both, and it is the most useful thing on this page: a clinic that offers a fixed answer before examining the face has already told you how the decision is being made.

Questions for a non-surgical plan

How many sessions does the course involve, and what is the maintenance interval afterwards? What happens if I stop after the first few? What are the pigment risks for my skin type, and what settings would be used because of it? Who reviews the plan between sessions, and what would make you stop treating me? A clinic that cannot answer the maintenance question is selling a course rather than planning one.

The signal that applies to both

A treatment recommended before your face has been examined is a treatment recommended from a menu. It does not matter whether the recommendation is an operation or a course: if the plan does not change when the findings change, the findings were never part of it. Ask what would make this the wrong option for you, and listen to whether the answer is specific.

Questions for an operation

Which finding does it address, and what will it leave exactly as it is? Where would the incisions sit, and what will the scars look like in a year? Who performs the operation, and where? What happens if a collection of blood forms or a wound does not heal — is there a hospital behind this, with anaesthesia and intensive care in the same building? What would a revision involve, and who would do it? A plan that cannot describe its own failure modes is not a plan.

Questions about the money

What does the quoted total cover, and what arrives as a separate bill? If a revision is needed, is it included, and if not, on what terms? Is there a deposit, and when is it returned? And what does the maintenance that follows a course cost, given that the course is not the whole commitment. A price available only today is a sales technique rather than a quotation.

What you are entitled to

A written plan you can take away and read. Time to decide. An honest statement of what the treatment will not do, in the same conversation as what it will. And a clear answer on what happens if you are unhappy with the result, including who to contact.

Reasons to walk away

  • A recommendation made before your face has been examined with the tissue supported and the jawline observed.
  • Pressure to decide today, or a price that expires before you have had time to think.
  • An answer to the question of what could go wrong that consists only of the word rare.

None of these questions requires any medical knowledge, and all of them are answerable by a clinic that is assessing rather than selling. The quality and safety pages describe how a hospital-based service is organised, and booking an appointment explains what an assessment at this hospital involves.

Related reading

Frequently asked questions

What is the strongest signal that a clinic is not assessing me?

A recommendation made before your face has been examined. If a course or an operation is proposed in the first minutes, before anyone has looked at how the jawline behaves when the cheek is supported or asked about your skin type and healing, then the plan was not derived from your face. That is true whichever of the two options is being offered.

Should I be wary of a clinic that offers both options?

No. A centre that offers both is more likely to be able to tell you which is appropriate, because it has no reason to steer you towards the only thing it sells. What matters is not how many options are available but whether the recommendation changes when the findings change, and whether the clinician can describe a case in which they would advise against the plan they are proposing.

What should I ask about the person who will do the treatment?

Who will perform it, what their training and current practice are, and what happens if a complication occurs. For an operation, ask also where it would be performed and what support exists in that building if something goes wrong. For a course of treatment, ask who reviews the plan between sessions and what would make them stop. In both cases the answer should be specific rather than a description of the clinic.

Risks & Limitations

  • Non-surgical tightening works on the skin and reaches nothing beneath it. It does not reposition tissue, remove skin or add volume, and it is presented here as neither better nor worse than an operation.
  • The change from non-surgical treatment is gradual and temporary. It settles and then recedes over months, so a course is followed by maintenance rather than by a finished result, and a patient who stops will usually see the change diminish.
  • Pigment change is the most frequent risk of non-surgical treatment, and darker skin tones carry materially more of it. Burns, blistering and, less commonly, loss of fat beneath the treated skin can also occur.
  • Starting non-surgically is not a free trial. It costs months and money, and it changes the tissue a surgeon later works with, which can make the plane under the skin less predictable.
  • A facelift leaves permanent scars in front of and behind the ear and into the hairline. They mature over a year or more and do not disappear.
  • A collection of blood under the skin can form after a facelift and may need to be drained, occasionally in theatre.
  • Sensation can change after a facelift and may not recover fully. Injury to the nerves that move the face is uncommon and often temporary, but it can be permanent.
  • A facelift does not improve the quality of the skin, and neither option stops the face ageing. Revision is a further operation on tissue that has already been operated on and carries added risk. No result is guaranteed.

When to Seek Care

  • A collection of blood under the skin: rapidly increasing swelling, a tense and painful area, or a face that feels tight and hard.
  • A wound that opens, discharges, or becomes increasingly red and warm, particularly with a fever.
  • Weakness, numbness or asymmetry in the face, or difficulty closing an eye or smiling on one side.
  • Skin that blisters, weeps or changes colour after non-surgical treatment, or a burn that is not healing.
  • A firm lump, a hollow or an irregular contour appearing in the weeks after non-surgical treatment.
  • Difficulty breathing, chest pain, or a swollen painful leg — seek emergency care immediately.

References & Further Reading

  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) — facial surgery and skin treatment guidance
  • International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) — global standards of practice
  • National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, UK) — relevant guidance
  • Cochrane Library — systematic reviews in facial surgery and energy-based skin treatment

Medically reviewed by Tongchun Mao, MD (毛彤春), Deputy Director & Head of Aesthetic Surgery. Last reviewed: 19 September 2026.

This page is patient education, not medical advice, and it does not cite individual studies. Discuss your own case with a qualified clinician. To arrange an assessment at Chongqing West District Hospital, see Contact & Consultation.