What Should I Expect Recovering from Facelift Surgery?

Following your surgery you will be sent home with a dressing to be worn overnight as well as drains that need to be tended to. Your surgeon will instruct you on how to care for drains. The night following surgery it is important for you to have someone with you.  You should plan on remaining within thirty miles from the location of your surgery for this first night.  It is also important for you to keep your head elevated in the evening after surgery as well as for the first two weeks following surgery. This can be done by either sleeping in a recliner tilted at 45 degrees or sleeping with two pillows underneath the head. Sleeping on your back for the first two weeks after surgery helps to ensure this.

First Few Days After Facelift Surgery

In the first few days after surgery, expect there to be swelling and some mild pain, it is your body’s healing response to the procedure.  You should gradually get less and less pain and swelling as the incisions heal.  Sudden onset of pain or swelling afterward could indicate an infection.

Daily Care for Your Face Lift

  • Your surgeon may want you to clean suture lines with hydrogen peroxide daily using cotton swabs.
  • You may shower the second day following surgery and every day afterward.  Use gentle shampoos. 
  • Be sure to report any redness, bleeding that persists after ten minutes of direct pressure.  Also let your doctor know about any infections that are unresponsive to antibiotic ointment.
  • The plastic surgeon will usually want to remove sutures or staples one week after surgery.

Please talk to your board certified, licensed plastic surgeon regarding particular post-operative care that would be most appropriate to your facelift procedure.

 

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