Facelift: Info, Prices, Photos, Reviews, Q&A

The amount of swelling that you get after surgery depends on how much disruption of lymphatic channels have occurred. In operations where a “flap” of skin is elevated (such as a face lift, rhinoplasty, or abdominoplasty), the flap will remain swollen for some length of time after surgery.

Some operations actually created multiple flap layers (SMAS flap face lift), and each layer will have swelling issues. While the swelling may last over a year, for most regions of the body this will not be clinically relevant.

For instance, most people do not notice 1mm of swelling on their abdomen 3 months after a tummy tuck, and the same holds true for the face. 1mm of swelling on the nose might be very noticeable (especially if the desired changes were on the order of 2-3mm), and swelling will be clinically relevant for a year or even two.

For most face lift techniques, 6m to 12m are sufficient to see resolution of swelling. (Michael A. Bogdan, MD, FACS, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling after a facelift is different for every patient; it’s a bell shaped curve but typically, it lasts up to 6 months. Don’t be suprosed for 100% of the swelling to last up to one year. (Mitchell F. Grasseschi, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)

Facelift swelling usually subsides within 3 months

In my extensive experience, the far majority of any visible swelling from a facelift resolves within 3-4 months. If you still feel you have fullness in areas of your face after that time period, I would discuss this with your surgeon. (Andrew Campbell, MD, Milwaukee Facial Plastic Surgeon)

How long does swelling persist after facelift surgery

Generally most, if not all, of your swelling should be go down by 3 months. If you have some focal swelling in your cheeks – this is normal. It will likely go away with some more time. (C. Bob Basu, MD, FACS, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling after Facelift

At 3 months, you are almost there! I would say 95% of the swelling is gone. The rest will respond to conservative measures and time. Gentle massage can help soften the swollen areas and by 6 months postop, this should be resolved. Its time to enjoy your new facial contours! (Paul S. Gill, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

How long does swelling and numbness last after a facelift?

It is normal to have some residual swelling and sensory changes at this time. Swelling is mostly resolved by about 3mo, but some can still be seen even 6mo or 12mo after surgery (i.e. some subtle changes may manifest at this time after all swelling goes down). Numbness is common, but return is highly variable, a few weeks is expected but changes/improvement can be seen for as long as a year. (Bryan Correa, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling and Numbness after Facelift.

Everyone heals at a different rate. Also, did you have any bleeding under the flap, or any other issues? It takes weeks to months to finally see the swelling go away.

This goes for the nerves as well. Nerves do not like to be pushed or otherwise messed with. They may take their time coming back. (Jeffrey J. Roth, MD, FACS, Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling and numbness are two different things

Swelling is different with different techniques. Deep plane swelling is far worse and lasts much longer than a SMAS procedure. Numbness is a result of separating the skin from its nerves. The nerves regrow in 3-6 months after surgery. (Robert M. Freund, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Duration of swelling and numbness after facelift

Visual is bruising and swelling after a facelift has subsided in approximately 10 days. Minor swelling and numbness typically lasts three to four months after a facelift procedure. The majority of numbness and swelling is gone down in about four to six weeks, but it can take upwards of several months for all of it to completely subside and go away. (William Portuese, MD, Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling & downtime after a facelift

Swelling following a facelift depends on the extent of the procedure & the ancillary procedures done in combination to achieve facial rejuvenation. Considering the fact that you have had the facelift, eyes & neck done, you could expect “visible” swelling to subside by 3-4 weeks.

The swelling over the lower face takes a little longer, about 3-4 months to subside. (Sameer Karkhanis, MS, DNB, India Plastic Surgeon)

Puffy cheeks 3 months after Facelift may be loose skin

Most swelling after Facelift surgery is gone down by 3 months. It is common for the skin in the lower cheek around the mouth to relax and loosen after a Facelift. The upper cheek, jaw line and neck hold a Facelift improvement much better than the lower cheek near the mouth.

This is because the skin around the mouth moves a lot and is not backed by firm bony structure as is the upper cheek and jaw line. If this has happened to you, filler injections with Perlane or Radiesse may help. (Brooke R. Seckel, MD, FACS, Boston Plastic Surgeon)

Be careful what you wish for

6 months for complete resolution in most cases. but don’t worry you can use fillers to get that puffy look back. I’m only half kidding. (Rafael C. Cabrera, MD, Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon)

Postoperative Facelift swelling

At three months into the post operative phase the majority of your swelling should be gone. You will have a small amount residual swelling that should dissipate in the next few months. Continue sleeping elevated and watching your sodium content and this may help with the puffiness especially upon wakening. (Michael Elam, MD, Orange County Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Facelift swelling will resolve!

Waiting for the “final” results of any cosmetic procedure to be appreciated can be one of the most stressful parts of the process of undergoing an elective procedure. While it may be frustrating, it is part of the process and being patient will payoff when the patient is able to recognize the results they had anticipated.

In the case of a full acelift, I tell my patients to expect about 90% of the swelling to have resolved by the end of the first month after surgery and 100% of the swelling to resolve by the end of three months following their surgery. (Leo Lapuerta, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling usually resolves by 3-4 months. If you have any areas of fullness that are concerning you – I’d recommend you talk to your plastic surgeon. I’m sure that he/she would be happy to see how you are healing and answer and questions you may have. (Catherine Huang-Begovic, MD, FACS, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)

Facelift swelling

90% of the swelling is gone down in 4 weeks and the rest by 4-6 months. Stay patient with the recovery process! (Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)

Most people will look notably swollen (i.e. people who don’t know you may think you appear swollen) for up to about a month. After this point, most people who don’t know you won’t notice anything.

The vast majority is gone by 3 months. After this point it is quite variable and some people still have swelling for 6-12mo while others seem to be 90% done at this point. (Bryan Correa, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

Facelifts and swelling

I get this asked all the time by my patients, and unfortunately everyone is different. However in total most patients can be seen in public with makeup on in about 14-17days. After that the swelling slowly dissipates in about 6 months.

Some days the swelling will be better than others and this can be dependent on how much salt intake as well as sleeping position. Things that I have found that have helped not only swelling but the bruising are hyperbaric oxygen and ultrasound therapy. (Ritu Chopra, MD, Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon)

Can take a full year for swelling to go away completely

Swelling can take up to a year to subside. During this time, you should restrict sodium intake and sleep on your back as much as possible. Lymphatic massage can also help. As for swelling to be 100% gone down, this really depends on the extent of surgery and your recovery rate.

Once the majority of swelling goes away, residual swelling subsides very gradually and most patients don’t notice when it’s totally gone because it’s so gradual. This generally takes about a year. (Jerome Edelstein, MD, Toronto Plastic Surgeon)

SWELLING DURATION

One year to be exact. I tell all of my patients that most of the swelling is gone down by six weeks, 95% is gone by six months, and all of it should be gone by one year. (Scott Loessin, MD, Key West Plastic Surgeon)

How long until swelling is 100% gone down after a facelift?

Visible bruising and swelling is dissipated at 2 weeks enough for patients to get back in to their social activities and work. Patients are able to apply some makeup and style their hair down over their ears.

For 100% of the swelling to dissipate usually takes 3-4 months, but it can be variable depending upon the techniques used and the patient’s skin type. The incisions for the facelift also heal at a variable rate, but most of the incisions take 3-4 months also settle down to a fine white line. (William Portuese, MD, Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Healing and swelling varies from patient to patient and depends on numerous factors including: the extent of the procedure, underlying medical health, and genetics. Swelling gradually diminishes over time. Most is gone at 3 months but subtle improvements may occur up to a year following surgery. (Robert Singer, MD, La Jolla Plastic Surgeon)

Most of the swelling is gone typically after 3 months but it can last up to two years. Each month it will be less and less. (Christopher J. Davidson, MD, FACS, Boston Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling After Facelift

It generally takes about 3 to 4 months for the swelling from a facelift to go down 100%. It varies from patient to patient. At times, it can take even longer than that, but in general, around 3 months is when swelling would typically be done.

If you are still swollen past this point, I recommend consulting with your surgeon. (Carlo P. Honrado, MD, FACS, Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Most of the swelling should be resolved within 3 months of your surgery, but there could be some small residual swelling that could last up to 6-12 months as your continuing to heal and your scars are fading. (Jeffrey W. Hall, MD, Austin Plastic Surgeon)

Most swelling subsides within 3 months after surgery, but final results can take up to a year. (Thomas McNemar, MD, FACS, Stockton Plastic Surgeon)

How long before all the swelling is gone after Facelift?

In most cases, 80% of the swelling will be gone in the first 2-3 months. The remaining 20% can go away just as quickly, or, in some cases, take up to 6 months.

In most patients, use of gentle massage, diuretics, or directed steroid injections can significantly enhance this recovery phase. (Evan Ransom, MD, Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon)

In my experience of over 3000 facelifts I would say that most acute surgical swelling is gone in 10-14 days….the rest of the swelling is gone entirely by 3 months. Surgery should be completely undetectable at 3-4 weeks except for the slightest swelling around the ears at this time. (Richard Galitz, MD, FACS, Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon)

It takes a year to see the absolute final result. Generally, most of the swelling is usually gone by 3 months. If you still have swelling after this, ensure that you are sleeping with your head elevated, and using compresses.

If you find that your swelling is prolonged ,I suggest seeing your surgeon. It would be important to ensure you don’t have a cardiac etiology for prolonged swelling. (Asif Pirani, MD, FRCS(C), Toronto Plastic Surgeon)

Six to Twelve Months For Total Resolution of Facelift Swelling

The consensus of opinion is that most of your swelling has already subsided but it normally takes 6 – 12 months to get 100% resolution. I echo that consensus. (S. Larry Schlesinger, MD, FACS, Honolulu Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling after lift

3 months still relatively early in healing process after your surgery. There is still some swelling up to about 6 months after surgery – longer if a midface lift was done. (Sam Naficy, MD, FACS, Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Swelling after a face lift 3 months post procedure

This is not uncommon after 3 months. At this point you likely have around 70% of your healing. We usually tell people that they will have 60% of their healing / recovery complete by 6 weeks, 80-90% by 6 months. 100% can take as long as 2 years.

This is based on wound healing studies and tensile breaking strength of a heal wound. (Philip Young, MD, Bellevue Facial Plastic Surgeon)

How Long Until Swelling Is 100% Gone After Face Lift?

Typically once you hit the 3-4 month range most of the immediate postoperative swelling should subside completely. But you are truly not finished healing from your facelift until 1 year. It does depend slighly on technique but most SMAS type procedures fall into this category.

If you underwent a deep plane or subperiosteal facelift then expect at least 6 months for completion of the immediate swelling. (Shepherd G. Pryor, MD, Scottsdale Facial Plastic Surgeon)

The usual amount of time for post operative swelling after facelifting surgery is about 3-6 months. However, this can vary greatly from patient to patient and can last even up to a year depending on the type of facelift technique used.

Deep plane lifts and midface lifting can result in prolonged facial swelling, particularly in the upper cheek area. Fortunately, all swelling eventually subsides and your puffiness should become less and less noticeable with the passage of time.

I would expect your swelling to be almost gone within the next few months. You might want to discuss this with your facelift surgeon so he can reassure you and explain what his expectations of swelling are with respect to the type of procedure he performed on you. (Adam D. Stein, MD, Raleigh-Durham Facial Plastic Surgeon)

How long the residual swelling will last in your face is variable and depends on the following factors: extent of tissue dissection during the Face Lift..more dissection will take longer for swelling to resolve.

the length of time it took to perform the Face Lift. If the Face Lift was done in say 4 hours, you could typically expect X amount of swelling and if the time required increased to 6 hours, there would be an increased amount of swelling due to the added time the tissues were exposed to the trauma of surgery.

any ancillary procedures performed along with the Face Lift like Brow Lift, Full Neck Lift, Cheek Implants, Rhinoplasty etc. Some of these additional plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures will add swelling to the area, of the face, while others like the Neck Lift may further disrupt the lymphatic drainage system that’s responsible for removing the swelling within the tissues.

the amount of activity that is performed immediately post Face Lift and for the first 3-6 months after the Face Lift. I ask all my Face Lift patients to refrain from strenuous activity, defined as any activity that significantly increased the heart rate…for 1 month after the Face Lift. I then advise the patients that even though they can resume strenuous activity after 1 month, the increased blood flow this causes to the face and neck may increase the swelling to that area.

This is due to the disrupted lymphatcs caused during tissue dissection of any Face Lift (or any surgery) that typically do not fully re-establish themselves for about 6 months after the surgery. Ice therapy can often decrease this temporary increase in swelling between the second and 6th post op months. (Francis R. Palmer, III, MD, Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon)