Madison Neck Lift doctors

Two weeks is early in terms of recovery after a facelift.  So although we often suggest you can get back in public at this time, or that recovery is described as two weeks, a number of the things you see in yourself might be still within normal range of recovery.  Drain use varies with docs, with some using none at all and some with prolonged placement. A week is pretty long in that continuum.  The drain pathway will often form focal thickening around that foreign body, which resolves with time.  The longer the drain in place, the more of this response.  So bottom line is that it will go away but will take time.  Usually you would aggressively massage that tissue, and your doc might even consider judicious use of the injectable steroid kenalog to nudge this process along.  Think weeks though, maybe up to six or eight for full resolution.  That thickness, along with the normal steps of the surgery, will make looking up tight. By now I suspect that is getting better.

The numbness around the ears is normal, and will slowly return to normal over months.  Think six months.  The cut under the neck should also be resolving.  Since I now realize this was asked over three weeks ago, I suspect you will be enjoying some resolution by this time.  So stay patient, the body has an amazing reparative potential.  

Botox works in the short term, but its effects can be pretty minor.  Although we all use it for platysmal bands, keep expectations conservative.

I would suggest you look at your persistent bands from two points of view.  One is technical, in that it is likely that another surgery could help.  Surgeons by their very nature are confident in their skills, so most of them would suggest that something more aggressive or different in technique would finally conquer those bands.  Muscle back cuts, or full division, or partial resection of redundancy might all be suggested.  The best technique for you depends on what is seen in person, and what procedure works best in each surgeon's hands.

The second consideration is strictly logical.  By the description of your incisions, it sounds like your surgeon did something to your bands on two occassions.  It may in fact be that he/she did any and all of those steps outlined above, and did them correctly.  And yet that still did not work despite two attempts.  It really may be that additional surgery will just repeat history.

There is no way to know what is the "right" answer.  My suggestion to you is get a second opinion by someone with a strong facial rejuvenation experience and reputation, and realize that a third surgery if suggested might not work.  And be prepared for a conventional facelift approach/cost/recovery instead of just a touch up.

I perform different styles of face and necklift on patients depending on their particular anatomy. Sometimes I use a suction drain that I remove the following day, other times I just place a pressure dressing. Their is no scientific evidence that either will prevent a collection of fluid, but if I am performing a rather extensive surgery, I feel better leaving a drain in. Ultimately, if you had fibrotic firmness in the area of the drain afterward, I would inject some dilute steroid and this would soften.

Andrew Campbell, M.D.

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon