Higher risk with Parotid gland surgery than with Facelift

 Hi Atoric,

It really depends on where exactly your cyst is:

1. Parotid gland cyst : if it is here than the risk is higher than with most types of facelift surgery. This is because the facial nerve travels and branches through the parotid gland.  In order to remove the cyst, portions of the gland may need to be removed in order to do so. If that is the case then the surgeon will most likely dissect out and identify the facial nerve branches - while this may sound like it puts the nerve at risk it is actually safer to see the nerve than not to see it when parotid tissue is removed.

2. Cyst is superficial to the gland : in this case the gland does not need to be dissected and the facial nerve will be left alone. This approach is essentially similar to a facelift and the risk of nerve injury is considered to be less than or equal to 1%.

I think you should use the good information here and discuss in detail with your Surgeon what exactly the game plan is - when everyone is on the same page it leads to smooth sailing!

Take Care,

Dr. Kamran Jafri

 The chance of nerve injury after facelift is very small.  You are not having a typical facelift.  From the limited information that you provided it sounds like you are having a facelift incision to remove a cyst?  Without knowing what this cyst is or where it is located (deep in the facial tissue?), you may have increased risk, but still very small.  However, this is all information that you need to discuss carefully with your surgeon.  Good luck.

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