Can There Be Internal Swelling After Mini-lift with NO External Signs of Swelling?

Had a mini-lift 5 months ago. Usually for about 12 hours per day (8pm to 8am) I feel nearly normal but then very uncomfortable feelings of tightness and pulling around ears and other places persist for the rest of the day.(With the exception of some rare days when I feel great for the entire day.) Could internal swelling be the cause of the daily variability in discomfort level? I really expected to be 100% normal by now. Thank you for reading my question.

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5 Doctor Answers | Asked by PLM11 in Atlanta, GA

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Tightness Around Ears after Mini Facelift

Tightness around the ears after mini facelift is usually the result of plication sutures anchoring the deeper tissues into their new location. This may take many months or a year to improve. Kenneth Hughes, MD HughesPlasticSurgery Los Angeles, CA

Swelling post -op after Mini Facelift

It can take up to 1 year for all the swelling to disappear after a mini facelift. People around you will not see swelling, but you can feel tightness around the ears and face. This is common, but you should follow up with your Plastic Surgeon on a routine basis until all the discomfort is gone.

Robert E. Zaworski, MD

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Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Swelling 5 Months Post-op Mini-Facelift

It is not at uncommon to experience a pulling sensation and/or tightness around the ears or face 5 months after a mini-facelift. These symptoms can even take a year to resolve. Since your symptoms are worse during the day, they are likely due to the pooling of swelling as a result of gravity. At night, you lie in a flat position so the tissue edema is more evenly distributed and less bothersome. Your symptoms should resolve over time and are nothing to worry about. You may want to have your... more

Internal swelling after Mini-lift

Hi, There are many different variation of mini-facelift currently used by different plastic surgeon. Your postoperative experience may be due to edema or lymphatic swelling that gathers over the course of a day. Typically during daytime, you are standing upright and swelling can build up and pull on the skin and or scar. This is typically worse as the day wore on. At 5 months after your procedure, this is not common but also not rare either. Lymphatic drainage massage may help... more

Miniface Lift

Hi, At 5 months you could still have tightness and internal swellling. These symptoms can even be present after a year. However, with time it should all resolve. Best, Dr.S.