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How Long Should It Take to Witness the Final Results of a True Facelift

asked 1 year ago by johnadler in San Clemente, CA
Latest answer by Sam Naficy, MD
Question viewed 2,086 times
Tags: face, male

I had a facelift, quite a bit of chin work, & a brow lift in October of 2009. It has now been 13 months. Where my glands are located, under my chin, it is still swollen. So, my chin goes partially straight back and were the glands are located they are hard but droopy. Can anyone offer an explanation whether or not this swelling will dissipate and if not what my options might be, like a Botox injection into the glands, etc. My surgeon states that it takes 18 months after a procedure like I had to determine the final results. This seems a bit long to me? Can any professionals offer their professional opinion?

20 answers to How Long Should It Take to Witness the Final Results of a True Facelift

Facelift Results

13 months after facelift surgery I would expect little improvent in your result. Consult with another surgeon for examination and a discussion of treatment alternatives.

Richard W. Fleming, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Recurrent swelling along jaw line after face lift will not improve with time

While it is true that healing from a Facelift takes time, healing that takes longer than 6 months is unusual. It does take time for swelling and tightness to resolve after a Facelift, but I have NEVER seen recurrent swelling or lax skin or recurrent jowls or neck laxity tighten up after they have been seen to be lax or sagging soon after a Facelift. Most likely from your description, what you are seeing is herniation of the Submaxillary Gland, a gland that produces saliva... more

Brooke R. Seckel, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

www.drseckel.com

Timing of the final results of a facelift.

Swelling after a facelift should be nearly fully resolved within about 4-6 months. This makes it unlikely that you will be seeing any additional improvement in your results. The area you are concerned about is due to ptotic or hanging salivary glands, which are usually tucked up behind your jawbone and hidden. As our tissues age, the glands descend and sit below the lower border of the jaw. Patients may not notice them prior to surgery as the loose skin of the... more

Jeffrey M. Darrow, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

Time for Facelift Results

Your question is a very good one. The general answer is that recovery from Facelift occurs in various phases, and depends much more on the individual patient than the actual procedure performed. The phases of recovery include: 1) physical signs that other people notice, 2) physical signs a patient will notice but others will not, and 3) psychological recovery. Recovery phase 1) takes anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks, depending on the patient, the degree of bruising, the... more

Stephen Prendiville, MD
Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.drprendiville.com

Final Results of a True Facelift

Facelift results do not change much after one year; you will normally see a very close approximation of your final result in 6months. However, there are some subtle changes that occur over the next six months that are visible. The problem you are describing is probably ptotic sub-mandibular glands which, as you have read from the other comments, can be a difficult issue to handle but will require a re-operation to fix.

Paul Vitenas, Jr., MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon

Final facelift results

You are seeing the final results already. No further improivements can be expected. Submandibular glands are very controversial and either need to be accepted and left alone (most doctors opinion) or they need a redo surgery and partial excision but this is not without recovery and risk.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

How Fast Are Final Results

You should be seeing the final results at 13 months. A facelift should, as with all facial procedures, be a gentle technique based upon the strong repositioning of the underlying support tissue and then the re-draping of the overlying skin with essentially no tension. Our patients are socially presentable with minimal cover-up in as little as 5-7 days. Rarely do our patients requires any pain medication and one can shower the next day. There will be a slower resolution of mild... more

Ludwig A. Allegra, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Persistent swelling under neck one year post face and neck lift, what to do now?

Dear Johnadler from San Clemente, CA In my opinion what you are dealing with is called a ptotic or droopy submandibular gland (salivary gland) which were not noticeable prior to surgery since loose neck tissue was covering it. Once you had your face and neck lift then skin became smooth and that gland appeared more prominent. Prominent submandibular glands are difficult problem to treat. Some surgeons partially remove them, but that involves major risk such as nerve injury to dry mouth... more

Kevin Sadati, DO
Orange County Facial Plastic Surgeon

Facelift after 1 year is healed.

We say that normally it takes 12 months for the facelift to be healed. You may want to get a second opinion from an experienced facelift surgeon.

Toby Mayer, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

How long does it take to see facelift results?

Facelift results should be immediately noticable, with final results seen about 4-6 months after the procedure. The bulges you describe are prominent submandibular glands--the treatment of these is challenging, and you should seek out a surgeon who routinely performs such treatment, which can include suspension or partial resection of the glands. The main risk with these procedures is bleeding, as there are large vessels intimately associated with these submandibular glands. more

Carmen Kavali, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

How Long will I have to Wait to see the Final Results of my Facelift?

You SHOULD see a Facelift results by 3-4 months but it will take sometimes as long as a year for all the swelling to subside and for you to see the final results. At this point, I seriously doubt much will change and you need to discuss with your surgeon the plusses and minuses of dealing with prominent submandibular salivary glands. The options are re-operation with partial gland removal (risking nerve injury) or to attempt their shrinkage with Botox, a non-FDA approved use / off label... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Final results

It is very difficult to answer your question without seeing your pictures or examining you – consider posting images showing your areas of concern. Typically by 1 year the healing is complete

Sam Naficy, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

How long for face lift results to show

Face Lifts, even invasive traditional face lifts should have the results by 6 months. Residual lumps, bumps and areas of swelling can persist for a year or more, in extensive face lift variations but this should not be confused with some mythical further tightening effect. The face will never be more taught, IMHO, than it is about 2-3 weks after the face lift. When the platysmal muscles are pulled during a neck Lift, the submandibula glands can drop and become more prominent. more

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Final Results of a Facelift

In general, most patients feel they look their best around the 3-4 month mark so having subtle swelling until this point is not unusual. You seem to be describing either a prominent submandibular gland or a ptotic submandibular gland. This gland is one of our spit glands and is held in place by ligments and muscle. The gland descends with time and after a facelift the glands can become a bit more visible as they descend with time or if you had ptotic glands to begin with... more

Mike Majmundar, MD
Atlanta Facial Plastic Surgeon

Facelift results -

You should really see your final results starting in 6-8 weeks after surgery. However, depending on your medical history, age, specific procedures performed/techniques utilized, it may take up to 5-6 months for your true final results to manifest. If you are over one year from your surgery, you are indeed already seeing your final results.

C. Bob Basu, MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon

Facelift Results

I typically find that post operative swelling is resolved by six months following a surgical procedure. In some unusual circumstances, it may persist for a longer period of time. It is important to discuss these concerns with your physician, and if you are not satisfied to seek a second opinion.

Michael Sullivan, MD
Columbus Facial Plastic Surgeon

Facelift results

Usually facelift results take about 6 months or so for all the swelling to dissipate. But, it really depends upon the type of facelift you had.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Facelift results

In my hands the results are noticeable early and become much clearer to the patient after the majority of the swelling has resolved in about 10-14 days. If you are failing to see results after 13 months then it is unlikely that your situation will improve. Dr. ES

Earl Stephenson Jr., MD, DDS
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Prominent neck glands after facelift

In an individual who is thin, prominent submandibular glands may be a difficult problem to treat. Some bold surgeons advocate partial removal but this is not without significant risk and my comment is "be careful what you ask for". Suspension of the gland is also a difficult undertaking and sometimes difficult to achieve reliably.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

One year is good timeframe to see results

Sounds as though you had a fairly extensive procedure, however, there is little that is going to change after 1 year. At this point it is very reasonable to address any areas that you are not entirely pleased with and get a game plan going. Something as simple as asking; if this swelling does not go away by 18 months, what would you recommend opens up a healthy dialog between you and your surgeon.