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Persistent Pain a Year and Half After Face Lift

I had a Face Lift surgery performed 1.5 years ago. During three post-op visits to my surgeon, I addressed the issue of tingling in the right side of my face (the area closest to my ear and upper neck). Even the slightest touch to that area feels like needles pricking my skin. My surgeon told me that the nerves are taking a while to reattach and that in time all will heal. However, the tingling feeling has never gone away. I even reflexively pull away and wince when my baby touches me in that area. Since I have mentioned this numerous times to the same physician, I'm looking for additional opinions. Thank you for your consideration.

Asked 37 months ago by AnnChloe in Seattle, WA

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nerve damage pain

Tingling after plastic surgery

Dysesthesia, or an unpleasant sensation occurring this long after surgery may warrant further treatment. Is there scarring or tethering that is causing the problem? Usually nerve pains such as this go away shortly after surgery with massage and desensitization therapies. Patients are often surprised to find out that massage, though unpleasant at first, can often reduce or eliminate this type of nerve pain. Instinctively, the patient protects the area, but this just makes the problem worse... more

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Brent Moelleken, MD

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Post-Facelift Pain

Tingling does occur as sensation returns after facelift surgery, but not 1.5 years later. Massage or tapping the area does sometimes help. At this stage ask your surgeon for a referral to a physician who specializes in neurology or pain management for medication or treatment.

Doctor's Website

Richard W. Fleming, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Pain After Facelift

I am very sorry to hear of your pain. An injury to a sensory nerve (the Greater Auricular Nerve is the most typical) is possible during Facelift. Although the painful sensations usually resolve with time, at this point, try the following: sensory re-education: stroke the area of tenderness as much as you can reasonably tolerate. This can desensitize the nerve. steroid injection may reduce nerve irritation massage medication: there are some specialized... more

Paul C. Zwiebel, MD

Denver Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Pain after facelifting

Depending on the nature and location of the pain, it may be worth re-elevating the skin (flap). This has been reported to allow the nervers to re-innervate the skin. While this isnt definitive, it is a simple enough thing to try to relieve your symptoms as this isnt typical.

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Jon E. Mendelsohn, MD

Cincinnati Facial Plastic Surgeon

Persisting pain after face lift may be a neuroma

Sounds like you may be describing a neuroma. When nerve endings try and re-estable connections, they sometimes don't find the right connections. This then develops into a small ball of nerve endings which can be quite painful, even at the slightest touch. This can usually be corrected with additional surgery where this ball of nerve ending can be excised and buried. Either see your physician about this or seek another surgeon that can help you.

Kari L. Colen, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon

Unusual pain after face lift surgery!

Sorry to hear that you're experiencing discomfort with your face lift procedure. This is an unusual event. Out of nearly two thousand face lift procedure I have performed, I had one patient in the past that experienced similar prolonged discomfort. After treatment with Neurontin, Kenalog injection to the triggered point, as well as massaging her discomfort resolved. Wish you well.

Kevin Sadati, DO

Orange County Facial Plastic Surgeon

Chronic pain after facelift.

Prolonged pain after surgery is very uncommon and as such there is no protocols or extensive studies that support the most common causes. There are multiple reasons why chronic pain may be present. One of the reasons would be increased sensitivity or irritibility of the nerves. In my practice I have seen this a few times in patients with MS or other neurological problems. Plastic surgery of the face just like any surgery can increase the patients sensitivity and result in... more

Boris Volshteyn, MD, MS

Reno Plastic Surgeon

An unusual complication

This is an unusual complication after a facelift. Your physician is correct that it may take considerable time for the nerves to heal after a surgical procedure. Every patient will heal differently and it is hard to know exactly your situation without an examination. It some circumstances, an evaluation by a neurologist or a pain specialist could be beneficial.

Babak Azizzadeh, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Persistent Pain After A Facelift

Persistent pain after a facelift is highly unusual. Some diagnoses to be considered: Hypertrophic Scar or Keloid- Can give the sensation of pain after the procedure, particularly at night. Treated with Kenalog injections which can treat this quite effectively. Neuroma- Highly unusual to see after a facelift. In cases where surgeons have to cut the greater auricular nerve (i.e Parotidectomy), neuromas are rare. In fact, studies did not see a... more

Anil R. Shah, MD

Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon

Pain After Face Lift

The Great Auricular Nerve is susceptible to injury during the Face Lift procedure. It is a sensory nerve to the side of the neck and the lower ear and has no motor function so an injury will cause no muscle weakness only the pain syndrome described. Stroking the skin in the region of the injury will stimulate the nerve and cause the pain sensation. The problem can be solved by exposing the end of the injured nerve stump and implanting it into the underlying muscle which... more

Christopher J. Schaffer, MD

Birmingham Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Greater auricular nerve damage can yield persistent pain after facelift.

From the position of your pain and its distribution, it sounds like there might be damage to the Greater Auricular nerve. This is an easily fixable problem. The neuroma on the end of the nerve can be buried deep in the muscle upon which it sits. Anesthesia of a portion of the ear will be a side effect.

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD

Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Pain after facelift

The sensations you are having are very unusual to be occurring 1.5 years after your procedure. You may have an injured greater auricular nerve. As you have read this may be a severed nerve or a neuroma. Steroid injections can help. There are also reports of Botox helping with issues like this.

Jason B. Diamond, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Persistent pain after facelift

The tingling that is occurring on the right side of your face closest to the ear is probably related to a neuroma on the greater auricular nerve. After a year and a half this is not going to get better on its own. There are two things to consider that may help you. A simple cortisone shot into the area of point tenderness over the right side of the neck may help with decreasing the neuroma formation further and relieve the pain. It will not relieve the numbness. Additionally,... more

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William Portuese, MD

Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Facelift Pain

A generalized, albeit temporary loss of sensation in the area of the skin flaps is not unusual after Facelift surgery. It typically resolves within 3-6 months and sensory nerve re-growth ( 1mm per day) is heralded by tingling sensations known as parasthesias. Permanent and/or uncomfortable sensations are referred as dysethesias and usually relate to some abnormality in nerve regrowth such as a neuroma. I have seen a number of patients who have had quickie lifts elsewhere experience this... more

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Stephen Prendiville, MD

Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon

Tingling post facelift

A year and a half after surgery is a long itme to have tingling. This usually goes away a few weeks after surgery. You may have a neuroma or an injured sensory nerve to the side of the cheek and ear. I would first have it evaluated by a neurologist and pain control doctor and perhaps you may need additional surgery to treat the neuroma.

Steven Wallach, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Tingling 1.5 years after facelift is unusual

While tingling after a facelift can most certainly indicate nerve regrowth, it is unusual 1.5 years after a facelift but I would not completely loose hope. As others have pointed out, it may represent a neuroma and be amenable to massage, steroid injections, or possibly. I would wait another 6 months and if it is still persistent, I would consider reoperation to try to excise the area of concern.

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D.J. Verret, MD

Dallas Facial Plastic Surgeon

A neuroma can cause persistent facial pain

While I have not seen anything like this in my own facelift practice, it does sound as though you might have a "neuroma" which is a tangled ball of nerve endings that didn't grow back properly. Massage and time can help. Sometimes exploration and excision are necessary.