Persistent Pain a Year and Half After Face Lift

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.
If nerve pain persists, the patient may want to ask their surgeon about consulting with a neurologist or pain specialist. They can prescribe medications such as low dose neurontin to help reduce the nerve pain while the patient undergoes therapy specific for the pain.

It’s not unusual for patients to have pain and numbness
following facelift surgery. These
symptoms usually resolve in 3 to 6 months following this procedure. It’s unusual for pain and numbness to
persist for 18 months, unless the nerves have suffered structural damage. When this situation arises the source of pain
should be rigorously investigated. The
sensation that you describe is known as a dysesthesia. The location of your pain suggest possible
injury to the greater auricular nerve. Injury to this nerve could explain the distribution of your tingling
sensation.In most
cases dysesthesias resolve with the passage of time. After 18 months, atypical causes of this type
of discomfort should be considered. In
some cases, injuries to the greater auricular nerve can result in the formation
of neuromas. When
neuromas are encountered surgical intervention may be required. Under these circumstances partial elevation
of the facelift flaps may be necessary with exploration of the wound to address
the neuroma.When
neuromas are encountered consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon is
appropriate. This surgeon should be able to formulate an appropriate treatment
plan.

You describe a neuroma in the greater auric ulnar nerve .  This is a sensory nerve that supplies sensation to the ear. Injury to this nerve can also cause sweating in the cheek area when chewing.

The treatment at this point is to explore the nerve find the neroma excise and repair.  Not a 100% cure rate but the next step in my option after a year and a half.

Pain 18 months after the procedure is certainly not normal.  It is not unusual to have this in the first few months after surgery but it typically goes away within the first 6-12 months.  I agree with trying massage as an initial step.  Although it seems counter intuitive, it may help decrease your sensitivity.  Evaluation by a neurologist might be helpful if the massage does not adequately relieve your symptoms.

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.

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.