Malfunctioning Drain After Facelift

Drain malfunctioning usually means that the fluids it is supposed to transport does not run. Drains can clogg, kink or be blocked by a suture or by resting against tissue. Some surgeons believe that drains are a must for every facelift. Others only sometimes use it and then they are facelift surgeons (including myself) who never use drains.

That your drain gave you trouble does not mean you are over-sensitive to it or that it is something specific to you.

The fact that your drain malfunctioned has nothing to do with the anesthesia used.  Drains occasionally malfunction.  Fortunately seems like you did not have a hematoma.

I personally prefer to use passive drains (Penrose) while the patient has a compression dressing in place.  I have found that active drains to be a very imperfect solution to the postoperative healing process.  I have used both active and passive drains and found no difference in bruising with either variety, but more problems (such as clogging) with active drains.