Is it necessary to take antibiotics after surgery?

Most plastic surgeons give a perioperative dose of an antibiotic before a facelift. There is no clinical evidence to support this particular practice. The antibiotics do not decrease the risk of infection which is extremely low in the facelift anyway.

Thank you for your question. The risk of infection following facelift surgery is very low. In an effort to further lower the risk of infection, many surgeons prefer to prescribe prophylactic antibiotics for peri-operative use. Many of those surgeons would argue that any temporary negative effects due to such prophylactic antibiotic use is outweighed by the possibly greater likelihood of avoidance of the potentially catastrophic effect of a significant surgical infection. Such an infection can negatively influence the result and your appearance. Speak with your surgeon about your concerns. 

I do usually recommend antibiotics, especially if my patients have drains in place. Check with your doctor about any questions you may have.

Prophalactic (preventative) antibiotics are warranted to minize the chance of infection. As it is being used as a preventative studies show that  only 24 hours or less are indicated for most plastic surgical cases such as a facelift (most clean surgeries for that matter). The first dose is always given just prior to your surgery. By using such a short time span there is less risk of problems with your gut/body. If you are concerned use a probiotic such as yohgurt with active cultures while on antibiotics.

Non-discriminate use of antibiotics is irresponsible and potentially dangerous from the public health perspective.  However, surgical practice guidelines do support the use of limited prophylactic dosing.  For elective, non-contaminated procedures, we provide a single dose of antibiotics within an hour of starting your procedures.  This is given prophylactically to cover risk of bacterial exposure during the procedure.  As long as the surgery is performed without accumulating excessive bleeding, or tissue damage, the risk of infection is very low.  No additional doses of antibiotics will be needed unless symptoms of infection appear.  These will usually show up several days later as clinically increasing redness, pain, swelling, local tissue heat, or fever.