1 year post op facelift, left with bad scars and a lot of skin. What can I do? (photos)

Question

I'm a 26 year old who had extreme facial laxity. I had a facelift one year ago (in two weeks it will be one year) and the scars are horribly big and wide and white. Moreover, my ears are still really read and my lobes have weird shape. Is it normal? I can't even put my hair up because it's very ugly. Moreover, I still have a lot of skin left and when I smile, there's a little fold that isn't pretty. What to do about It?

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Plastic surgery scars require attention after surgery so that they remain cosmetically-appealing and barely noticeable. In our office, we use a protocol for scars that minimizes their activity in the 6-8 weeks after surgery. If you have late plastic surgery scars, you may also require laser and RF therapy to help reduce the longterm effects of the scarring. Keloids, hypertrophic scars, widened scars, red scars, and hyperpigmented scars all require scar modulation with topical creams followed by lasers and RF therapy. Topical skincare should be directed to a specific need, whether for pigmentation or hypertrophy and our office can guide you through the process to obtain the correct Plato’s Scar cream or Melarase cream for hypertrophy and discoloration. In terms of lasers, we would employ the vbeam laser for redness, Venus Viva RF, PRP microneedling, chemical peels, and Morpheus 8, fractional erbium, or fractional co2. All of these have their individual benefits. Most of all, we recommend you visit a solid plastic surgeon who understands surgical scar revision, laser therapy, and RF therapy for scars. 
 
Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

J. Simon Ivey, MD · Answer

It is important to know the technique the surgeon used - it’s possible they put the tension on the skin given how poor the scars are. Sometimes this is called a “mini lift” (that I don’t recommend to anyone). 
I would revise the facelift with a deep plane lift and chase more of the looser skin from your central face back to leave no tension on the incisions. A scar revision alone may leave you with the same scars. 
This is of course all based on the face that you say you still have laxity.

1 year post op facelift, left with bad scars and a lot of skin. What can I do? (photos)

Answers (2)

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