Skin crawling sensation after a facelift

Greetings,
These sensations are most likely related to your nerves "waking up" and may continue for a few weeks.  They should diminish gradually and eventually return to normal.  Good luck!

Great question and you are not alone.  Nerves work via electrical activity and as they begin to reconnect, especially after swelling dissipates, they can give off the feeling of either tingling (like a limb falling asleep) or "zingers" which are startling too.  The cheek and the side of the neck areas can be common areas after a face and neck lift.  Give it time and they should quiet down.  It can also be common to be more on one side than the other and it's okay.  Good luck!

Thank you for your question.  It is not uncommon to have tingling around your incisions after a facelift and blepharoplasty.  This is simply the nerves of the face beginning to regenerate, and this will fade with time.  I would discuss any concerns you have, especially about healing with your surgeon.  I hope that this helps!-David Gilpin

I have been doing this type of procedure for quite some time and perform roughly 300 facelifts annually.  I can tell you with all certainty that return of sensation to the face varies more than anything. Just this week, I had a patient that was at 1 week and could already feel her cheek and this was followed by someone at 3 months that is now beginning to feel their cheek.  The process goes that tingling, crawling, tightness, etc begin as a precursor to your getting your feeling back.This is a good sign!  Keep up the great work.

The nerves can start to regenerate at any time, so this is not unusual.  You may get some strange sensations in the skin, or the feeling of tingling.  The numbness will fade as well. 

The pins and needles feeling that you describe is simply face healing. It's actually a good sign and should resolve with time. 

During a facelift surgery, the skin is lifted off of the deeper layers of the face. When this happens, the skin loses sensation.  As the nerves begin to heal, it is normal to feel this "pins and needles" sensation. It is normally a good sign of things healing.  This is very common and to be expected.

Tingling sensations after facelift surgery are normal and its usually a sign that the nerves of the face are beginning to heal and regenerate after surgery.  It typically goes away after a few weeks.

Dear cfrangi1:
 The sensory changes you feel following your facelift is common and expected. Called “creepy crawlers, dysesthesia” and many other names, the sensory nerves that were cut are beginning to regenerate. In order for the skin to be unfurled and redraped, it is lifted cutting across the nerves and fibrous bands between skin and the deeper soft tissues. The numbness and funny sensations you feel thereafter will reduce in time as the nerves reattach to their skin receptors. This may take 3 to 12 months or more. Discuss any other unusual sensation(s), with your surgeon if they persist. Good luck with your results!

While it is common and normal to have areas of numbness around incisions post-operatively, it is also quite common (and normal) to have crawling or itching sensations when the sensory nerves of the skin "wake up" and grow back together during healing.  Some patients experience this within the first week of surgery, while the majority start regaining some sensation several weeks post-operatively.  Crawling and itching sensations are a good indicator that numbness is resolving; sounds like you're doing well in your recovery!