I Had a Facelift and my Smile Seems Asymmetrical; is This Temporary or a Mistake?

Hello, and sorry to hear about the issue you are experiencing. It is possible you may be experiencing some temporary nerve damage. The side effects of temporary nerve damage may include the following:

1) Numbness of the face
2) Difficulty making certain facial expressions
3) Ear numbness
4) Drooping of facial features (mouth or cheek)


In general, most temporary nerve damage that occurs from a facelift will be resolve in anywhere from 6 months to a year. It may take longer for a complete recovery, but it depends on the patient and the circumstances of the issue. I would recommend communicating any concerns to your surgeon, as they know the extent of your procedure and exactly what was performed. I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck.

Minor trauma to a motor nerve during the facelift might generate temporary asymmetric movement. This should be very uncommon but will resolve. Make certain however that the asymmetry was not present prior to the operation.

Some asymmetry with facial animation for the first few weeks following a facelift is generally not cause for concern.  There may be a small amount of traction on branches of the facial nerve while the tissues heal. This is expected to resolve over several weeks.

Your facelift was only one month ago so your tissues are still recovering.  Depending on what type of facelift you had there are several reasons for the asymmetry, from swelling, sutures and scarring.  The vast majority of these problems are temporary and the next few months should see your smile return to normal.  Be sure to follow up closely with your plastic surgeron so this can be followed.

The asymmetry was likely present preop, and will be obvious on your before photos; pts tend to scrutinize their faces after surgery and 'find' differences post op. that being said , you are only a month so you still have swelling and healing that is occurring, by 2-3 months everything will settle down better and any obvious asymmetry that was not present preop should resolve.

Your own surgeon is in the best position to answer your question, but the problem you describe is usually temporary and resolves within 6-12 weeks in most cases. It is not a common problem but can happen regardless of the technique and skill of the surgeon.

Dear Monicasun

thank you for your question.  It sounds like you have a little nerve traction injury, or the facelift pulled a little on the nerve.  It sounds pretty minimal and will likely completely resolve with time.  This can take 6 months to a year to fully resolve.

Best Wishes,

Pablo Prichard, MD

There are three possible reasons for the asymmetry you describe: swelling, asymmetric surgical technique, and nerve injury. Swelling will resolve, and even asymmetrical pull during you surgery should even out with time. If nerve injury is not "total" it virtually always resolves  with time as well.

Some asymmetry after a facelift is not uncommon often due to swelling. Remember that likely you had some asymmetry  before but did not notice it.

Thank you for your question. The side that looks high when you smile is the normal smile. The Buccal Branch of the Facial Nerve on the other, lower side has some form of injury.

Fortunately the Buccal Branch has many interconnections and almost always recovers.