Facelift incision opened after suture removal. Any suggestions?

While it is difficult to say without evaluating you, in general, incisions that open up that far out after suture removal are best left to heal in on their own, as they often heal up very well, with good wound care (cleaning the area and applying ointment to keep the area hydrated). As frustrating as it is to wait, it is important to be patient with this process. It is usually not advisable to undergo a revision procedure prior to 6 months, as it may cause a worse scar than just allowing it to heal on its own. 

Leaving an open wound to heal on it's own versus suturing it back together is an individual physician choice.  One can make an argument either way.  Generally speaking, an open wound in that area will heal just fine so long as it does not get infected or have any physical stress placed on it.  Being only a month post-op, the only thing you are going to do for yourself is stress if you choose to worry about everything.  In my practice, I typically prescribe antibiotics to patients who are not clients)

Thank you for your question.  My answer would depend on how conspicuous this area is for you.  Depending on your hairstyle, maybe it would never be visible.  On the other hand, if you have thin, dark hair or wear it short, maybe its very visible.  This is a separation in the hair bearing area and while it will heal, it will not heal with new hair follicles and will thus be a bald spot (albeit small hopefully).  For this reason, I would consider revising this immediately and not waiting the normal 6 months that I may advise for other areas.  All the best!

Incisions that open up slightly after a suture removal after a facelift are best left to heal secondarily (with would care). They typically are able to heal in a satisfactory manner. Scar revision can be considered at 6 months to a year if things do not look satisfactory.

We usually do not resuture an incision at that stage, but just let it heal in. While it may look red and inflamed at first, it will often heal up nicely.  Laser can be done at about 8 weeks to help the healing process.  If at 6 months you have a noticeable scar it can be revised at that point.  

I am so sorry to hear about your healing issues. It's best to allow this to heal. When the scar is mature and stable then revise an be ent

Thank you for your question. If your wound has dehisced after suture removal the best treatment would be to dress the wounds letting them heal secondarily and then having a scar revision if required at a later date. Re-suturing a wound 2 weeks after surgery may introduce even more complications with infection and potentially worse scarring. It is unfortunate that you have had some wound healing issues but it can occur post surgery. Follow your surgeons instruction and give yourself time to heal. RegardsDr Guy Watts

Hello larksmith,Thanks for your question.I am sorry to hear of your troubles.  This is more common than most surgeons would admit.I would work with your surgeon to get it to heal quickly.  Early revision of facelift incisions could lead to worse scarring.Facelift incisions tend to break down or dehisce for several reasons: too much tension at closure, poor nutrition pre and/or post op, trauma after surgery, and infection.Adding protein shakes and vitamin C to your diet will help it close quickly.  It must be kept clean and uninfected.  It will close fairly quickly.  Once the scar is finalized in 6 months, you can determine if the aesthetics of the scar warrant scar revision.A scar revision in this area is easy to perform in the office under local anesthesia, and typically is a real quick procedure to recover from.Good luck,Dr. Shah

The best thing at this point in the game would be to let the wound heal on its own. After that healing has taken place and the inflammation from the healing process has subsided, the scar can easily be revised.it is understandable that you would want to try and fix things sooner than later; however, to do this now would provide sub optimal results. Be patient with your surgeon, trust him, And you will have the best result revising the scar if needed once the inflammation has subsided. Best regards.

thanks for your question. The best advice you can get is from your PS who will have seen you and examined the incision. It does sound like this is a bigger dehiscence but I would agree with your surgeons management of letting it heal naturally. It can be revised safely later on. The problem with reoperating on any tissue which has recently undergone surgery is that the skin will be inflammed and needs to settle down before further intervention. This way you will have the least conspicuous scar Long term.