Huge and strange tragus after facelift. 1 month post-op. (photos)

You should discuss your concerns with your surgeon.  Usually it is nice to wait a few months before coming to a decision on the outcome.  You may be a candidate for a scar revision when that time comes.  

At 4 weeks, your scars are still healing. They should continue to fade with time.  There is also healing that is still going on under the skin. Your surgeon should monitor your progress. If you have any concerns, make sure to discuss them with your surgeon.  There are often treatments like laser, kenalogue, ultrasound, etc that can sometimes help.  At this stage it is still hard to tell if the tragus is thick due to edema or if it would benefit from debulking it (thinning it by removing underlying fat).  Your surgeon may be able to answer this for you knowing the details of your procedure. 

The tragus is the piece of cartilage sitting in front of the ear canal. Facelift incisions are placed either in front, or behind the tragus depending on what technique the surgeon plans to use. This should be thoroughly discussed with the patient before the surgery. Benefits, risks,complications and alternatives to the approach are reviewed and decided upon. Revision surgery may be attempted if necessary in one year.

Thank you for your question and for attaching photos. At 4 weeks out, you are still early on in your recovery. Your tragus flap does appear bulky. This could be residual swelling and could resolve on its own. It also could be that there is still some fat under the flap. If this is the case and the flap as not de-bulked enough, a scar revision could be performed at about 3 months to make that scar better. Best of luck.

The tragus does appear to be overly full after your facelift.  This could be due to swelling or there could be some fat left under the skin which is causing the bulky appearance.  I would give this more time and see how it resolves over the next 3 to 4 months.  The scars appear to be healing normally, the pink color will improve with time.

Your scars will continue to improve.  I recommend frequent massage and silicone gel ointments.  However, if still unacceptable at 6 months, you may undergo a scar revision to revise them.  

I think the appearance is primarily due to swelling. Ask your surgeon if you can massage. i might help he swelling go away quicker. Hang in there.

Hello and thank you for your question. I see your reason for concern.  This is still in the healing stage and there is still swelling.  I recommend that you maintain close follow-up with your surgeon.  You may also benefit from massage, but ask your surgeon about their protocol for this.
Best wishes and good luck.
Richard G. Reish, M.D.
Harvard-trained plastic surgeon

At 4 weeks after a facelift, I wouldn't be overly concerned with the current appearance of your tragus.  Steroid injections might be beneficial in another month or so.  In the meantime, please stay out of the sun to avoid hyper or hypopigmentation along the incision line. 

The recovery process can be a challenging time as you experience swelling and physical changes as a result of your surgery.  The swelling of your tragus is not unusual, and in time, may resolve on its own.  A steroid injection can also help bring the swelling down at the discretion of your surgeon.  For peace of mind, you certainly can request a follow up appointment for further investigation.Hope this helps and best of luck.Dr. Philip Solomon, MD,FRCSC, Solomon Facial Plastic, Toronto, Canada