How long would it take for the scar from stitches after facelift to fade?

Question

how long would take for the stitches marks go away after a surgery plastic on a scar in my face to make it thinner ?

George Yang, MD · Answer

Hi jaayyceee10,In order for the facelift incision to heal best, the key area to look at on Before and after photos is the front of the ear.  The key for making the incision as thin as possible is more in the surgeon's hands than in the patient's care after the surgery.  The majority of the skin removal to support the facelift and necklift is under the sideburn and behind the ears.  It is vitally important not to remove too much skin directly under the earlobe and not to remove too much skin in front of the ear.  Before the sutures are placed in front of the ear, the skin should be laying comfortably with minimal gap between the skin.  This will ensure a very fine incision.  I have seen Youtube videos of facelifts where there is more than 1/4" of gap between ear incision and the skin that was removed and I would be very worried that the patient would have widened scars.As far as how long it takes for the stitch marks to go away, in general 2-3 weeks the stitch marks are completely gone, but there is either a slight pinkness or brown pigmentation along the incision, which should be completely flat and thin.  Depending on the skin type, for very fair hair and light skin patients the incisions can look very good in as little as 2-3 months.  If the patient has more pigmented or ethnic skin, the pinkness may fade, but they may have some hyperpigmentation or brown pigment along the incision although flat and thin, which can last 4-10 months depending on the patient.  It is particularly important for the patient to use sunscreen and sun avoidance on the incision for the first 6 months after the facelift to prevent the incision from either tanning differently from the rest of the surrounding skin.I hope this answers your question.Best,Dr. YangP.S. There is a new feature on Realself, which is the "Follow" button. It is similar to the "Like" button on Facebook. If you like my response or any of the doctor responses while you research on Realself, you should "Follow" them. You will get email updates, when the doctors you follow post any new answers to questions, post new photos, or have any new reviews.

James M. Pearson, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question. In most healthy people without a history of healing irregularities, the surgical scars resulting from a well-performed facelift are rarely an issue. Incisions are designed to result in scars that are concealed within natural curvatures around the ear and hairline. Full scar maturation takes many months. However, most patients consider those scars to be acceptable with makeup within 1-2 weeks, and acceptable without makeup in 1-2 months. Once mature, most scars are imperceptible in normal social interactions, although not entirely invisible upon closer scrutiny. The design and performance of the facelift incision are some of the factors that influences a natural result and the desirability of a facelift surgeon.

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD · Answer

Most scars after six weeks to three months are like pink. It may take several more months for them to fade completely.

Jonathan Kulbersh, MD · Answer

It takes about 6 months for any scars to fade. Additional things that may help the scar fade are:1) Scar gel2) Laser treatment Your surgeon may have specific guidelines for you to follow. I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck.

Vartan Mardirossian, MD · Answer

Usually takes up to six months to have the scars improve to the point where they cannot be easily seen. Things that can be done are using so-called scar cream, PDL laser or simple massage. Hypertrophic scars require injection of Kenalog. Having the photo would be helpful.

William Portuese, MD · Answer

In our practice,we remove the stitches after a face lift in 4 days. Visible bruising and swelling lasts approximately 2 weeks. Most patients incision lines after a facelift are well healed at 2-3 months after the procedure. For many examples, please see the link below  to our facelift Photo Gallery

Richard W. Westreich, MD · Answer

While every patient is different and their skin will heal on its own timeline, generally speaking, scars heal according to these guidelines:7-10 days before concealer or makeup can be used to camouflage2-6 weeks of redness depending on your skin color and how quickly it heals6-12 weeks to be almost un-noticeableup to 1 year to shrink and improve both in color and texture.Some tips to help it along? Silicone gel ointment can be useful when used for 2-3 months. Mederma may or may not help. Avoid sun (use spf50+) for the first 6 months. Laser treatment after 6 weeks if very red. Consider fraxel treatments at 3-6 months if not progressing.All the best

Dilip D. Madnani, MD, FACS · Answer

It sounds like you recently had a scar revision on your face to make it thinner. The process of scar maturation can take months to heal. There are things you can do to optimize the healing. Initially you want to keep the area clean with some kind of dressing or topical ointments (this will vary based on surgeons preference). This is usually done for about a week to two weeks. After this the wound should be kept clean, and the most important thing to do now is to keep the wound out of the sun while it is healing. There are topical scar therapies out there (my disclaimer is that I currently sell one). These are usually used after the wound is closed and are silicone-based. Based on your skin type, type of scar revision that was performed, and location, the area will heal differently. So it can take a few weeks to a few months for the area to heal completely. The actual process of scar maturation, the process by which the scar continues to soften and flatten can take even longer,  a year or two. If you are not happy with the way the scar looks after a few months, I would follow up with your surgeon to discuss further treatments. There are other options such as steroid injections or laser therapies that can be done to further soften the look of the scar, but once again it varies on skin type and type of scar.

John Michael Thomassen, MD · Answer

These are incisions that are placed in optimal locations for healing as well as sutured under minimal tension with very fine sutures.  I have seen scars from facelifts heal remarkably well inside of 2-3 weeks.  Of course, the details matter including how long the sutures are left in place, how the wounds are taken care of after surgery, and the use of scar creams, sun exposure, etc.

Jeffrey W. Hall, MD · Answer

The scars go through a period of being red for a few months until eventually fading to white.  Most scars have matured by one year post-op.  They may be covered with makeup as soon as a few weeks post surgery.

How long would it take for the scar from stitches after facelift to fade?

Answers (18)

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