Is this scars result normal? Mini lift & neck lift done last year (Photos)

Plastic surgery scars require attention after surgery so that they remain cosmetically-appealing and barely noticeable. In our office, we use a protocol for scars that minimizes their activity in the 6-8 weeks after surgery. If you have late plastic surgery scars, you may also require laser and RF therapy to help reduce the longterm effects of the scarring. Keloids, hypertrophic scars, widened scars, red scars, and hyperpigmented scars all require scar modulation with topical creams followed by lasers and RF therapy. Topical skincare should be directed to a specific need, whether for pigmentation or hypertrophy and our office can guide you through the process to obtain the correct Plato’s Scar cream or Melarase cream for hypertrophy and discoloration. In terms of lasers, we would employ the vbeam laser for redness, Venus Viva RF, PRP microneedling, chemical peels, and Morpheus 8, fractional erbium, or fractional co2. All of these have their individual benefits. Most of all, we recommend you visit a solid plastic surgeon who understands surgical scar revision, laser therapy, and RF therapy for scars.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

The scars you have are hallmarks of a poorly executed face and neck lift because they suggest a tight skin closure. Modern face and neck lift operations are designed to re-suspend the deep supporting structures of the face and neck. They do not rely on skin tightening alone because skin tightening does do produce reliable or durable results and because tight closures cause poor scaring.

There are many factors that can lead to scar visibility after surgery. Some of these are controllable such as placement, tension on the incision, tissue handling, amongst others. There are factors which are patient-specific as well such as medical comorbidities, certain medications, tobacco usage, and genetics.

What I'd counsel you at this point is that you have visible scarring, and we can move forward from here and offer options to improve your situation.

The scars could be treated with a pulsed dye laser to improve some of the coloration. A CO2 laser could be used to blend some of the scarring and texture of the scar into the surrounding skin. Microneedling with PRF could also be used to improve scar appearance.

Additionally, you appear to have a pixie-ear deformity - where the lobule is pulled downwards. This requires a minor surgical revision to reposition the lobule. This can be done under local anesthesia in the office.