Full Face and Neck Lift 3 Months Ago. Jowls Have Come Back?

Jowling should not return so soon after a facelift.  The question is why type of facelift did you have?  Were the muscles tightened?  If so, you should not have the jowls come back at 3 months.  I see this sometimes with patients that go and have some type of mini lift or weekend lift where they only work on the skin.  You definitely need to discuss this with your surgeon.

Without photos, it is difficult to determine what areas of your face were lifted. But It sounds like your full facelift and necklift addressed : tightening neck, smoothing the jowls and lifting the cheeks. Any eyelid or forehead work would not affect the jowls.

The type of lifting procedure depends on how "saggy" the jowls are before surgery. Usually to lift the jowls, the deeper SMAS tissue to the skin needs to be tightened.

However, I would return to your plastic surgeon and review any improvement by before and after photography. Then you can discuss with your provider non-surgical and surgical options to reach your expectations and a satisfactory result.

Thanks for the question. First 24-48 hours after the operation face will be swelling. After 48 hours swelling will be decreases. Scalp area stitches are taken from the day 10. Final results may take 1 month. Patients can return to work after 1 week. The effect of gravity varies according to the aging speed and lifestyle but it provides an average permanent effect of 10 years. I wish you all the best.

There is always some fallback after the facelift but this should be modest and certainly not expected to three months. I definitely would take this up with your surgeon.

Hello, and sorry to hear you are not happy with your result. Your jowls will not spontaneously "come back" after 3 months. It is possible your jowls were not addressed properly in the first place. What was the plan you and your surgeon discussed ahead of time? I would suggest communicating your concern to your surgeon, and ask what exactly was performed in the operating room if you do not know already. To advise on whether or not this is "normal" would require more information about your surgery. It can be made better with a revision procedure if the initial problem was not addressed. If he does not agree, then there is a miscommunication between the two somewhere. If you and your surgeon both decide a touch up would be necessary to obtain your desired result, then this would be the next step to take. I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck.

It is normal for changes to occur during the first few months after facelift. Sometimes, the face is a little too tight initially and during the maturation and healing, the desired natural look develops. If significant jowling recurs after only 3 months, then there will be more after 9 months. I would discuss your concerns with your facelift surgeon to understand if revision surgery is advisable.

I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with your experience. You should calmly discuss your concerns with your surgeon. It is probably too early for any type of revision but if one becomes necessary you should expect to have to pay for the facility fees. Your surgeon will probably not charge for professional fees. Hang in there.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. Without your before and after pictures, it's difficult to give specific recommendations. However, it seems like you are experiencing an all too common issue with mini-facelifts. These procedures have a shorter operative time and faster recovery... but the tradeoff is that they tend to have a shorter duration of effect as well. In particular, when the procedure addresses the skin only, early sagging or recurrence of jowls is quite common.  For this reason, I recommend a facelift that lifts the deeper muscle and connective tissue layer of the face -- not just skin. A revision facelift is certainly possible, but you may need to get a second opinion.

There are many reasons for the jowls to not totally resolve after a facelift operation, some of which are related to the technique of the surgery. It is impossible to know if this is normal in your situation without seeing your preoperative pictures, the details of your operative report and your post operative results.
Your plastic surgeon will be able to help you determine if this is related to technique and if a revision could resolve the problem. If not you may be able to get other opinions.

Jowls can come back to some degree. However if the jowls appear completely unchanged from before surgery then you need a revision. The key is to get a tightening of SMAS (the underskin tissue attached to all the facial muscles). Make sure to look at your before surgery photos to be objective. If the jowls are not very bad you can minimize the appearance by getting a filler in front (anterior) of the jowls to hide it. You can also get liposuction done on the jowls. Regards                                                                                                                                      Dr. J                                                                                                                                         Disclaimer: This answer is not intended to give a medical opinion and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.