Will vertical folds behind my ears go away? (photo)

This fold represents what happens when the lifted facial skin is pulled backwards and upwards, and the incision behind the ear needs to have the hairline match up (to avoid a visible notch). This fold is the result of what might have been better dealt-with by a little more skin removal behind the ear to tighten this up. It's always a judgement call at the time of surgery, and is usually avoidable by better incision planning. Those of us who have not yet received our perfection badges in the mail will have to admit we see this occasionally in our own patients. It does indeed usually settle, if the fold is mild, and tissues still elastic enough to flatten and contract as healing proceeds and swelling resolves.That being said, this seems a bit more than usual, and your surgeon may need to do a minor local anesthesia revision once things have fully softened and settled. This should not be "explained away" as "normal" nor should you accept this. After spending nearly $10 grand, I'd repair this minor miscue with a "no-charge" when things have softened and settled enough to do so safely (probably 3 months or more after surgery).

yes the fold usually become much less noticeable or go away entirely after a SMAS facelift.  Ask your surgeon if massage is permissible as this can often help.

Hi. The vast majority of these type of folds go away - improvement will continue until at least 3 months (one week is very early). Try to be patient at this stage and wait until all the postoperative
changes have finished before assessing things.