After a neck lift lower facelift, why do some doctors recommend keeping the headwrap on for a month or just a day?

During surgery, the skin is elevated off the underlying tissue. Until it is healed, the skin can be lifted off by fluid. Dressings help compress the skin in place and prevent fluid buildup. As to how long dressings should stay on, it’s up to the doctor.

Thank you for your question!  Swelling after some invasive procedures can persist for months, so it's important to be on the right after-care protocols. I recommend following up with your physician about their suggested after care protocol. I have my patients wear compression for 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the procedure. To improve your final results, I also recommend adding Vanquish for further fat removal; truSculpt iD, Exilis, Forma, and Venus Legacy for additional skin tightening; and Cellutone / ZWave to make the skin smooth, remove scar tissue, and improve the skin’s appearance.
It will take 6 to 12 months to see the final outcome. Ultimately, if you are unhappy with your results, please speak to your physician. You can always get a revision procedure by an expert if needed. Best, Dr. Emer

This is really a wonderful question and one that I get asked very frequently.  I usually take the head wrap off the next day because the deeper support has been done with deeper inside stitches. I'm not relying on external skin and dressings to hold your tissues where I want them to stay. 
I strongly feel that it's very important to have an honest conversation with your surgeon about your particular situation, lifestyle, work environment and specifically which procedures you're having done so that you both have the most honest answer about your recovery and are realistic with expectations and results.
I hope this helps and wish you all the best in your surgery and event. If it does, please take a moment to up vote this answer on the “respond” button on the top right.  

Thank you for the question. The reason that there is so much variation in the answers that you were getting about a head wrap after face lift results from the fact that there is no clear research that shows the value of the head wrap. I personally think that it helps decrease the risk of bleeding and also helps treat the swelling. A lot of patience do not like to wear them and that baby one reason why some surgeons recommend not wearing them for as long. For me, personally, I advise that they were the head wrap for 48 hours and then, at a minimum, for two weeks at night time and whenever else they can wear it.I personally think that it helps decrease the risk of bleeding and also helps treat the swelling. A lot of patients do not like to wear them and that baby one reason why some surgeons recommend not wearing them for as long. For me, personally, I advise that they wear a head wrap that we put on in surgery for 48 hours and then, at a minimum, for two weeks they wear an elastic head wrap at night time and whenever else they can wear it. They can certainly wear it for longer and more often, but they sometimes get annoyed by it.

The purpose of wearing a head wrap after a neck lift/lower face lift is to add some compression to the area.  This can help to decrease swelling and some surgeons feel it can also help the skin to re-drape better after surgery.  Each surgeon will have their own preference for how long they want their patients to use a head wrap.  I would recommend following the instructions of your particular surgeon.  

 In our practice, we do not use any bandages or  wraps when performing the lower face and neck lift procedure. Instead, we place drains underneath the skin in the neck for 24 hours which accomplishes removing blood and fluid out from underneath the skin which  significantly helps reduce the amount of bruising and swelling after the procedure.

I generally use a wrap with foam to hold pressure and add compression to the skin to avoid any fluid buildup and reduce swelling allowing the patient a much speedier recovery. The head wrap dressing is removed the next day with the drains and generally they are in a headband style wrap that also goes under the chin to help with keeping a nice contoured jawline for two more days. At this time I wash the patients hair in the office and brush it out and they can then go with no dressings. Best regards, Michael V. Elam, M.D.