Persistent swelling 6 months post endoscopic facelift - should I be worried? (Photo)

Question

I had an endoscopic brow & cheek lift in Nov ‘23. In Jan ‘24 post surgery swelling appeared uniform. In Feb ‘24 it became more apparent under the eye area creating swollen festoons. I’m now 6 months post and it's still VERY swollen. My doctor says it’s a normal side effect and it'll go by itself in a year’s time. I tried radio frequency and massages but no improvement. Is this a normal side effect after 6 months or should I be worried? Is there a treatment?

Ruslan Zhuravsky, DO · Answer

Hi,Normal is a tough word in cases like this. Ideally, you have surgery, there's swelling, most of it resolves within 6 months and life goes on. However, lingering swelling and festoons (a unique type of swelling) can certainly occur and last for a long time. Despite all our in depth knowledge, it's hard to say definitive exactly when and if they will resolve. One of the major contributors to these is poor lymphatic flow, allowing the swelling to remain in these "pockets". If you ever had under eye or cheek filler, even many years ago, it might help to dissolve this. Warm compresses, massages, and staying hydrated (but lower salt) can also help.I have seen nice improvement with RF microneedling. Patience and relatively low risk interventions during the 1st year are the key. I hope this helps!

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

As time passes, your outcome is stabilizing and what you’re seeing is the outcome of your surgery.
Plastic surgery outcomes are related to candidacy and performance of the provider.
As mentioned previously in order to make quality assessment, we always need to see proper before and after pictures.
If you don’t have before and after pictures and ask your surgeon to forward the pictures they took.
 Being unhappy with plastic surgery outcomes is nothing new.
It doesn’t mean that there’s a problem or complication.
It simply means you don’t like the outcome.
Massage and radio frequency recommendations was silly in my opinion.
I think you should stop seeing this as some type of complication and instead begin to recognize that this is your outcome.
If you want to have revision surgery, then get an assessment by a competent provider.
Sorry to be a bit blunt.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Persistent swelling 6 months post endoscopic facelift - should I be worried? (Photo)

Answers (2)