Could My Doctor Have Inadvertently Nicked a Blood Vessel?

Whenever a face/neck lift is performed, small blood vessels are cut as the incisions are made through the skin and as the skin flaps are raised.  It is normal to cauterize these vessels to stop them from bleeding.  Normally, this should not cause a burn on the skin, unless the bleeding was possibly coming from the skin side of the flap.  I would discuss your issue with your surgeon, as he would know exactly what was done during your particular procedure.    

     Thermal discharge from electrocautery used to stop bleeding can cause burns from beneath the skin that may be seen on the skin's surface.Kenneth Hughes, MDLos Angeles, CA

All I can do is speculate what may have happened. I would recommend that you ask your facial plastic surgeon why you have the skin changes that you discovered. As part of facelift surgery, one routinely encounters blood vessels that need to be sealed with electrocautery. For this process to take 1 hour is rather unusual.

Blood vessels are routinely cut during facelift surgery.  This is a normal part of the procedure.  Bleeding is also routinely cauterized.  You will need to discuss your specific case and recovery with your surgeon further.  All the best on your recovery.

During some surgical procedures, such as a facelift, some blood vessels that have to be cut are cauterized to stop the bleeding and sometimes the skin tissue can absorb some of the heat, giving the appearance of a burn.  During the healing process this burned appearance can show up but can be taken care of easily with post op care. I recommend contacting your treating surgeon and discussing your concerns and what can be done to properly take care of it. “Dr. D”

Hello,

Thank you for the question.  During a facelift small vessels from the deep surface of the skin to the deep tissue are cut to free up the skin.  These are sometimes cauterized (electrical burn).  If the small vessel bleeding was coming from the skin surfaced your surgeon would then cauterize the undersurface of your skin.  If this is done too long or at two high a setting a small skin burn can result.  Your surgeon can help you manage this issue and guide you along the recovery process.

All the best,