My plastic surgeon doesn't use drain tubes after Neck Lift/Facelift. Is that okay?

I have not placed a drain in any face or neck lift in the last 2 years. My audited haematoma rate is 2%, and seromas if they happen are easily aspirated and/or self limiting. I see no benefit to placing drains at all, a haematoma needs evacuation with or without a drain in place... but they carry risks of infection and pain on removal. I suspect over time their use in facelifting will become less common place.

Thank you for your question.Facelift surgery does not require use of drains.  Many surgeons do, however, place small drains for a short time after surgery, with the goal of reducing bruising.  I personally do not use drains for my facelift patients.  Instead, I take a little extra time during the operation to ensure small areas of bleeding have been carefully cauterised.  Drains do not always necessarily prevent possible bleeding complication.  I do not use drains and have pioneered The Concept Facelift, having a 0% incident rate of hematoma.  It is important to focus more on the results of your surgeon as illustrated in their pre & post operative facelift patients.  Do you like their results, will the surgeon meet your expectations, is the facility where you are going to have your surgery performed accredited?  These might be much more important.  I do not think the use of drains or not drains would reflect the surgeons ability.All The Best 

Drains after a facelift are used to remove exess fluid and swelling from the face.  One issue with drains is that they can be painful when in place and painful to remove.  In addition, drains can only work on one area of the face or neck and not work as evenly as anticipated.  For surgeons who don't use drains, they may find that drains can create a more comfortable postoperative healing course for the patient.  I don't use drains as with my technique my patient's swelling and edema is minimized and drains are not necessary.

Drains after surgery depend on the type of facelift, and the individual patient.  Mini-lifts, and less invasive lifts generally do not need drains.  SMAS or deep planes lifts can be performed without needing drains but if the patient has a propensity for bleeding (either during the facelift surgery or from previous surgeries) then using a drain might be necessary.In all cases, a compression wrap is used to minimize a hematoma or seroma formation.I would ask your surgeon how he manages this because there is a lot of variability and no one approach is standard.

 Drains are used at the discretion of the surgeon. I still use a drain overnight but I'm not convinced that it really makes that much difference.