Improved or not? Behind the ear facelift incision healing troubles. (Photo)

It looks from the photographs that you may be experiencing some delayed wound healing behind your ear. That is not uncommon and may be due to some compromise in blood flow. Make sure you do not smoke, continue your doctor's recommendations and keep the area clean. It can take several weeks or more to heal but in that area, it should not be visible and should not negatively impact your result.

Thank you for your question, longhairedlady. Please consult with the board certified facial plastic surgeon who performed your surgery for more detailed cleaning guidelines as you will not be able to verify if your current cleaning procedures are making any improvements for several weeks.Best wishes,

Since you love your result so far and you do have a good relationship with your Doctor, I recommend that you return to him for further instructions in wound care. This looks like a dehiscence of the incision behind your ear and it should heal well with time.  An absorptive wound healing sponge such as Polymem (made by 3M) can be helpful in these circumstances.  Good luck.

It appears that you are having poor healing due to poor blood flow to the edge of the wound.  The unhealthy tissue and scab will need to be removed from the wound and caraeful wound care will be needed.  I would advise having your surgeon look at the area and manage this for you.  Best regards

If left alone, this area would most likely eventually heal. However, that yellow-brown tissue is a form of scab. It's an area where the subcutaneous tissues have been exposed to air, desiccated, and are now acting like a scab. Without cleaning up these tissues, this area will take 6-10 weeks to heal. As well, the gap forming in that area means additional healing time.I would strongly recommend revisiting your surgeon, not his/her nurse, and having that area "debrided ". This can mean scraping it with a curet, trimming that yellow scab with scissors, or excising it with a knife. Personally, I would follow this up with a few stitches to tack the ear back down to speed the healing process and to minimize any cosmetic concerns. Best of luck!Dr. SubbioBoard-Certified Plastic SurgeonNewtown Square/Philadelphia, PA