Parotid gland following facelift, advice? 8 days p.o.

A known but rare complication after facelift is an injury to the parotid gland causing saliva to leak into the cheek causing swelling, pain and eventually drainage. This can generally be handled conservatively without additional surgery.  In your case a suture might have penetrated the gland, causing some salivary obstruction, which is evidently mild because you do not report swelling, and it improves over the course of the meal. This should resolve with time, but I would report it to your surgeon.

Damaging the parotid gland (salivary gland) or the parotid duct would be quite unusual with a facelift procedure. There may be something else going on to cause your symptoms. I would recommend seeing your ps and discuss your concerns.

Hello and thanks for the question.  Generally the parotid gland should not be disturbed with face/neck lift surgery, however it is very close anatomically to the structures being altered.  There is an entity known as "first bite syndrome" which is usually associated with removal of the parotid gland but not generally associated with face/neck lift.  The symptoms tend to improve over time.  
I recommend discussing these issues with your surgeon. Considering that it has only been 8 days, I think it is very early to determine if there will be any lasting symptoms.  Hope that helps and good luck

If you have damage to the parotid gland after surgery you will likely see some swelling on the cheek that worsens with eating.  Saliva can leak out and cause fullness during meals.  This can be treated with Botox and I would recommend close follow up with your surgeon to monitor the area 

The salary glands or near the area where you’re working during a facelift. Occasionally they get disturbed during the procedure. The symptoms are not uncommon when this occurs. Fortunately with time this almost universally stops. It can take 4 to 6 weeks for this to happen.

Saliva production occurs from many different glands in the face/mouth, the parotid is one of them (others include the sublingual and submandibular glands). Dissection as deep as the parotid is not common practice, and when injured the parotid injury is usually a sialocele, which is a collection of salivary fluid which can be treated with oral medications, decreasing intake of foods which increase saliva production, or aspiration. Discuss your concerns with your surgeon in person, and she/he will be able to properly examine the gland and your salivary production concerns.

Hi
  Thanks for writing in... you are still very early in the process. While it is normal to expect some discomfort, it is important to have your surgeon check these issues out in person so an exam can be performed. I expect it is the result of some of the deep sutures that were placed but only an exam will solve the issue. 

DrC