What is this discoloration that appeared after a revision facelift? (Photo)

Question

In 2020 and 2021 I had a deep plane facelift and revision respectively. After the revision a strange purple almost rectangle shaped mark appeared behind my right ear. It has never subsided. What could it be, and any suggestions to eliminate or at least minimize it?

Ronald J. Edelson, MD · Answer

That appears to be an area of increased vascular it’s making the skin more reddish purple. Since it hasn’t faded away it may be worth having laser treatment to it.

Gianfranco Frojo, MD · Answer

That appears to be some very thin skin that healed with some hyperpigmentation. If the skin is very thin and the fascia was accidentally removed, it is not uncommon to also be able to see the pigment of the underlying blood vessels through the skin. If it is just pigment from healing, it can likely be treated with BBL (Sciton laser/light device).

Anil R. Shah, MD · Answer

The area with the least blood supply is the area behind the ear.  I try to avoid extending the incision in front of the hairline as it can become visible.  Since the blood supply is weak in this area, discoloration and scarring is often times worse here.  Lasers (especially to target redness) might help.  You can always attempt to reposition scars but you need a substantial lift otherwise scars can look worse.

Dilip D. Madnani, MD, FACS · Answer

hi, the picture is very blurry so its hard to tell exactly, however, laser skin resurfacing would be an option to help improve the appearance of scarring after facelift and other types of lasers such as IPL/BBL that can be used to improve pigment over the area.

Connie Hiers, MD, FACS · Answer

That discolored area is where the blood flow to the skin was compromised, but did not fully die.  Revision may not be successful in that area. You could try a laser that removes color, but I would avoid being too aggressive or it may become worse.

What is this discoloration that appeared after a revision facelift? (Photo)

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