Drainless vs Drains Lower Face Lift?

Thank you for your question.

Use of drains following lower face and neck lift surgery is relatively common. That being said, there are other ways to control the tendency to bleeding or fluid accumulation under the skin. It is possible to use fibrin glue to promote adherence of the layers in the area of undermining. It is also possible to use quilting sutures, which have been referred to also as hemostatic mesh to produce a similar level of control.

Of course, a big part of the result is related to the quality of sealing the blood vessels during the surgery, and this is not replaced either by drains or other techniques.

In our practice for over 25 years, we place small drains underneath the skin in the neck to extract the blood out from underneath the skin to reduce visible bruising. If you're not going to use drains, then you'll need painful bandages and pressure wraps applied around the face and neck for several days.