Sodium intake after face lift. Will it add to the swelling?

Yes, sodium (salt) intake after a facelift or any other cosmetic surgery, such as eyelid surgery or rhinoplasty, can significantly impact swelling.The typical maximum daily amount I recommend is 1,500 milligrams.  This follows the recent guidelines of the RDA.  Many patients are surprised about how much sodium is in soups, protein drinks, and "non-fat" labeled foods, etc.  Indeed, much of the flavor that comes in "non-fat" foods is from sodium.  I often have patients tell that they do not use salt (from a salt shaker) on their food and therefore they must be consuming a low sodium diet.  You are doing the right and best approach by reading the labels, and you can use Google to find foods with low sodium, that will meet your nutritional needs, and keep you under 1500 mg.I hope this helps.

Excess sodium after facelift will increase total body water and swelling in the face.Limiting daily intake to 1200 mg is probably a good idea.

Yes, limiting sodium is helpful in terms of minimizing swelling (so is keeping your head elevated in a reclining chair, avoiding nausea anf vomiting and keeping your blood pressure in normal range). Try making some home made soups without adding regular salt. You can use a salt substitute, potassium chloride if you do not have renal failure. 

It is a good idea to limit your sodium intake for at least the first 2-3 weeks following a facelift.  The more salt you put into your body, the more water your body holds onto.  In an area that has undergone surgery, this effect can be very profound.  It can serve to acutely re-stretch the skin that just just been tightened, and contribute to early recurrence of sagging and laxity.  It would be prudent to stay under 1200-1500 of sodium per day.  Look for the reduced-sodium soups, but be aware that these can still have a relatively large amount of sodium.  Also avoid pizza and certain ethnic cuisines (e.g. Chinese).  The addition of the homeopathic medication Arnica Montana can also be helpful in reducing the magnitude of swelling following on operation.  Best wishes!

Salt or sodium in your diet definitely can increase the amount of fluid or water retention in your body. If you have any surgery, especially a facelift, eating foods with a large amount of sodium will definitely increase the amount of swelling in the operated area. In general, it is best to try and limit your daily sodium intake to less than 1500mg. Foods that are canned can be especially high in sodium as it is used as a preservative. Fresh foods, fruits, vegetables, yogurts are all very low in sodium and helpful after surgery.

If you eat an absorbent amount of sodium you can retain fluids. If you do not have any blood pressure problems it really should not cause swelling after your surgery. But, too much sodium can lead to retention of fluid.

There is a tendency for swelling after facelift and high sodium intake will aggravate it.  The body conserves fluid after surgery due in part to the release of hormones.  This may increase for 3 or 4 days before it begins receding.  Elevation of the head, ice packs used judiciously and certain herbs will lessen the swelling

If you are not sensitive to sodium and you eat normally on a regular basis, I usually don't recommend any specfic changes in diet. Ofcourse eating healthy foods that avoid constipation, bloating, fried foods, spicy foods etc. would be helpful.  Eating a well balanced diet is always good.  So, specifically limiting sodium in otherwise healthy patients is not really necessary.Actually in many patients a little bit of prolonged swelling of the face actually makes a patient look better. So I would not worry about some small amount of swelling unless there is swelling due to a blood accumulation or from a seroma.

It is best to stick to a low salt diet after your surgery.  Salt increases the amount of water retention that you have and lead to increase swelling.  Canned foods and soups generally have higher sodium as it is a preservative. Best to avoid them.  Also be careful of eating or drinking anything too hot after surgery.  After surgery you may have tightness of the neck and jaw line. This can make chewing uncomfortable. We advise our patients to have softer foods for this reason. Smoothies, yoghurt, soft vegetables, and even Ensure (or similar diet supplements) are often good after facelift surgery foods. 

A facelift typically requires some time, so undoubtedly your anesthesiologist will run your IV solutions, to ensure that you are well hydrated.  Even controlling salt intake, post-op, you may experience swelling of your fingers, eyelids and arms. You are correct in assuming that your jaws may be sore, post-op and that a soft diet is appropriate.  Try protein shakes, scrambled eggs, boiled pasta, ground meat, mashed bananas, yoghurt, pudding.  The body's response to "trauma" is to swell but it's certainly exacerbated when your principal diet is canned soup or Top Ramen.  Ask your PS for recommendations & good luck.