Neuroplaxia, swelling, recovery? 17 days post facelift

Healing after your facelift and nerve bruisingNeuropraxia can occur and can take weeks or a few month to sort our.Swilling can take weeks.  make sure its not a blood collection or fluid such as parotid  or serroma which can be treated early

Swelling after a facelift is common. Due to this swelling it can affect the nerves as well. Steroids can help with the swelling but time and patience will be the biggest benefit to you. Obviously it is anxiety provoking to not be able to move parts of your face at this time but following up with your surgeon will help alleviate your fears. I hope this helps.Ritu Chopra MD

Hello,Thank you for your question. The swelling may take many weeks to subside and nerves will take months to recover. Follow up closely with your Plastic Surgery to ensure that you are healing well and your swelling is resolving as expected. Follow your Surgeon's direction for medication.All the best

Swelling after a facelift is very common and can day months, not days, to resolve. However, ask your surgeon about whether or to continue the medication. He or she knows your case best. I'm sorry that you are experiencing this, but hang in there. Best, Dr. Nazarian

Thank you for your question. Some of what your are describing is normal after a facelift, such as numbness and swelling. In addition, you should be assessed in person to have the swelling controlled. It is still very early in the healing phase. All the best,

Severe asymmetric swelling after a facelift would prompt me to consider the possibility of a hematoma. This should be drained. Seldom to swelling require steroids after a facelift. This is something that should be followed carefully by your own surgeon.

The swelling may be responsible for the motor loss on that side of your face this may not be a direct nerve injury.  Your surgeon needs to decide if there is bleeding that needs to be drained in order to allow this to resolve quickly.  If not, then just compression with a face garment may help.  The steroids shouldn't worsen the situation.  Once swelling improves you may see animation of the upper lip return.  

Healing after plastic surgery is a process and the earlier parts are the most challenging. Emotions are a big part of the process as well. Best is to discuss specifically with the operating surgeon so that he /she can take a look. Our patient i Book has a lot of basic information as well.

Swelling, numbness, and even weakness with animation are all commonly seen after a facelift, and it can easily take months (not days) to see continued improvement. As long as the swelling is not due to a hematoma or seroma (trapped blood or fluid) being patient and allowing your body to heal is your best bet. The steroids can be helpful in the short term, and as long as the side effects are not a problem you can discuss continuing or stopping them with your surgeon.Healing from a face lift can be emotionally draining because of what you are describing. Fortunately the weakness you describe in your upper lip will return with time, and while there may be areas of permanent numbness, you should feel this continue to improve for 1-2 yrs. Follow up closely with your plastic surgeon because they too want you to look as good possible as soon as possible. They may have more recommendations for the swelling (like massage) that could be done more aggressively as you continue to heal.Hang in there! The early phase is tough. I tell people they are kind of like a "bad hair cut" for the first couple of months. Things don't look quite right initially, but with a little time it looks great!Best wishes for a speedy recovery,

 Each person is unique in how fast he or she recovers from any type of surgery. Swelling following a face lift resolves a continuing basis. The immediate swelling/bruising significantly reduces typically in 10-14 days with some people taking shorter or longer. However the recovery process will continue in a less dramatic fashion for weeks to come. The numbness that you're experiencing is normal because  the nerves that transmit sensation to the brain are cut when the skin flap is lifted. These are very tiny nerves that will grow back into the skin to restore your feeling in those areas in a few months typically. The crookedness of your smile is related to the nerves that control those smile muscles. In this case, unlike the  feeling nerves of the face, these nerves are  normally just bruised(rarely are they severed during surgery) and their function to make you smile normally will return usually within a few months. Like any bruise, the recovery time will be determined by the severity of the bruising. Steroids can help mitigate the inflammation from the bruising but it can also slow down the healing process of the incisions. So talk to your MD about how long he thinks steroid use is indicated. Have patience- the greater majority of times, everything will return to normal.