Should the Wound Be Draining After 3.5 Weeks?

Thank you for your question. At 3.5 weeks, things should be healed.  You may have a small infection and the drainage should be cultured.  If there is no bacteria, it could be a suture abscess and could take some time to fully dissolve. I hope this helps.

In general, the side effects of a facelift are the following:



1) Swelling


2) Bruising


3) Asymmetry


4) Bleeding



After 3.5 weeks, it is not normal to have a yellow discharge, and this may be a sign of infection. To answer your question, the wound should be closed by now.  But it is not abnormal for the area to still be tender. I would recommend following up with your surgeon as soon as possible. I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck.


Typically there should be no further drainage after the first week of healing following a facelift.  It would be important returned your surgeon to find out why this is the case than one treatment is necessary.

From your description my guess is that you have some compromised skin behind the ear. This usually heals itself with proper wound toilet. Your surgeon should have brought this to your attention.

At this point, there should not be any drainage from the incisions. Please see your surgeon so that this can be examined.

You should not be having any kind of drainage from your facelift after 3 1/2 weeks. You should return to see your surgeon as soon as possible to make sure you don't have an infection.

Please see your surgeon.  It might be an injected buried stitch that is draining.  Treatment is simply removing the offending stitch.  However, this is not normal and you need to be assessed in person to determine precisely what is causing the problem.  Please do not wait any longer.

In general, most of the drainage from the incision sites should settle down by seven to ten days after surgery, but this can linger for a while longer.

You should see your surgeon to ensure that there is no sign of infection or other problem.

There can be variation in the healing process following a facelift, so having some drainage at 3-4 weeks after the procedure would not be unheard of but would not be the norm.  I would recommend returning to your surgeon to be evaluated to try and determine what might be the cause of your problem.  

Dear GDAB,

Thank you for your question.  Sometimes, the tissue pulled behind the ear has slow healing problems, either because of tension or poor circulation.  This is because this part of the tissue is furthest from the blood supply.  If you are being seen by your plastic surgeon, and this is his assessment, then it will slowly heal. Continue the local wound care he prescribed and continue to follow up with him.  Culturing this area will always show bacteria, as your body is colonized with bacteria.

Best Wishes,

Pablo Prichard, MD