Swollen glands 2 weeks after Neck Lift.

Best to see your plastic surgeon and if not available the plastic surgeon covering his practice. Although local glands, primarily the submandibular glands, can swell after surgery they are not very painful. Blockage of the gland draining duct or an infection can sometimes cause painful one sided swelling which is the reason for my recommendation.

Generally speaking, it can take 6-12 months to completely heal after any plastic surgery procedure. Please keep in touch with your surgeon or his/her clinical staff to discuss your concerns.

Painful swelling of this type could be an infection or small collection of blood. You really should be examined by a doctor. The glands can sometime get inflamed and large after this type of surgery but that usually is not very painful.

Even though your plastic surgeon is out of town he will want to know about this. He should have someone covering for him if he is not available who is also a plastic surgeon. Better safe than sorry, so I would definitely let a real doctor know about this. A fairly uncommon but well known complication of facelifts and necklifts is parotid fistula and or local infections. If it is an infection the issue can become a significant issue so don't wait around and generally if something is hurting that much at this point it is something that needs to be checked out .