The healing process from a facelift surgery
After a rhytidectomy surgery, also known as facelift, you should know what you have to do, how or when to do it. This is important if you want to recover faster from your facelift and start to enjoy the results you achieved. A surgeon will explain everything before performing the surgery and you will be aware of what to expect and how to heal faster and in a proper way.
Starting from day 1 to 7: you should rest but not in your bed. Even if it is recommended to be careful after the surgery, you may feel nausea and fatigue and all these may be related to the pain medication and not the facelift procedure on its own. On the first day, you should have a caretaker with you to help you out. Bruising and swelling can peak in the first three to four days after the procedure, but you should be feeling well enough to move around in just two days. Your doctor will prescribe pain medication which can help in managing discomfort that may be a result of the facelift surgery. When you take these medications as instructed, you will be able to control soreness and stiffness in the face, ears and neck and you can do simple activities.
Day 7 to 14: it is normal to see some swelling and bruising on your neck and face, around the eyes or behind the ears during the second week of the surgery. You will start to see the healing process in the third week after the procedure.
Day 15-30: in 3 weeks, the incision will improve and they will look puckered or bunchy but staples and sutures will continue to be in place while settling down. Even if you may be ready to go back to work, there may be some swelling in some places on your face.
Day 30 and beyond: even if you are ready to do everything you were doing in one month, the changes in skin sensation, bruising and swelling will not resolve completely until at least a year. However, after three weeks, it will be hard for any other person except yourself to know you have undergone a facial surgery.
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