How to Prepare for Face-Lift Surgery Complications

Facelift surgeries are routinely performed and are relatively safe procedures, but sometimes complications can arise.  Make sure to look for signs of these complications by keeping a close eye on excess bruising and pain around the face.  Also, be prepared to take good care of incision areas because heavy scars can occur and will need to be fixed later on by your surgeon.

• Occasionally an infection may occur during your recovery from a facelift.  Look for signs that this is occurring by being mindful of areas of increased swelling as well as redness and pain around the face.  Contact your doctor right away if you are concerned about an infection so that you can be placed on a course of antibiotics to clear up the infection quickly.


• Extra bleeding can occur around the face area after a facelift surgery.  This can cause extra bruising and swelling around the face as bleeding occurs under the skin. Keep an eye on bruising of the face and contact your doctor if it looks severe or continues to get worse.


• Light scarring will occur after a facelift procedure, but in some individuals scars can be heavy and thick.  Make sure to care properly for the incision sites on your face to try to reduce scarring as much as possible.  If you see signs that scars are becoming thick or incision areas are not healing properly ask your doctor about procedures that can be performed to reduce the scars once they heal.


• Be prepared for slight hair loss that can occur after a facelift surgery.  This hair loss is the result of scar tissue around the scalp that causes hair to fall out.  Talk to your facelift surgeon before your surgery to see whether or not this hair loss can be prevented.  If you do lose hair after surgery, you may not be able to wear your hair up, as this will show the hair loss around your face.