How Patients Feel After a Deep Plane Facelift

This video explains how patients commonly feel after a deep plane facelift, including why many people find recovery easier than expected. It covers early improvements seen once dressings are removed, typical swelling and bruising patterns, and how results continue to refine over the following weeks.

Transcript:

So the day has arrived. You have drummed up the courage to have the treatment, you have gone through the process, and you are on the other side now. This is an exciting time. How do patients feel after they have a facelift?

Most patients find that they were unduly concerned about the recovery after a facelift. One common misconception is that it is going to be painful. In fact, it is the other way around. Rather than painful, they feel more numb on the face, so pain is not a main issue at all.

The next day after your surgery, we bring you back to remove the bandage or dressing, and immediately you can see the changes in your face. There is not much bruising following a deep plane facelift because the stress is not on your skin. All in all, you do not have a very swollen or very bruised appearance. What you have is subtle swelling which is deep to the layer of your lift, and you will feel numb for quite some time.

Later on, once your face has healed, people immediately recognise how much their face feels in sync with their mental image of themselves. It is still their face and you still look the way you are, but you look more energetic, refreshed, and natural. Your face is in sync with the mental image you had in your mind.

The only longer-term issue left for a few weeks to a few months is numbness in certain parts of the face and neck. Most immediate concerns after a facelift practically fade away within the first couple of weeks.

It can feel quick. People often feel relieved to get themselves back and can see the result fairly quickly, even though there is more healing to do. The next day, once we remove the bandage, in most people you can see the difference. The impact of having a deep plane facelift is quite apparent even within the first couple of days after surgery. That continues to get better as the underlying swelling resolves and scar tissue continues to remodel over the following weeks to months. Things continue to get more streamlined over the next few weeks, but even within the first couple of days you will see a physical impact of the surgery.

There is a mental impact of having general anaesthesia, so most people will feel a bit groggy and might feel slightly nauseous, but that settles down within the first few days. Overall, recovery from a major surgery such as a deep plane facelift is less onerous than what most people have in their mind.

We have a quiz below that will help you understand whether a deep plane facelift or other techniques surrounding the face might be right for you. Take a moment, have some fun, and take the quiz below.