“It’s better safe than sorry” applies to many life circumstances, but it especially applies to healing after a facelift. Many people think that actions to reduce bleeding, bruising, and inflammation begin after the facelift, when in fact, Dr. Kessler stresses that preparation before the procedure is much more important. Here’s the tried and true advice he gives his facelift patients to follow at least two weeks prior to surgery.
What to do for optimal healing after a facelift
Dr. Kessler recommends a well balanced diet with adequate protein. He cautions to avoid carbs and especially dairy – it has shown to cause inflammation – something you definitely want to avoid. Supplement your diet with products absolutely necessary for healing like Vitamin C and Zinc. It’s also very important that you have adequate levels of iron in your body.
You can also try herbal supplements like arnica montana – though no real documentation has proven its effectiveness – many of Dr. Kessler’s patients have felt that they’ve benefitted from less bruising after surgery because of this healing flower.
What to Avoid
Avoid anything that thins the blood. Non-steroidal compounds like Aspirin and Motrin can contribute to increased bleeding and bruising. Other “medicines” – like fish oil and St. John’s Wort have similar effects and should be avoided. Supplements like Ma Huang interfere with anesthesia and can cause potentially severe effects. That’s why it is vital that you tell your surgeon about ALL medicines and supplements you are taking to avoid potentially disastrous effects.
Sorry smokers – but in order to avoid significant wound healing problems, smoking is something you should avoid. Why? Because smoking constricts blood vessels, which prevents blood from reaching healing wounds. The blood that does get to the wounds has less oxygen – contributing to significant problems in healing after a facelift.
Facelift Technique
The dominant problem in poor healing is the tension put across the wounds after the surgery. This is caused from the large amount of skin that is pulled by the surgeon – making the skin very tight. Generally, the facelift looks great for the first six months – but because the skin stretches and relaxes over time, the scars widen. This can pull the ears forward and down and cause poor positioning of the hairline with widened scars.
Because there are many ways to perform a facelift, make sure that the technique your surgeon is using is right for you. Dr. Kessler uses a technique that avoids all of the above by focusing on deep tissue techniques that result in minimal inflammation. This procedure avoids all tension in the skin and yields longer lasting results from the facelift.
After the surgery, Dr. Kessler prefers not to dress the face, as he believes it generates complications. He prefers to see the tissue as it’s healing, so that if problems arise, they can be addressed as early as possible. The earlier the problems are detected, the less difficult they are to treat.
Demystifying the Popular Post-Surgery Healing Trend
Lately, there has been much talk about using hyperbaric oxygen therapy for dramatic improvements in healing after a facelift. While in the military, Dr. Kessler remembers doing this to treat severe infections or radiation induced injuries. This involved putting patients in a chamber and increasing the amount of oxygen and air pressure in the room.
Now what’s happening is that cosmetic practices are offering specials on this procedure – promoting dramatic improvements in healing after a facelift. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an expensive procedure that, like anything else, has risky side effects. People may experience pressure problems in their eardrums and lungs. Dr. Kessler explains that this is definitely an option, but to keep in mind that it is completely unavoidable if you follow all of the preventative steps prior to your facelift surgery.
For any questions on this or any other procedure, contact us!
