Face Lift Recovery and Your First Look in the Mirror Afterward – Information for Tampa Patients

Questions about face lift recovery, and how a patient can expect to look in the days following surgery, are often addressed to Dr. John Roach at the Bayside Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Since 2008, Dr. Roach, a trusted plastic surgeon serving the Tampa community, has helped educate many patients about cosmetic procedures, including face lifts, and safely and skillfully performed their surgeries.

Face lift recovery is multi-faceted in that it involves a patient’s physical healing, recovery of sensation, and social resurgence. Knowing what to expect beforehand will not only help you make informed choices about your treatment, but also will allow you to make appropriate arrangements for your recuperation period.

Dr. Roach emphasizes that each patient’s face lift recovery experience will be unique. Nonetheless, you can anticipate swelling, numbness, bruising, and discoloration in and around the facial area, and these symptoms will likely worsen over the first 24 to 36 hours after surgery. For the first day or so, your surgeon will probably recommend keeping your face bandaged. The bandage will help maintain constant pressure on the surgical area and may include a small tube to drain any excess fluid that collects under your skin. At your follow-up appointment, you physician will remove your post-surgical bandage and may replace it with a lighter dressing.
To help ensure a successful face lift recovery, you should carefully follow your surgeon’s instructions on how to care for the surgical site and when you may resume your regular activities. During your initial consultation and follow-up appointments, be sure to ask any questions you may have about what to expect as you heal. You’ll undoubtedly be excited to see your “new” face, but keep in mind that healing takes time and involves swelling and bruising. Therefore, you must prepare yourself to see your face look worse before it looks better.

Contact the Bayside Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery to schedule a consultation with Dr. Roach at his office near Tampa Bay, Florida. Dr. Roach will be happy to discuss your individual face lift recovery and face lift cost, as well as provide information on breast implants, recovery from that procedure, and the recuperation periods and costs associated with other procedures he performs.