Is It Possible to Correct a Bad Facelift?

Facelifts are becoming very common procedures for many people who want to look younger and feel better about themselves. These surgeries don’t actually get rid of wrinkles or creases in the face, but they can make someone appear to have more vigor and less age. When done right, other people won’t even know you had a facelift done. However, there’s always a risk of a bad facelift. If that happens, you’ll wonder if it’s possible to correct it. It is.

What Is a Facelift?

A facelift, also known as a rhytidectomy, is a cosmetic procedure that results in your face looking younger in appearance. It can reduce saggy folds of skin on your jawline and cheeks. It can also deal with other facial changes in shape that are related to aging. The doctor will pull back a flap of your skin on both sides of your face. Tissues under the skin get altered to make your facial contour look more youthful again. Excess skin is removed prior to the flap being sutured. Having a neck lift done at the same time is a common addition to this procedure.

How Do You Know You Had a Bad Facelift?

Signs of a bad facelift can be numerous, but one telltale is visible scarring. Effective surgeons make every effort they can to minimize your scarring, especially when the face is concerned. Medical complications might include skin necrosis, skin discoloration, facial nerve injuries, infection, prolonged swelling, and fluid accumulation.

Elongated or pulled ears are another potential warning sign of a bad facelift. Part of this procedure involves pulling the skin upwards and back in a trajectory similar to the ears. However, too much skin tension or too much extra skin cut away can make your ears look like they got fused to your jawline. If your sideburns change, that can also be an indicator.

Skin that is so tight it’s difficult to move can be another warning sign of a bad facelift. While you do want to look younger or better, unsecured skin can change your appearance to the point of making your procedure obvious to others. That might not be something that you want.

How Long Should You Wait Before Getting a Corrective Procedure Done?

Many doctors advocate a minimum of six months before getting a corrective procedure done. You might even be recommended to wait a full year. There are two reasons for this.

1. Healing Time

Your body will need at least that much time in order to heal from the previous procedure before it’s ready for another round.

2. Making Sure

The first facelift might not actually show its full potential until after many months of the body healing and adjusting to it. It’s possible that you don’t like your earlier facelift at first but later realize that it actually is working.

If both these conditions are met, and you still want to get a facelift revision, then there are certain doctors out there not just skilled in facelifts but also doing corrective work after a first attempt. You deserve to look and feel good, and it’s possible to make that happen. That’s still true, even if it means a second attempt.

Should You Have the Same Doctor Correct Your Facelift?

Whether or not the first doctor should perform the revision can be a tough decision. Corrective surgeries handled by doctors different from the first might have slightly higher error rates. Revisiting your first doctor also means you’ll be dealing with someone already familiar with you personally. They might even give you a discount based on how the first surgery went.

Having said that, they are also the doctors that didn’t perform up to your expectations. You might not have any reason to believe they’d do better a second time. It’s worth shopping around and getting a second or even third opinion, especially if you can find a doctor experienced in revision procedures.

The most important thing to know is that while most facelifts are successful the first time around, bad facelifts can happen. Fortunately, with patience, you can have a corrective facelift happen later down the road that gives you what you want.