Swelling and bruising can vary from person to person based upon their skin type, medical history and how they care for themselves following surgery. Thus, recovery time is individual. However, on average most patients having facial surgery find that they can resume normal social and work activities within 7-10 days.
It takes 12-18 months to obtain your final result. However, customarily after 7-10 days the swelling and bruising are down to the point that most people can use little or no makeup to camouflage any bruising and return to work and other social activities. However, over the next several weeks the swelling will continue to resolve, and numbness and tightness continue to subside. During this time, if needed, our staff can help with various makeup camouflaging techniques to facilitate resuming your normal social activities.
There are a number of things that we feel are very important in expediting your recovery and return to normal social and work activities. Swelling and bruising can be markedly reduced by stopping all aspirin containing compounds 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after surgery.
In addition, we recommend that individuals stop taking vitamins and herbs that start with the letter “G”- garlic, ginseng, ginkgo- as they can reduce the platelets from clotting effectively and result in more bruising.
It is also important during the postoperative recovery to maintain ice compresses for 36-48 hours after surgery and to avoid any heavy lifting or straining. For this reason, it is important to be sure that you have support at home from family and friends.
Post Op Instructions
- Sleep with head elevated 30-40 degrees for two weeks
- Apply cold compresses over neck and cheek areas every 10 minutes for 48 hours following surgery
- No heavy lifting or straining over 5 pounds for 7-10 days after surgery
- Soft or liquid diet for 5-7 days following surgery
Patients ask about taking various herbs and medications such as Arnica to help reduce swelling and bruising. A number of studies have been performed regarding the use of Arnica, but results are inconclusive. In fact, some studies feel that Arnica may actually result in more bruising and swelling. For that reason, we do not recommend taking Arnica before or after surgery.
With recovery, the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” could not be more true. Keeping your activity reduced for the first several days after surgery; avoiding any heavy lifting or straining; and maintaining ice compresses is critically important in reducing bruising and accelerating you healing process. We have found that swelling is most 3-5 days after surgery and then markedly decreases, such that most individuals are able to resume activities at 7-10 days following the procedure.
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