What to Expect After a Forehead Lift Surgery

Your surgeon will undoubtedly give you discharge instructions after having a forehead lift surgery. These discharge orders will tell you about what you can expect once you get home, side effects, risks, and when you should call him if something goes wrong. This reading is for those considering having a forehead lift surgery done. Read on to learn what you can expect and how you will recover after having the cosmetic procedure performed.

The First Days Forehead Surgery Post-Op

First you should expect to have sutures and a dressing to your forehead for the first few days after surgery. Most likely the surgeon will want you to come back to his office a day or two after surgery so that he can evaluate how you are healing from the surgery. He will be looking for any signs of infection as well as monitoring how the forehead lift procedure went. Meaning, now that some of the swelling has come down, he will be looking for extra skin around the incisions. If he notes that there may be some left over skin he will notify you of this, will monitor it, and if necessary will trim away this skin later once you have completely healed. You can expect the sutures to come out around day 5 or 6.

Expect Pain from Forehead Lift Post-Op

It should be common sense to know that you will experience much pain after having a forehead lift surgery performed. Your doctor will prescribe pain relieving medications but even if the medications prescribed after surgery is narcotics, do not expect this to alleviate all of the pain. The pain will begin to lessen day by day for about the next couple of weeks. To reduce pain follow the doctors' orders which will entail lots of bed rest, limited mobility, and sleeping with your head elevated. This will not only help reduce swelling but will also reduce tension to the forehead and sutures.

Restrictions after a Forehead Lift

You will not be allowed to bend over for some time after the forehead lift surgery. Bending over could result in intense pain as well as risks of breaking the sutures. It is important for a person who has had or will have forehead lift surgery, also known and a brow lift surgery, that the muscles and tissue of the forehead area were peeled away from the skull, manipulated and stretched by the surgeon, and will need time to heal properly. This is why bed rest is key. When you sleep your body is able to focus on repairing damages to the body and recharging for the next day. After having surgery it is important to sleep as much as you can because the body has a lot of restoring and re-healing to do.

You should also know that for the first two days after having the forehead lift you will not be permitted to walk. Many medical reasonings are behind this, but to just name one, you will have been under general anesthesia during your surgery and most likely be on narcotic pain relievers after surgery. You will be in a lot of pain and walking is very dangerous after having this type of surgery performed; not to mention you run the risk of breaking your sutures and not allowing your forehead muscles, tissues, and skin to heal.

Side Effects and Adverse Reactions to a Brow Lift

It is possible to have some adverse effects after having a forehead lift surgery. Some normal effects will be mild to moderate swelling of the upper part of your face along with bruising and of course pain. However, some adverse reactions that aren't normal but are a risk include numbness to the area that was operated on. This can be temporary or permanent. Nerve damage is a risk and your surgeon will discuss this with you prior to and after the surgery.

Yes you will experience temporary pain, bruising, and swelling after having a forehead lift surgery. You will also have a downtime of about a full month after the surgery as well. However, in most cases, the after effects are worth the pain and time to recover. Many patients are pleased with the more youthful appearance they have after having a forehead lift surgery, it is just important or those considering having the procedure done to know what to expect post-op.

Sources:
http://www.surgery.org/consumers/procedures/head/forehead-lift
http://www.syl.com/hb/foreheadliftaftersurgerynumbnessanddiscomfortinthesurgicalsite.html
http://www.medic8.com/cosmetic-surgery/brow-lift.htm