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| Face Lift Post Op Instructions |
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You will have a large gauze bandage wrapped around your head when you come out of surgery. It should be snug but not tight. If it feels like it is binding or cutting in please adjust if for comfort.
Dr. Danyo / Dr. Banbury will advise you on the day of surgery when that appointment should be. On the day of your first post-operative visit, you should remove the bandage and thoroughly shower with soap (including your incisions) and shampoo your hair. If the bandage sticks while taking it off, you may wet it in the shower to help loosen it. Do not use hydrogen peroxide or betadine for cleaning. Apply a thin layer of Vaseline or Aquephor to the incisions 2-3 times per day to keep them moist and scab free.
You will be very swollen and bruised for several days after surgery. Your head must be elevated between 48-72 degrees at all times after surgery even while sleeping. You may use extra pillows or a reclining chair for this purpose. You may also use cool packs for 20-minute periods (i.e., 20 minutes on and 40 minutes off). Frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel make excellent cool packs! It is important to not over do application of cold so as not to diminish blood circulation to the skin. Elevation and cold may help reduce the amount of bruising and swelling. (PLEASE NOTE: It will be several weeks for ALL swelling to subside.) If you have a considerable increase in swelling, or if one side swells significantly more than the other, please call our office.
You will receive prescriptions for an antibiotic and pain medications when you are discharged from the hospital. Please take the full course of the antibiotic as directed, and another prescription will not be needed unless you are otherwise advised by Dr. Danyo / Dr. Banbury.
Please call our office immediately if you have any redness that spreads away from the incision(s)/surgical area(s), if the area feels “hot” to the touch, if you run a fever of 101.5 degrees or higher, (it is normal to run a low-grade fever after surgery), or if you have any green, black, yellow or odorous discharge from the incision area(s)!
