After lower facelift/neck lift, still numb after 10 months

Excellent advice. I wish I could have read this before my surgery.

Mine is five months past surgery I had upper and lower eyes done, lower face and neck, ther is. OT one good thing my PS did, under my chin one side sags down my left eye is still very swollen and the bone is now mis shaped. I also had some thing go wrong on one side of my face, the PS said the bandage was too tight and I now have necrosis which has caused a huge scar down the side of my face, I cry every day and am on depression medication my PD wants to do more surgery but I don't have the confidence in him. What makes me sick is that I did a lot of research into PS and as he was voted the best PS in my area I chose him. $15,000 down the drain.

Have you gotten any better?

Yes. My surgery was almost 2 years ago as well and I have the same issue as you and am in pain as well. Wish I could go back in time.

i had mine done 3 weeks ago and i am also shocked. I used to have a Farrah Fawcett smile and now its not wide or pretty at all but i also know i am still swollen, cheek contusions are still healing and I hope that is what is preventing my upper cheek from raising into a big smile maybe? Bt I also see my mouth does not open as wide. I read somewhere that someone said don't look in the mirror for two months, and now i know why. I'm hoping someone out there had this experience and in a few months it was back to normal and they could smile their old big broad beautiful smile instead of, as you say, the lower lip cannot depress, only my upper teeth show and the width of my mouth (smile) can't open half as wide. I am hoping this is just normal from the swelling and tightness but I sure hope it loosens with time. I am pretty depressed right now but trying to stay positive. I hope I will be able to write back in a month or two and say how gorgeous it is and I'm fine and it all went back to normal. But if the smile doesn't come back to normal, will someone let me know if there is a way to correct it with more surgery or with mouth exercises? Any hope out there? Pretty depressed. Even though i look much younger, I lost something of "me" and I pray it comes back.

I am the same person who wrote this above and I had to write to let you all know that the very next day the swelling went down considerably and my smile is back about 80% and I was told it takes really two or three months and can even take up to a full year for the process is over. The issue is they keep telling you "Oh in two weeks you can go out and even go to work" so you figure two weeks, not bad, but it's not two weeks, it's most likely months till things settle down. I also started to take the Bromelain tablets again and the swelling started to come down within a day. I took 500 mgs three times a day before surgery and the following two weeks and then was told to stop. so i resumed again and it worked so well. I know i still look a little weird to me, and I see it's coming back a bit more each day. Some days are great and some i feel very depressed and feel i look strange but overall, if you do the research and get a great doctor, you have a much better chance of being okay but man, was this an experience and I'd say what Betty Davis said, "Getting old is not for sissies" but having a facelift... you have to be Mother Theresa to not have a nervous breakdown. The good news is that you can really get in touch with deeper self issues by going through this, and you even get more spiritual because you are praying so much...(hee). But I went through some severe depression and anxiety over this, after all, it's your face ... And you have to be prepared much better than i was and don't look in the mirror each day, maybe look each week and if you take a photo of yourself, you can compare to the week before, same pose etc and you will see how much its getting better. Good Luck and stay positive, the fear can make it so much worse. When I went into acceptance, and told myself it will all work out, it started to change pretty quick, along with the things I mentioned above.

OMG. You are experiencing every symtom and emotion that I am! I had my surgery 8 weeks ago. I had a brow lift, blepharsty,mid facelift, neckline, laser resurfacing around my eyes and mouth. When I smile I look ridiculous. I can't open my mouth want a hamburger so bad but can't get it my mouth! My neck is still so swollen which my PS says will get better ( I have my doubts). Even now when someone I see that hasn't seen me for a while asks "what the hell happened to you" instead of you look good. Wish I had known about all this before but probably would have went through it anyway. I wish I could take it all back and keep my jowls and wrinkles. Hoping all goes well with you and that in 6 months as they are telling me I will be happy.

I had surgery done on my nasal septum.  It caused a lot of numbness in my face, and over the years, my nasal bone (or the right nasal vault) specifically, has shown signs of collapse.  It effected my spine and neck significantly.  Incidentally, my chiropractor said that her patients who have had facelifts have TERRIBLE problems with their necks due to the contraction of scar tissue.  She recommended I get Erchonia Laser treatments for the scar tissue on the right side of my face, and invisible inside the nose.  It has helped me a lot.  I don't feel so stuck, or so much pulling.  So:  look up ERCHONIA LASER.

How did this resolve for you? I'm having the same experience and appalled at the submental 1/2" rope and extreme tightness and pain. I'm also told it will go away, but want to know why did this happen? I went to a top notch PS and my social life is wrecked.

I am three years post op on a neck lift. My face has 24/7/365 pain and tightness - as if I have masking tape across my cheekbones and a noose around my neck. There is no relief except warm and cold compresses. The pain never ends. Worse yet - my cheekbones stick out so far now I look strange. People constantly ask me if I'm OK - checking out at cash registers, my friends, everyone....so my facial expression is ok in the mirror but clearly not OK in public. Now the scars in front of ears have moved as well and I have stabbing pain on the exterior ear. I used a highly reputable board certified surgeon in Denver. The pain has increased as the years go by. Don't do it people - there is not enough information on the internet to warn people off. If your reflection worth pain the rest of your life? Yes, it can happen to you.

You must be enough aware when you choose your cosmetic surgeon to get a cosmetic surgery done. I got my neck lift done in Dr. Kris Conrad's cosmetic surgery clinic in Toronto. The surgery was successfully done and i didn't feel any side effects after the surgery. If you pain is increasing then it would be advisable if you consult an efficient surgeon soon. I just hope you get well soon.

Hello CID, I just had Precision TX yesterday and am concerned because I also cannot depress my lower lip, which affects my speech and smile. How did you progress?

I too feel I was not prepared for the long recovery. I was told it would take 2 weeks pre -op but post op hear 3 months. One side of my neck is pulled way tighter than the other and my PS just keeps telling me it is perfect. :-(

Any improvement to your situation?

I had internal necrosis in both breasts...it does not go away even after 2 plus years...what happens is the fat cells from the trauma are dead and then our body healing process surrounds the necrosis with scar tissue. So you have a sac fill with dead liquified fluid and hard golf ball type scar tissue surrounding it. Mine had to be removed surgically.... Praying I don't get another one.