Neck Lift

While you're making preparations, be sure to arrange for someone to drive you home and be with you overnight. Your surgery will be performed in our outpatient surgery center at 11190 Warner Avenue, Suite 400; Fountain Valley, CA. You will not be allowed to have anything to eat after 9pm the evening before surgery or drink after midnight the night before surgery. You should have clean, dry hair and wear no makeup or moisturizers on your face or neck. You should not bring jewelry, contact lenses, or valuables on the day of surgery. Wear loose, comfortable clothing with a shirt that buttons or zips in the front (we don't want to put anything on over your head when you get out of surgery). For women, we suggest bringing sunglasses and a scarf to wear home over your hair. Arrive two hours prior to surgery.
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You will rest at home for several days keeping your head elevated (approximately 45 degree angle) and using ice packs to reduce the swelling and bruising (7 minutes on / 3 minutes off). Frozen peas in a ziplock bag wrapped in a thin towel work well to contour to your lower face and provide adequate cooling. You may experience some numbness so remember not to put ice or anything hot directly onto skin because you may have decreased awareness of temperature damage. Diligent use of cold compresses during the first three to five days will significantly decrease your swelling and bruising and decrease healing time. Your healing incision lines may itch a little. Avoid scratching them.
You will begin taking pain medication and antibiotics after surgery. Each time you take your pain medication, you should have a snack as the medication can be irritating to your stomach. You should eat soft foods and avoid talking to reduce swelling. For the first 24 to 48 hours you will have a sensitive stomach and you should eat mild foods such as you would normally eat if you had the flu (soups, yogurt, etc.). Dr. Nguyen also strongly suggests Gatorade to replenish your fluid levels.
Bandages and some of the sutures will be removed at one week. Post surgical swelling may temporarily cause the look of unevenness, skin changes, hard spots, and ridges. Do not panic, this will go away. After the first week much of the remaining discoloration can be concealed with a cream-based cosmetic. Do not apply cosmetics to any incision line before 48 hours after suture removal. Hair can be washed after your one-week follow up.
The remainder of the sutures will be removed at two weeks and you may resume many of your normal activities, including light work. After two weeks, and once all incisions are well healed (no open areas or scabs), you can begin using Scar Guard® scar treatment on the incisions. Scar Guard® is available at the pharmacy in our building.
Most of the bruising and much of the swelling will have disappeared by the second week. The remainder of the swelling will continue to subside over the next several weeks. Pink scars will eventually fade to an unnoticeable white color but this may take up to a year. There will be some numbness of the lower face and neck, which will continue to diminish over several months. You should wait eight weeks for chemical hair treatments, including hair color. After eight weeks you may also resume your normal exercise routine.
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