Mini Facelift

Q: Dr. Eppley, Recently had a mini facelift. I’m 3 weeks post op and I’m concerned about the areas of what appears to be fat next to my mouth. It gives me a bit of a “joke smile” look quite frankly. I spoke to my doc about it and he said photos were in bad light and area might calm down but I’m looking for a second opinion and wondering if these fat line areas can be removed with micro liposuction or should I use fillers to make less noticeable. I wonder if these areas are the fat that was previously along my jawline, or is it swelling still I cant seem to get a clear answer so I’m looking elsewhere.

A: It is important to note that you are just three weeks after your mini facelift surgery. The tightening along the jawline makes the perioral region look puffy or at least has exacerbated what it was before surgery. This is the effect of a mini facelift where minimal skin undermining is done. It may be that with more healing time and the jawline skin relaxes a bit that its appearance may decrease. I would give it at least 6 weeks after surgery to see how it looks then. If it has not improved substantially by then small cannula liposuction should be used to reduce the perioral mounds which has become unmasked. Trying to place injectable fillers around it is likely to make look worse.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana