Swelling After Incisional Ptosis Correction: One Week, One Month

After incisional ptosis correction, we typically check the patient at one week, one month, and six months. The swelling is just one phase of recovery, and the endpoint is the same. But six months of your life is six months of your life, so I do not dismiss the swelling. Quick swelling resolution is not just a matter of injections and supplements. Meticulous intra-operative hemostasis is part of the equation, and so is restraint, designing a crease that suits the patient's anatomy rather than over-bulking the fold.

Pre-op. This was a revision. The patient had a crease on one side, no crease on the other, and a subtle facial asymmetry.

One week post-op. Swollen, with some bruising. Even at one week, most of the swelling has resolved.

One month. The swelling has settled and the shape is starting to look right.

Four months.

Seven months. The shape has fully settled. There is little visible difference between the four- and seven-month photos. In my own experience, the bulk of the swelling resolves by two weeks, the look is natural by one month, the fine swelling is gone by three months, and the shape is in its final form by six months.

Pre-op and seven months post-op.