Despite the careful closure of the blood vessels during surgery, there is a small risk of bruising. This is more likely to occur in people with high blood pressure, as a result of coughing and overexertion, and in people who use anticoagulants (even if they stopped taking them before surgery).  In most cases, the skin shows a bit of discolouration, which does not require treatment. In rare cases, we may need to use a needle to drain some blood during the check-up visit. If there is a significant swelling of the face (usually on one side), the bruising should be surgically removed, but this side effect is exceedingly rare.

In sporadic cases, circulation disorders of the skin can occur, slowing the healing process at the wound edges (this is more likely in people with very thin skin and in smokers). For this reason, smokers should stop smoking for a considerable time before a facelift. Local anaesthesia may cause temporary and transient loss of function of the facial nerves and muscles. If this occurs - very sporadically - its effect may take several hours. Facial nerve damage is an exceedingly rare complication that is extremely unlikely to happen with my experience and with the surgical technique I use.