Aftercare - Emotional Reactions to Facial Surgery

Dr. Yoho's vacation tent at night

A significant number of people have a very strong emotional reaction to the change in their appearance. Depression is common, and this sometimes lasts for months. If you have a history of depression or other psychological problems in the past, this can even last longer (please inform the doctor before the surgery). Many people have problems adjusting to any new appearance, even if it is better! We recommend that you brace yourself for a rough psychological recovery. If you have an easy time, you will be pleasantly surprised. And brace yourself for reactions from your friends and acquaintances: they will vary from jealousy to supportive behavior. Some will nit-pick any flaw, despite an overall good result.

Your face is the first thing that people see when they meet you and the first thing that people respond to. For many people, their face represents their identity. Therefore having facial surgery may bring along with it some emotional readjustment. In this post are detailed some of the possible emotional reactions to your surgery.

In the first days after your procedure you may find that you are sleepy or tired. This is a normal physiological reaction to surgery and indulging in it and resting may help you heal faster. By contrast, some people find themselves feeling unusually energetic and may require less sleep than usual. Excitement at having done something very special for yourself and/or your loved ones -- improving your physical appearance through facial surgery -- may have provided you with this extra boost of energy. The prednisone we gave you may have helped, too.

At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that you may go through several different stages during your recovery -- not all of them easy.
If you are wearing a full-face bandage, you may find the bandage cumbersome, and it may affect your ability to do the things that you normally do for yourself. Some people find that their peripheral vision is affected. People wearing contact lenses will be unable to wear them for a few days. Those wearing glasses may find it difficult to put on the glasses over the bandages and/or may have difficulty retaining the glasses in place because of the cream or Vaseline on their nose. The net result will be greater difficulty accomplishing many of the tasks we all take for granted and a decreased feeling of competence. You may find yourself becoming more dependent on people around you and if you live alone, you may need to seek out others' help for a few days until you are able to accomplish things on your own. Hopefully you have made arrangements for friends or family members to help you as you begin your recovery.

Because it is likely that your eyes, face and lips may be swollen and may continue to be swollen for some days and possibly weeks, you may find yourself self-conscious about your appearance. Once your bandage has been removed and your facial skin continues to be red and to peel, your self-consciousness may increase. Well-meaning strangers may ask you what happened to you. In addition, it is likely that family members and friends may have some difficulty with the changes in your appearance during the healing period. In particular, young children may be frightened by your bandage and by your appearance during the early days. It is important to prepare them (and yourself) for these changes and to reassure them that you will eventually look much more attractive. You may also want to prepare yourself for the physical discomforts of the bandages, the necessary applications of ice, Vaseline, and creams and the sensitivity of the new skin which the laser peel has revealed (if this is the type of surgery you had).

Patients who are very invested in their appearance (and who isn't?) may become impatient with the length of the healing process. For some, the redness of the skin is a very temporary thing. For others it may last some weeks to even months for about 20% of patients. Since everyone heals at his or her own pace, it is impossible to predict for any given individual how long the healing process will take. Fortunately, make-up can cover the redness. For some, however, foundation make-up will be an imperfect cover-up especially when the new skin is still peeling or very dry. Patience is critical during this period and the knowledge that the end product will be worth it may help the individual make it through discouraging periods.