A second look at the second-look technique in face lifts

Hematoma remains a problematic complication of face lift surgery. Sequelae of hematomas may include temporary skin irregularities, a prolonged postoperative recovery period, skin necrosis, and a compromised final result. Attempts to maximize intraoperative and postoperative hemostasis and thus prevent postoperative hematoma formation have focused on the use of local anesthetics with epinephrine modifications, topical thrombin, bed rest, blood pressure control, local anesthetics with intravenous sedation rather than general anesthesia, and the use of the "second-look" technique popularized 30 years ago. When initially practiced by the senior author, the second-look technique resulted in a dramatic decrease in the incidence of hematoma formation from 21.7 to 6.7 percent. It was concluded at that time that the second-look technique was responsible for the reduced incidence of this face lift complication. However, the present series of 82 face lifts performed using a modification of the original Marcaine/epinephrine infiltration technique without the second-look technique demonstrates an overall incidence of hematoma formation of 7.3 percent. These results demonstrate no advantage of the second-look technique over the traditional technique when epinephrine is infiltrated in the fashion described and meticulous hemostasis is obtained.