The Use of Thermography as an Auxiliary Method for Monitoring Convalescence after Facelift Surgery: A Case Study

Monika Chudecka, Andrzej Dmytrzak, Katarzyna Leźnicka and Anna Lubkowska
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Monika Chudecka: Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Faculty of Physical Education and Health, University of Szczecin, 71-065 Szczecin, Poland
Andrzej Dmytrzak: Aesthetic Med, 71-403 Szczecin, Poland
Katarzyna Leźnicka: Faculty of Physical Culture, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland
Anna Lubkowska: Department of Functional Diagnostics and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: Although IR thermography is widely used in medical diagnostics, there are no reports that describe the use of IR thermography in the evaluation of post-plastic-surgery regeneration processes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of thermography as a method which, among others, allows us to determine the location and extent of the inflammatory process, supporting the clinical evaluation of the patient’s convalescence after a facelift surgery using the SMAS technique. During the study and in order to monitor the convalescence process, the patient had a series of face thermograms performed before surgery and up to the 6th week after it. The healing process after surgery was multidirectional for the contralateral areas of the face, leading to thermal asymmetry lasting up to the 3rd week of convalescence. The lowest T mean values for ROIs were recorded in week 3 of the study and then they gradually increased, in week 6 after surgery, to the following values: chin = 33.1 ± 0.72 °C; cheek left = 33.0 ± 0.26 °C; cheek right = 33.2 ± 0.51 °C; ZFL = 33.8 ± 0.45 °C; ZFR = 33.6 ± 0.74 °C; ZLL = 32.6 ±0.55 °C; ZLR = 32.3 ± 0.32 °C. The temperatures of these areas were still lower than the baseline values obtained before surgery by 0.5–1.4 °C. The usefulness of thermography in the evaluation of post-operative convalescence in facial plastic surgery procedures shows potential in the context of diagnostic assessment of the dynamics of changes in the healing process.

Keywords: thermography; facelifting; rhytidectomy; face temperature (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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