Neck Lift
A neck lift is a facial cosmetic procedure that addresses the neck bands that become more prominent with age, as well as redundant skin at the undersurface of the chin. It is different from a facelift, which involves the cheeks and lower half of the face.
Although some men and women are willing to accept the natural consequences of the aging process and live with “turkey wattles” and wrinkles on their necks, others know that a saggy neck contributes heavily to a tired, old appearance. If you no longer want a saggy neck line, you may consider a neck lift. A neck lift is a cosmetic procedure that removes excess fat around your jaw line, creating a more defined and youthful-looking neck.
A neck lift is a set of procedures to enhance the appearance of your neck. Procedures can include:
Liposuction to remove excess fat
During liposuction, a small incision will be made below your chin where a canula will be inserted to remove excess fat. There are a few patients, mostly in the younger age groups who have isolated pockets of fat that will respond to liposuction alone. The person should not have muscle laxity or skin laxity to fit into this category. Liposuction of the neck should be conservative to avoid a hollowing look or streaking that can occur with aggressive liposuction.
Removing excessive skin
A minimal amount of loose skin can sometimes be improved by making incisions behind your ears and under your chin and using these incisions to trim away the excess skin sagging on your neck. The most natural result and least visible scarring is through a lower face and neck lift where incisions are placed in the crease around and behind the ear. The only way to get a natural and long lasting result is to tighten the muscles as the central support of the skin, so therefore, platysmaplasty (or surgical tightening of the neck muscles) should always be a part of a neck lift.excess fatty tissue.
Platysmaplasty
There are two sheets of muscle (one on each side) that support the neck, the platysma muscles. These muscle tend to stretch and sag with time and gravity. They frequently produce unattractive bands in the center of the neck that look like loose skin, but movement with contraction prove that they are the central edges of the loosened platysma muscle. A procedure called a platysmaplasty, done through a small submental (under the chin) incision can tighten these muscles and significantly enhance the youthfulness of the neck in the right patient. This patient should have looseness of the muscles with fairly good skin elasticity. This procedure can easily be combined with liposuction or direct removal of excess fatty tissue.
To learn more about Clinique Dallas Plastic Surgery and the wide variety of procedures we perform, please call our office at (972) 566-2010 or send us an email using the contact form.