Why Neck Lift Is Often Combined with Facelift Surgery?

Facelift surgery  or rhytidectomy can remove or at least reduce the signs of facial aging.  However, not treating the “turkey” neck can further aggravate the appearance of sagging skin and “bands” and lead to a somewhat imbalance look.

To create balance, certain patients need to have platysmaplasty or more commonly referred to as neck lift surgery to complement their facelift.  With this additional procedure, the tradeoff is longer recovery, more swelling and bruising while healing, and of course higher surgical fees.

But if there is only a mild case of wrinkles, Botox injection is usually enough to treat the problem.  On the other hand, patients aged 50 and above whom often have more visible signs of aging; neck lift surgery can provide them a more permanent result and dramatic improvements.

If the only problem is the loose skin, most plastic surgeons will recommend the skin-only surgery in which they create two small incisions below or behind the ear, allowing them to excise the hanging skin before tightening the remaining part.  Once the reshaping is done, they will close the wounds with tiny sutures.

The advantage of skin-only surgery is the relatively quick recovery although it may not be ideal for older patients who manifest a severe case of muscle laxity.  For this problem, the underlying neck muscles should be manipulated; or in some cases should even involve the removal of weakened muscle along the throat area.

But for the plastic surgeons who will manipulate the weakened neck muscle, they should create another small incision under the chin.

However, some doctors prefer using sutures over manipulating the weakened muscle.  With this technique, a mesh-like device is used to lift and tighten the skin and tissue, thereby addressing the “turkey wattle look.”

Meanwhile, some facelift patients will more likely need liposuction than neck lift, particularly if their problems are neck “bands” which are caused by excess fats.  These often occur after weight loss although some people are just simply have the predisposition to have too much fatty deposits in their neck.

Liposuction can also be conducted to treat the excess fats in the chin and jaw area, which in turn reduces the appearance of jowling.  But if the problem is primarily caused by loose skin rather than by fatty tissues, incision-based facial rejuvenation surgery is still the most viable approach.

But one consideration to make is that liposuction should be only performed on patients with enough skin elasticity so it can retract once the fats are removed.  If not, they will end up with a sagging skin on the treated area.