Overview
While you may be diligent about putting sunscreen and anti-aging products on your face, you may neglect the equally delicate skin of your neck. Many people find that their neck starts to show their age with loose skin and excess fat before their face does. Frequently known as and resembling a turkey neck, the lines, wrinkles, pockets of fat, and sagging skin that develop on the neck can be corrected with a surgical neck lift. The platysma is a superficial layer of muscle and goes from your collarbone to your jawline on both sides of your neck. As part of a neck lift, Dr. Brackup typically performs platysmaplasty to address these muscles, specifically tightening and resuspending the muscle to repair the contour irregularities know as muscle bands.
Dr. Alan Brackup of Cosmetic Surgery Specialists in Langhorne, Bucks County, PA is a double board-certified oculofacial plastic surgeon and offers impressive results with his surgical neck lift for patients who want their neck to look as young and smooth as their face. A neck lift is often combined with liposuction, to help remove excess fat at the top center of the neck, also called the submental area. This improves the appearance of a double chin while strengthening the chin and jawline.
Neck Lift Reviews
Surgical Technique
A neck lift removes hanging skin and reshapes the neck. During the procedure, an incision is placed under the chin and/or behind or along the inner edge of the ears. If fat deposits are present and need to be removed, liposuction will be used during the surgery and performed first. The final steps of treatment will be to trim away excess skin, pull the remaining underlying tissue and muscle tight, and suture the incision.
During/After Surgery
This procedure is performed under monitored sedation as an outpatient surgery at our accredited surgery center. General anesthesia is not necessary. The duration of the surgery usually takes around 2 hours, although it may vary depending on the case. Bruising and swelling will be visible after the surgery, but this will subside within weeks following the procedure. We will provide you with a regimen of vitamins and supplements to take pre and post operatively to reduce the incidence of bruising and swelling. Initially, patients will feel tightness and numbness. Once the neck adjusts to its new position, patients will notice a more relaxed feeling and a beautiful surgical result. It can take up to 6 months for the final results to appear.
Neck Lift Video
Neck Lift FAQs
Alternative to Lift?
Surgery is the only way to remove loose skin, especially if it is loose enough to hang and droop. Therefore, a neck lift is the only solution when it comes to redefining an individual’s neck to create a strong contour. In our experience, the use of nonsurgical energy-based devices to tighten neck skin very limited results, and is truly only applicable to the youngest patients desiring neck enhancement. Surgery remains the only option to achieve a significant improvement for most patients..
Hidden Scars?
There is minimal scarring with this procedure. Since the incision is placed under the chin and near the ears, the scarring is usually hidden. Dr. Brackup will take great effort to minimize scarring as much as possible.
Ideal Age?
This depends on the situation and the amount of loose and sagging skin that is present. Some weight loss patients are young and may require a neck lift at a young age (for example, those between 20 – 30). For older patients who are combating loose skin due to aging, the most common age is between 40 – 70.
Combination Surgery?
During the initial consultation, it may be brought up that in addition to a neck lift, the patient may also benefit from another procedure, such as a facelift or a chin implant. As the neck lift is an integral part of our facelift procedure, patients who also desire improvement in the cheek, jowl and jawline often opt for this combined approach.
