Neck Lift and Neck Muscle Tightening
For many people the neck is the first area to show age. For people who have lost weight an unfortunate side effect may be leftover, loose-hanging skin that has lost its elasticity. Whether it is band lines, excess skin, or fat, a neck lift can bring your neck back into shape.
What happen during the neck lift?
During neck-lift plastic surgery a variety of procedures may be performed depending on the individual. If patients suffer from a double chin because of fat deposits Liposuction is the first step. This will be done with a very thin fine liposuction needle. This procedure is very often combined with a surgical procedure to tighten the skin and the muscles. The plastic surgeon will evaluate the situation. Usually the neck muscle will be realigned at the side or in the middle to achieve a harmonious neck contour. Sometimes an additional horizontal incision (3 – 4 cm) under the chin is necessary to correct the horizontal lines around the middle of the neck.
Neck lift procedure
Neck wrinkles and turkey neck may be formed due to genetic reasons, but excessive diet may cause loss of protein and water from the body to form neck wrinkles. Neck wrinkle makes you look even older than your actual age. We perform neck lift to get rid of vertical neck wrinkles more so than the horizontal wrinkles. The incision is made along the natural ear line behind the ears. Therefore, there is no worries about scarring.Incision as long as 2-3cm will be made behind ear. (Scar is invisible) Fat is suctioned through the incision along the neck. Saggy and droopy skin is lifted and fixed to the area behind ear.
Neck lifting with a facelift
Neck lift often are combined with facelift. Lower and mid facelift surgery rejuvenates the bottom third of the face only by tightening the underlying structure of the face that slackens with age forming jowls and a fleshy neck. The procedure also trims excess skin, smoothing it down to eliminate facial creases and giving a visual lift to the bottom third of the face. There are several facelift techniques that can be employed by the surgeon to perform the procedure. The plastic surgeon will choose the approach based on your anatomy and patterns of aging.
Result
This results in an even slimmer neck contour.
Anesthesia
A neck lift or/and facelift surgery can be done under general Anesthesia or IV sedation, depending on each patient.
Preparation
For almost all of the described procedures the following preparations are necessary:
Inform the surgoen about any allergies, any serious medical condition(s) and all medications you are taking (both prescription and non-prescription).
Avoid aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, etc), and vitamin E and some other herbal remedies (your doctor will give you a list) for 2 weeks prior to the operation because they are thinning the blood and increase the bleeding risk during or after the operation.
Refrain from smoking at least 2 weeks before and 4 weeks after surgery or better even longer. Smoking contracts the blood vessels and interferes with healing.
After care
Usually there is some discomfort afterward, it can be managed with either over-the-counter or prescription pain medications. A dressing is usually applied immediately after surgery. Typically this dressing is removed and may be replaced with an elastic wrap within a day. Some numbness of the skin is quite normal, it will disappear in a few weeks or months. However, normal healing is a gradual process with final results not fully realized for at least four weeks. You should keep your head slightly elevated for a few days after the operation to minimize swelling.
It is important to follow a careful plan on return to strenuous activity in order to avoid tension on the wound (which could lead to worse scarring).
Just keep in mind that in a few weeks you’ll be looking normal.
Most of your stitches will be removed after ten to fourteen days. Avoid alcohol, steam baths and saunas for several months. Get plenty of rest and allow your body to spend its energy on healing. Using make-up is permitted after the sutures have been removed. Exposure to the sun should be limited for a few months following surgery and accompanied by a sun screen with a high protection factor. The severity and duration of any side effects may vary, especially if another cosmetic procedure was performed at the same time.
