Neck Lift

Necklift: as we age, the neck becomes a telltale indicator of how old we are. No matter how good the face looks, a sagging, wrinkled, or discolored neck is a mark of aging. Bands under the chin created the appearance of a "gobbler". Jowls that hang below the jawline give the appearance of a face that is falling.
An irregular jawline, fat under the chin, sagging, wrinkled skin, muscle bands in the neck, and a lack of a defined shadow on the side (submandibular shadow) are all signs of an aging neck. Many of us don't really want a facelift, as the distorted and unrecognizable Hollywood stars have left people fearful of having a full facelift. We want to look like ourselves, only younger. Few actually like the distorted look that can be a side effect of a facelift.
There are many "flavors" of necklifts, ranging from noninvasive to a full surgical necklift. We'll go through all of the options--costs vary, according the the time needed, number of treatments, and need for anesthesia--and show some examples of how your neck can be improved, with changes from small to large.

                                     This 62 year disliked her sagging neck and jowls, and the lines going down from the corners
                                     of her mouth. She had a necklift with radiofrequency tissue tightening, fat grafting, and erbium
                                     laser resurfacing. Results are shown on the right at 2 months postop.

What can a necklift do for me?

A necklift can do many things, depending on what bothers you.

Noninvasive treatment can tighten flabby tissue, and fractional laser can give you mild skin tightening.

Minimally invasive procedures, such as RF tissue lightening with liposuction, can create more dramatic improvement, with minimal down time. However, if you have muscke bands under the chin, these will be more prominent, unless a platysmaplasty is also performed.

This 40 year old had a poorly defined jawline. RFAL--radiofrequency-assisted liposuction and tissue tighetning--was
performed in order to get the result on the right at 2 months postop. No incisions were needed; she had 3 small skin punctures for cannula access.

An economical alternative is RF tightening plus muscle repair, shown below. This can be performed under local anesthesia in many cases, which will keep your costs down.

If the problem is mild skin laxity plus a genetic fat deposit, liposuction may help.

Frequently, no additional skin removal is needed.

This 38 year old woman had a thick neck. Vaser-assisted liposuction was used to create a thinner, lifted
neck with a more defined jawline.

                            79 year old woman who does a lot of public speaking. She only wanted a change in the neck region.
                            Before surgery (left). 2 months after surgery (right), she has a very natural, non-distorted appearance.

If you would like to learn more about necklifts, contact our cosmetic surgeon at the Plastic Surgical Associates in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Minimally Invasive Facial Procedures