As you age, you lose your supply of collagen and elastin, the proteins that shore up your skin and give it resilience. At first, the fine lines and wrinkles appear. As the protein supplies decrease even more, the skin around your jawline and neck starts to sag with the downward pull of gravity. Add to that your body starts storing fat in unflattering places like under your chin, and you may be discouraged about your new appearance.
In the early stages, Botox® and dermal fillers can help restore your youthful appearance, but neither is enough to overcome lax skin and fat stores. For those, you might want to consider a neck lift.
Oculofacial plastic surgeon Dr. Dustin Heringer at Arizona Ocular & Facial Plastic Surgery, understands how self-conscious an aging appearance can make you feel. He provides neck lifts for his patients in the Scottsdale and Peoria, Arizona, areas. Here’s when you should consider having the procedure done.
Neck lifts address several different issues:
The type of neck contouring performed is based on the patient’s aesthetic goals. That means Dr. Heringer uses a different surgical approach for someone who wants to remove submental fat (a double chin) versus someone who wants to lose a turkey wattle.
The beauty of neck contouring is that it can be performed as a single procedure, or it can be combined with other procedures, such as a facelift, brow lift, rhinoplasty, and/or chin augmentation, to rejuvenate not just your neck but also your entire face as a “complete package.”
If you’re bothered by submental fat and loose skin, Dr. Heringer may start with liposuction. Your skin has to have good elasticity to be suitable for the procedure so it contracts evenly afterward. Liposuction can’t treat sagging skin, so the typical patient going for neck liposuction will be in their early 50s at the oldest.
For most patients, liposuction is a quick and easy procedure. Dr. Heringer makes one or two tiny incisions beneath the chin or behind the ears so the scars won’t appear. He inserts a small cannula in the incisions to vacuum the excess fat and naturally sculpt the chin and neck.
He can also do fat grafting if you’re bothered by the hollowing of your cheeks, taking fat from where you don’t want it and putting it where you do.
If you want to eliminate sagging jowls and loose neck skin, Dr. Heringer performs two additional procedures: a cervicoplasty (removes excess skin) and a platysmaplasty (tightens loose neck muscles). They shape and better define your neck profile.
You can initially expect some bruising and swelling, and your neck will probably feel tight for several weeks. Dr. Heringer provides detailed aftercare instructions so you’ll know what to do and not to do after your procedure.
Recovery time for a neck lift depends on the individual patient and the number of procedures the doctor performs. Most patients can return to their normal activities after about two weeks.
Are you bothered by a neck and chin that are showing the passage of time? Then it’s time to come into Arizona Ocular & Facial Plastic Surgery for a consultation with Dr. Heringer to consider if a neck lift is a right option for you. Call us at either of our locations or book online with us today.
