3 Reasons to Consider a Neck Lift

As you age, your plentiful supplies of collagen and elastin, two structural proteins that shore up your skin and give it resilience, begin to decline. Without the tough, dense fibers to keep the skin taut, you start to develop fine lines and wrinkles. 

As the levels decrease even more, the skin around your jaw and neck starts to sag because of gravity. As if that weren’t enough, your body starts storing fat in unflattering places like under your chin or around your hips. Looking in the mirror, you may feel discouraged about your new appearance.

In the early stages of wrinkle development, Botox® and dermal fillers can help restore your youthful appearance. However, neither can overcome lax skin and fat stores. For those, a neck lift is more suitable.

Oculofacial plastic surgeon, Dr. Dustin Heringer at Arizona Ocular & Facial Plastic Surgery understands the discomfort patients feel about their aging appearance, which is why he provides neck lifts for his patients in Scottsdale and Peoria, Arizona. Here are three reasons you should consider having one done.

What can a neck lift address, and how?

Neck lifts address a number of different issues:

• Wrinkled, sun-damaged neck skin
• Sagging or hanging jowls
• A turkey wattle
• A double chin
• Excess skin under your chin 
• Muscle bands in the neck

The type of neck contouring performed is based on the patient’s individual aesthetic goals. That means Dr. Heringer uses a different surgical technique for those who want to eliminate submental fat (a double chin) versus someone who wants to remove a turkey wattle.

Neck contouring is also a malleable process. It can be performed as a single procedure, or you can combine it with other procedures, such as a facelift, brow lift, rhinoplasty, and/or chin augmentation. The latter allows you to rejuvenate your neck and entire face to present a completely new you.

If your main concern is submental fat, Dr. Heringer may start with liposuction. Your skin must have good elasticity, so it contracts evenly after the fat is removed. Liposuction can’t treat sagging skin, though, so the average patient going for neck liposuction will be in their early 50s.

For most patients, liposuction is quick and easy. Dr. Heringer makes a couple of tiny incisions beneath the chin or behind the ears to hide the scars. He inserts a small cannula (hollow tube) in the incisions and vacuums out the fat, naturally sculpting the chin and neck.

He can also perform fat grafting if you’re bothered by hollowed cheeks, taking fat from where you don’t want it and putting it where you do.

Two additional procedures can eliminate sagging jowls and loose neck skin: a cervicoplasty (removes excess skin) and a platysmaplasty (tightens loose neck muscles).

After the procedure, you can expect some bruising and swelling, and your neck will probably feel tight for several weeks. Dr. Heringer gives you detailed aftercare instructions so you’ll know exactly what to do and not to do after your procedure.

Recovery time varies depending on the number of procedures Dr. Heringer performs, but most patients can return to normal activities after about two weeks.

3 reasons to consider a neck lift

As you’ve seen, a neck lift is a versatile procedure. The three primary reasons you should get one include being bothered by:

1. Lax, sagging neck skin
2. Unflattering fat under the jaws
3. Deep creases or a turkey wattle

The neck lift can address all these and help you regain a more youthful appearance.

If you’re bothered by lax, creased, and sagging neck skin, it’s time to come into Arizona Ocular & Facial Plastic Surgery for a consultation with Dr. Heringer to see if you’re a good candidate for a neck lift. Call us at either of our locations or book online with us today.