Neck Lift Surgery by Dr Sackelariou

Neck Lift Melbourne Vic and Sydney NSW

Neck lift surgery or Platysmaplasty not only helps tighten sagging skin but also drooping muscles to restore a more youthful neck. It is not uncommon to combine this procedure with a facelift. 

Time, gravity and age all cause the elasticity of the neck and face to deplete and the neck muscle to weaken. When this happens it can lead to a flabby, sagging, “turkey neck” appearance. It is little-known fact that the neck plays such a big role in prematurely ageing.

Who Can Benefit from a Neck Lift?

Patients with Vertical Banding

• Vertical banding occurs when the neck muscles droop, causing your neck to appear banded.
• This can cause significant premature ageing and most patients find it to be an unsightly look.
• Surgeons can use Neck lift surgery to tighten the drooping muscle which restores a more youthful contour.

Patients with Excess Neck Skin

• Excess skin can accumulate along the neck as a result of sagging from either weight loss or ageing. This sagging skin hides your once slim neck.
• Neck lift surgery can trim away the excess tissue. Then the surgeon will reposition the remaining tissue so that it highlights the natural, beautiful contours of your neck.

Patients with Excess Neck Fat

Despite our best attempts at diet and exercise, some areas of our body can hold onto stubborn pockets of fat. It is not uncommon for stubborn pockets to form on the neck, causing you to have a rounder face and an ill-defined jawline. Liposculpture combined with a Neck Lift can remove these unwanted pockets of fat and give you back your refined, attractive jawline.

Ageing Patients

Age, gravity and lifestyle play a huge factor in the sagging of both the skin and muscles of the neck. A Neck Lift can reverse these simple ageing issues, giving you back your youthful appearance. For patients with ageing features, a Neck Lift is often best combined with a Face Lift for the best results.

Am I a Candidate for Neck Lift Surgery?

Heavy Jowls?

You may be suffering from an accumulation of fat around the neck and jawline, resulting in heavy jowls. This can age the face and pull it down, often giving patients an unwanted grouchy expression. A Neck Lift can help tighten drooping skin and muscle, as well as remove problem fat, in order to regain a natural, youthful appearance.

Neck Muscle Tightening?

As we age, gravity and time can cause our neck muscles to lose their tightness and droop. This is one of the biggest causes for a saggy or “turkey” looking neck. A Neck Lift can help tighten those lax muscles, giving you back that youthful contour you’ve been desiring.

Confidence?

Nothing ages us faster than drooping around the neck and face, which can lead to embarrassment and a lack of confidence in social situations. There’s nothing worse than looking in the mirror and not recognising the person looking back at you. A Neck Lift can give you back your confidence.

Considering a Neck Lift Procedure?

• As we age, the skin on the neck area as well as the tissues beneath the skin tend to loosen and become less elastic. This is due to the fact that collagen production slows as we age. This can result in unflattering sagging skin in different areas all over our bodies. Sagging skin on the face and neck is the hardest to hide or ignore. 
• This problem is known as skin ptosis or sagging/loose skin.
• Alternatively or in combination with loose skin, the platysma bands of the neck may become more visibly pronounced (depending on your skin thickness), leaving you looking very tense around the neck.

Loose sagging skin is not something that is specific to one gender. Both men and women are equally susceptible to these neck skin conditions.  Good candidates can benefit tremendously from neck or facial surgery in terms of firming up their jawline/neckline.

• An aged, double-chin style ageing neckline can become an unwanted sign of facial ageing on an otherwise younger-looking person
• Sometimes men find it easier to hide their bulky neck skin with high collars or cravats.
• Women’s fashions often reveal the neckline more openly, so women usually treat this earlier than men do

From a visual perspective

• The dermal tissue looseness AND lowered elasticity of the skin
• Weakened superficial muscles in the neck area AND/OR over-worked platysma bands
• Tends to become apparent in the form of bands or rings of loose neck skin over “droopy” inelastic tissue

Slack, loose-hanging neck skin that has lost its elasticity or tone can be reduced through Neck Lift Surgery. It is often combined with lower face lifting procedures BUT which may also be performed as a stand-alone procedure (often with liposuction and excision methods depending on the neck area fat or skin redundancy).

Neck Lift Surgery Healing and Recovery

• Around the incision site(s), you will have some post-op dressings just after the operation
• The dressings are typically removed approximately a day or so after the operation
• You’ll be provided with, and asked to wear, an elastic chin strap
• You will also need to sleep with your head and shoulders elevated for the first 7 to 10 days after surgery
• After surgery, expect some swelling. This typically subsides within a few days or a week or two for most patients (some variability)
• Some light bruising is also expected after surgery. However, this settles within a few days or weeks. The Rapid Recovery Package we provide can facilitate recovery
• Expect to take about 2 to 3 weeks away from work or normal activities as you heal

Do I need to stay in Hospital?

Generally, the surgery is carried out as day surgery under general anaesthesia. The operation takes between 90-120 minutes depending on which approach is taken. Drains are not used, the wounds are closed with dissolving sutures and tape. Intravenous antibiotics are given during the procedure, and you should be able to go home a few hours after surgery.

There will be some discomfort, however, this mostly resolves within two or three days and can be controlled with over the counter pain medication. If you would like more information regarding this procedure or if you would like to organise a consult with Dr Sackelariou can contact us today.