A neck lift can address the signs of aging and weight gain that manifest in the neck or around the jawline by removing extra fat and skin while tightening muscle tissue. At Mountain State Cosmetic Surgery in Beckley, WV, Dr. James Paine, Jr., MD can help you decide if this procedure is the best choice for you.
How Does a Neck Lift Work?
This procedure takes several hours to accomplish, but it results in improvements to your profile that can last for over a decade. We want you to be confident in your entire experience, and that starts with learning a bit about how a neck lift works and what will happen during your procedure.
Initial Consultation
The first step in this procedure is always to meet with us for a consultation. If you believe that this treatment is for you, or even if you just want more information about it and whether it’s the right choice for your goals, then come and talk to us. You’ll meet with Dr. Paine and discuss your goals, medical history, general health, and the list of medications and supplements you’re currently taking. The goal of this consultation is to make sure this procedure is right for you and that you’ll be satisfied with the end results.
To be a good candidate, you would need to be in generally good health, have no medical conditions that would interfere with the healing process, be a non-smoker or at least be willing and able to give up smoking for a minimum of 12 weeks, and have realistic expectations about what the procedure can do for you. At this time, we can also answer your questions and help you understand all that the procedure does, such as tightening loose muscles and getting rid of extra fat and skin.
During Surgery: Preparation and Anesthesia
Sometimes, people go through this procedure with sedation and local anesthesia, and in other cases, general anesthesia is the best choice. We will talk about this during your consultation, and you can be sure that whatever decision we make will be in line with your preferences, as well as your health needs. Either way, you can be sure that you will not feel any discomfort at all during the surgery.
Before you arrive, we will give you a list of pre-surgery instructions that you need to follow in order to ensure the anesthesia works properly and the entire experience goes smoothly. Once you arrive, we’ll get you ready and administer the anesthesia.
During Surgery: Marking and Incisions
During your initial consultation, you will have discussed with the doctor what kind of changes you want and what your goals are. These will all be incorporated into your procedure, and your surgeon will mark out precisely where the incisions should go.
Sometimes, incisions are made right at the beginning of the hairline down and around the ear. In other cases, a smaller incision is done only around the ear. The best place for incisions will depend on your final goals, but in both cases, the surgeon’s goal is to place the incisions where there will be no noticeable scarring.
During Surgery: Trimming and Muscle Repair
Once the incisions are made, your surgeon will reposition the skin of your neck and tighten up the muscles. Extra skin is trimmed away, and the rest is carefully positioned over the new contours of your muscle. Extra fat can be removed through liposuction, and once this is done, the incisions are closed, and your procedure is finished!
After Surgery: Recovery and Healing
Once the procedure is finished, we will use a compression bandage around your face and neck that will help you to feel comfortable and promote fast healing. We may also have a thin tube in the area, which drains any excess fluid that might collect under your skin. This will be removed soon after your surgery.
After a week or two, your stitches or sutures can be removed. During this time, you need to focus entirely on your healing and recovery. Follow all the instructions your surgeon gives you, and make sure you’ve arranged for some help at home. You will not want to be exerting yourself in caring for children or pets, or even in making meals for yourself, during your healing time.
What Can a Neck Lift Do?
There are several cosmetic concerns that a neck lift is particularly suited to address:
Age-Related Concerns
Most of us are very careful to care for the skin of our faces, but through the course of our lifetimes, most of us forget about our necks. Even if you look very youthful from the chin up, it’s not uncommon for the neck to betray your actual age.
In some cases, some people have signs of aging that show up earlier in the neck than in other areas. This procedure can result in smoother, younger, looking skin. As a result, you will look rejuvenated and more rested and feel more confident.
Loose Skin
Some people struggle with especially loose and baggy skin in the neck area, and this common issue can be effectively treated with a lift. The skin in our necks becomes baggy because, as we age, our bodies stop producing collagen and elastin as they should. This compromises the foundational structure of our skin, and it begins to succumb to the effects of gravity. If you’ve lost a lot of weight, this can also cause sagging skin in the neck area.
This procedure removes that loose skin and tightens the muscles to get rid of this look. This is a popular treatment because it’s so hard to target sagging skin otherwise. It’s not possible to exercise away excess skin, and cosmetic treatments like radiofrequency or laser treatments can only do so much. A neck lift is an actually effective way to get rid of all this excess, sagging skin.
Lines and Wrinkles
Another problem that this treatment can address is creases and lines in the neck. Some of these are the result of normal aging, and some of them can be due to excess exposure to the sun or simply genetics. Tightening, loose skin can minimize these lines and wrinkles and help you feel better about the look you present to the world.
How Long Until I See Results?
It takes a few months for the area to fully heal, and at this point, you will see your final results. Here’s what you should expect to see:
Smoother Skin
One of the first things you will notice is that the skin on your neck is much smoother and less wrinkled. Prior to your neck lift, the wrinkles on your neck were caused by loose skin and extra fat. After the skin is tightened and excess skin is removed, everything will smooth out.
There are other simple cosmetic treatments that we can recommend that you can begin after you’ve healed from your neck lift which can significantly slow these signs of aging from developing in the future.
Improved Profile
Possibly the most dramatic result you will have is a completely different profile. You will notice the new contours of your neck as you look in the mirror within just a couple of weeks of your surgery. You can expect to have a more defined and rejuvenated look, no more double chin, and a contour that you find more elegant and youthful.
Weight Loss
The face is usually the first thing we notice about people, especially when we talk to them. Even if the rest of the body is perfectly toned and at a healthy weight, too much neck fat, or even too much sagging skin in the neck area can make us look overweight even when we’re not.
One of the best things about this procedure is that it can correct this problem whether you really have extra fat in the area or not. If you do, it will be removed. If you don’t, the tightened muscles and removal of excess skin will still make you look thinner.
More Self-Confidence
Expect one more result: increased self-confidence. When your facial profile and contours match your goals, you will feel that the look you’re presenting to the world is reflective of how you really see yourself.
Get Started to Learn More
If you are interested in this procedure and curious if it’s the right thing for you, contact us at Mountain State Cosmetic Surgery in Beckley, WV to get started today!
