Wrinkled necks are one of the most obvious outward signs of the aging process and that’s what a necklift, as performed in Houston by Dr. Polsen, is designed to address. The neck tissue is generally one of the more elastic to begin with, but as we grow older that elasticity wears out, leaving us with loose, drooping skin and more wrinkles than we can count. This can even, sometimes, make your face look much older than you feel. With a neck lift, you can remove excess fat and skin, as well as tighten the entire area for a more youthful look, making you look more youthful and radiant overall. Dr. Polsen is a Houston Clear Lake Area plastic surgeon who understands the importance of your neck lift surgery and would like to confidentially meet with you if this is a path you’re considering.
You can contact us online, or call our Clear Lake area office at (281) 538-6600 to schedule an appointment.
- Eliminates excess skin and fat around the neck
- Tightens the overall appearance of the neck
- Recovery: 1-2 weeks
- Excess fat around the neck (liposuction will usually be used to eliminate this area of fat)
- Too much skin around the neck, “Turkey Neck”
- “Turkey wattle” or jowls in the neck area
- Realistic expectations about what a neck lift can accomplish
Neck lifts give you a more youthful appearance by reducing the signs of aging–primarily sagging and wrinkling skin. Working with you to achieve your desired results, Dr. Polsen will target the most problematic areas of your neck. Neck lifts are usually performed under general anesthesia, but localized is sometimes used in cases where less invasive approaches are possible.
Traditionally, neck lift procedures have been broken down by their incision types. Depending on the amount of work you want performed, you might opt for a limited incision neck lift or a full incision neck lift. Dr. Polsen will help you determine which approach is best for your particular desired results.
- During a Full incision neck lift the incision is made most often near the hairline, next to your sideburns, around the bottom of the ear, and ending around the back of the neck (again, next to the hairline). This allows full access for repositioning of removal of fat along the jawline. Excess skin can be removed and then re-draped. Additionally, surgeons are able to tighten the platysma muscle. Combined, all of these changes are able to achieve a significant transformation to the jawline and neck.
- During a Limited Incision Neck Lift on the other hand, a less invasive approach is prioritized. During this approach, only an incision near the ear is made. This still allows a certain level of access, but recovery can be much more limited. This means that patients may return to normal activities much more quickly. The tradeoff is that, generally, less work can be accomplished. For patients who are interested in more subtle transformations, a limited incision neck lift can be an excellent alternative to the traditional incision technique.
The availability of multiple incision techniques allows patients the option of choosing the best option for their preferred outcome. Those patients who have more wrinkles around the neck or who have more of a “turkey neck” will likely want to elect the more traditional approach.
Dr. Polsen will discuss all of these options with his patients and determine the best possible way to achieve your desired overall outcome. Depending on which incision type you elect to undergo, the operation will be performed in the Houston Area and generally takes 2-4 hours. However, that timeline will depend on the complexity of your particular procedure.
Dr. Polsen may also suggest liposuction for the area in order to give it the tightest look achievable. In cases where liposuction is both desired and appropriate, an small incision will be made during your neck lift, usually around the chin. This incision is typically quite small, only large enough to allow the cannula (a small tube for suction) to begin extracting the excess fat.
Some patients also elect to undergo a facelift concurrent with their neck lift, in order to achieve an overall more youthful look. This is, in fact, quite common, and understandably so. A wrinkled face with a smooth neck would draw attention due to its contrary nature—just as a smooth face and a wrinkled neck would. Whether it happens naturally or not, we typically expect people to age in a way that consistent in both the face and neck.
When a patient opts for a facelift as well as a neck lift, the goal is to ensure the patient looks “youthful” in a way that is consistent. In other words, there are no neck or face wrinkles to detract from the overall transformation.
A neck lift can take anywhere from one to two weeks for most people to recover from. Scars typically fade and are not noticeable after enough time passes. Dr. Polsen works hard to ensure that your scars are disguised by your natural skin creases or by your hair. Relaxation of the tissues may occur within the first few weeks of recovery. Dr. Polsen will provide you with recovery instructions personalized to your procedure.
Once the recovery process has been completed, patients will be able to fully enjoy the results of their neck lift procedure. For most patients, those results may include:
- A smoother, younger looking neck
- Significant reduction in the number of wrinkles and lines along the neck
- A more slender looking jawline
- The elimination or reduction of fat along the jawline, such as jowls
- A neck that, overall, looks much more youthful
