Your neck has an important job. It holds up your face and allows your head to move in different ways.
You might not have thought much about your neck until it started to age. Now as it sags or looks like a “turkey neck,” you might focus on its appearance more than you’d like. Do you wear scarves and turtlenecks to hide your sagging neck?
If you answered yes, you might want to consider a neck lift. A neck lift is a surgical procedure that removes excess skin for a more youthful neckline. At L.A. Viñas Plastic Surgery, with two locations in Florida, we provide neck lifts to people who want to improve their neckline for enhanced confidence and self-image.
Just like most things in life, your neck ages. You might apply sunscreen to your face every day and follow a skin care regimen, but many of us don’t do much for our necks. In fact, the skin on your neck is thinner than the skin on your face, which can allow it to age quicker.
Some ways the neck ages:
Many people notice their neck starts to appear like a “turkey neck” in their 40s or 50s. This refers to the soft, saggy skin found in the neckline. If you wish for a tighter jawline, just know you can do something about it.
Most of us have heard of a facelift, but many people don’t know a neck lift exists. Luis A. Viñas, MD, performs neck lifts regularly and although it is a major surgery, it’s very predictable.
As a cosmetic surgery, a neck lift removes excess fat from the neck for a smoother and slimmer profile. The surgery is done as an outpatient procedure, and although it only takes a few hours, the recovery takes several weeks. If you're bothered by your neck, are in good health, and have realistic expectations, you may be a good candidate for a neck lift.
Dr. Viñas completes a neck lift generally in four steps.
To help keep you comfortable during your procedure, Dr. Viñas administers intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. Most patients remember counting backward and then waking up once the procedure is over and done.
Neck lifts are usually done with one of two incisions — a traditional neck lift or a limited incision neck lift. Dr. Viñas can help you decide which is best for you depending on the degree of sagging you have.
A traditional neck lift uses an incision that starts in your hairline around your sideburn, extending around your ear and ending in the posterior of your hairline. Dr. Viñas can remove or resculpt fat in the jowls and neck, and reposition neck tissue.
The platysma, a superficial neck muscle, can be tightened and its skin can be redraped over it to expose more youthful contours. If needed, an incision can be made under the chin to repair certain muscles or perform liposuction.
A limited incision neck lift can be performed if only a minimal degree of correction is needed. This incision is just made around the ears but also doesn’t provide as dramatic results as a traditional neck lift.
After the incisions are completed, they are closed off with sutures and/or skin glue. Dr. Viñas may use dissolvable sutures that are safely absorbed in your skin or traditional sutures that need to be removed in several days.
In 2-3 weeks, you will be healed enough from the incisions to return to work. In several months, the incisions fade and scars are well hidden in your hairline so no one will know you had a procedure done.
While a neck lift can provide beautiful results, it is important to note that they are not immediate. In two weeks, the bruising and redness greatly improve and you can return to your everyday life. However, most patients take three months to heal before the swelling subsides and the peak results are revealed.
If you look in the mirror to only see a turkey neck staring back, a neck lift may be a good option to provide you with the sleeker profile you want. Deciding to undergo a neck lift is a personal choice and should only be done for you.
Neck lifts require 2-3 weeks of downtime and several months of recovery. However, many patients find that the dramatic, youthful neckline and improved self-confidence are worth it.
Contact us today to discover what a neck lift can do for you.
