Many women in their 40s and 50’s but sometimes their 30’s and 60’s, notice that their necks are starting to sag. They hate it and know it is a harbinger of more to come.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE YOUR NECK?
I have had great success treating the upper neck (submental area) with the Smartlipo. The entire procedure is done in my office, usually under just local anesthetic (if you are nervous, I can happily give you oral sedation but you must have someone drive you home) and takes less than 30 minutes. There is a very tiny incision, only about 2 mm behind your chin (so it is almost invisible) and through this incision, I can infiltrate a local anesthetic to completely numb this area. Following this, I insert a very tiny fiberoptic laser fiber which both melts fat and heats up the skin, which leads to tighter skin. Lastly, I will liposuction out a small amount of fat. The incision is closed with a dissolving suture and steristrip is applied. You are wearing suntan googles the entire time, so you cannot see anything.
At night, when you are home, you need to wear a neck support garment. You can return to work the neck day. Most patients have no bruising and no discomfort.
Some patients will require a more aggressive procedure than Smartlipo (though the vast majority of my patients do great with Smartlipo alone) and will need a neck lift. I do this in the operating room with a general anesthesia. I utiilize a larger horizontal incision (which heals with a very well concealed scar). I will often combine both liposuction with tightening the neck muscles. I recommend the neck support garment. You can return to work in just a few days.
This is always done in the operating room and involves incisions in front of and behind the ear, as well as a neck incision. This allows great neck tightening for the neck and resection of more skin. You can return to work in about 10 days. You can shower and wash your hair the very next day.
In select men, I can avoid doing a facelift and get a very nice neck improvement with just a Z-plasty of the neck with no incisions around the ears.