Neck Liposuction or a Neck Lift: Which is Better?

The neck is the support of the face. As such, it is an area of importance when considering appearance. We commonly see people who express dissatisfaction with the way their neck looks. Alongside that dissatisfaction is often confusion. Do they need a neck lift or neck liposuction to address their concerns? Both are performed to improve the definition of the jawline and neck, so choosing can feel like an enormous challenge. Fortunately they do not have to. All they have to do is make an appointment to discuss their desires and Dr. Buchanan can decide. Here we discuss the two so, if you are considering treatment for an unflattering neck, you have a general idea which may be right for you and what is involved.

Neck Liposuction Sculpts by Removing Excess Fat

The primary purpose of all liposuction procedures is to remove excess fat that has accumulated in the subcutaneous tissue area between the skin and muscle. It isn’t that you have more fat cells in a particular area but that these fat cells have expanded. Neck liposuction may be a good procedure for adults who have adequate muscle and skin tone but whose jawline contours are obscured by excess fat.  It is one of the most common liposuction procedures performed today. Although there is an injectable that melts fat, we believe that liposuction is more precise, with faster recovery and produces better results. Non surgical methods of reducing fat can not even come close to the superb results of liposuction.

Neck liposuction is usually performed in the office using local anesthesia and, if desired, a mild sedative. Patients can go home shortly after their procedure, which usually takes a little over an hour. To do neck liposuction, Dr. Buchanan makes a tiny incisions that can be closed with a tape strip. There is usually minimal postoperative discomfort. However, patients should expect some swelling and bruising for 7 to 10 days.

A Neck Lift Sculpts by Removing Excess Skin and/or Tightening the Muscle

Neck lift surgery is performed when a person’s skin and muscle tone have become lax. It may also include removal of excess fat. The loss of tissue firmness often leads to sagging that is referred to as “turkey neck” or “wattle.” This procedure may involve several different techniques. We may contour fatty tissue, lift and tighten and occasionally divide part of the platysma muscle, redrape the skin, and remove the excess. We usually do this through incisions under the chin or down the center of the neck. Anything more we believe requires a facelift, which always includes correction of the neck.

A neck lift is also done in the office under local anesthesia and takes about 1 to 2 hours. Patients return home the day of their procedure. The stitches placed to close the incision are generally below the skin in women and, in men, because of the beard, those that must be in the skin are removed 4-7 days after surgery. Swelling and bruising usually subside in 10 to 14 days.

Would you like a better frame for your face? Contact our Highlands, NC office at (828) 526-3783 to learn more about neck liposuction and neck lift surgery.

Under Chin Enhancement

A majority of adults have excess fat under the chin in the upper neck even if they are thin. This is because, although we normally lose weight in our faces as we age, we tend to gain fat in the upper neck area. Fortunately, removal of this, restoring the neck and jaw to a more ideal contour, is easily done in the office in several ways. Here, we will discuss these methods and what you need to know to make an informed choice.

Surgical Excision

Removal of under chin fat has been a part of face and neck lifts since the procedures were developed. For many years, there was no other reasonable option to treat the problem. However, today, we have other methods that are simpler and with faster recovery.

Sub-Mental Liposuction

Perhaps the best known method is removal of the fat with liposuction, vacuum removal of the fat using small hollow tubes. We do the procedure in the office under local anesthesia. Unlike liposuction of large areas such as the hips, abdomen or thighs, getting the neck numb is easy and almost painless. Most people do not even need any sedation and, at the end of the procedure, even remark at how easy it was. The advantage of liposuction is that it is a one time procedure and exactly controllable to achieve your desired result. Recovery is also quite rapid.

Zerona® Non-Surgical Laser

Although Zerona, and other modalities like CoolSculpting, are designed for larger areas, you can use them for smaller areas, especially if you are also treating other areas. This would not, however, be our first choice.

Injectable Kybella®

A number of years ago Allergan developed Kybella, basically a normal bile acid that dissolves fat when injected into it. This works quite well, but is significantly more painful and takes longer to recover than liposuction and takes 2-3 sessions spaced 6-8 weeks apart rather than being a one time procedure. For those reasons, as most plastic surgeons, we have abandoned Kybella, leaving it for those physicians not proficient in liposuction.

What About Loose Skin

All the above methods rely on the skin contracting after removal of the fat to give you a flat, smooth under chin area. If, however, you are over 35, this may not happen as well as desired, though the result may still be a great improvement. If this is not enough, a surgical neck lift may be needed. Frequently, these can also be done under local anesthesia in the office.

We can reduce the fat under your chin to give you a more refined, chiseled look. If you would like to learn more, contact us or call us in our Highlands, NC office at 828-526-3783.

You may have heard of the term “double-chin.” This common problem affects adults of all ages. Because a a large number of double chins are made up of fatty tissue, this cosmetic condition often gives the impression that a person is overweight. The truth is, the neck under the chin is just another area in which many people wish they could spot reduce fat. It’s a part of the body on which fat cells may simply accumulate for no good reason. Statistics suggest that nearly 70% of American adults are troubled by submental fullness. Clearly, this is a problem for which reliable solutions are needed. We have them.

Treatment Options for a Double Chin

There are a handful of treatment options that can reduce excess fat under the jawline. However not every technique is ideal. In our Highlands, NC office, patients receive options that are proven to achieve the best results in the shortest amount of time. These are liposuction and neck lift surgery.

Neck Liposuction

With nonsurgical treatments like Kybella, why would anyone undergo surgery anymore? The answer is simple: reliability, fast recovery, and results. Neck liposuction is ideal for several reasons. First, the results from treatment are almost immediate. Due to the minimally-invasive nature of neck liposuction, Dr. Buchanan performs this procedure in the office using a local anesthetic. We understand that may sound uncomfortable. It’s not. Patients who undergo neck liposuction with local anesthetic and a mild sedative typically have one response: “Wow! That was easy!” Kybella typically takes more than one treatment, is more uncomfortable that liposuction and the recovery from the first treatment is longer than liposuction.

Neck liposuction removes the localized fat cells beneath the chin and jawline to reveal a more dramatic curve from the upper neck to the face. Treatment usually takes about an hour, after which a compression garment may be worn for a short while when alone. Within a few days, patients are back to normal activities.

Neck Lift

It is important to know what your skin is capable of as you seek treatment for submental fullness. Even many of the nonsurgical treatments that are popular today focus only on fat destruction. If your skin has lost elasticity, it won’t bounce back after fat is removed, no matter the method of removing the fat. Without proper retraction, the skin may look worse without the smoothing effect of the unwanted fat. For this reason, some patients are better served by a neck lift.

Like neck liposuction, the neck lift can also be performed in the office with a local anesthetic with or without sedation. The procedure involves an incision under the chino vertically in the central neck. The neck muscles are carefully released and tightened with sutures. The skin is repositioned, as well, and, with some procedures, excess is trimmed before the incisions are closed. Recovery time after a neck lift is about one to two weeks before most normal activities can be resumed.

Zerona Fat Reduction

Although Zerona is better at treating larger areas, if you have some larger areas that you wish treated, the neck can be treated at the same time using Zerona non invasive laser fat reduction.

What to Know About Kybella Double Chin Treatment

Kybella is one of the most commonly hyped and discussed double-chin treatments today. The technique is safe and it is effective. However, so are the neck liposuction and neck lift procedures. Although it is claimed there is no downtime with Kybella, after treatment there is noticeable swelling that may prevent normal activities for a few days and is generally worse than liposuction and lasts longer. Also, to get liposuction-like results with Kybella, it is necessary to undergo up to 4 treatment sessions (each with multiple injections) and several months of waiting for fat to naturally dissolve. Although it was initially thought that the reaction from the Kybella would tighten loose skin, experience haas shown that this does not happen.

If you’re interested in prompt results from chin-sculpting treatment, call our Highlands office at (828) 526-3783. During your consultation, we can provide details about sculpting procedures that are right for you.

Over the course of history, humans have been all-but consumed with personal beauty. Perhaps we want to mimic nature. Perhaps we are narcissists. Or maybe, just maybe, we realize that confidence comes in part by our appearance, and we simply want to maximize what we have been given. Whatever your reason for wanting to maintain a youthful appearance, you can do just that – keep it young. Aging has become much more of a choice than a consequence. However, with all the focus that gets put on the face, you could be missing an important giveaway to your age: your neck.

Swan-like or Scary?
We all like to think that we have beautiful, youthful contouring across the neck and upward toward the face, a la Katherine Hepburn. When we realize we have lost the right angle from neck to face, and start to notice lines and sagging skin just a few inches below the face, our imagination may do a switch-a-roo and channel Diane Keaton, in all of her turtleneck splendor. What is happening down here, and what can we possible do about it?

Neck skin becomes very inelastic. When the underlying ligamentous support structures begin to break down, it can seem as though everything from the chin to the chest changes overnight. Next below the neck skin, the platysma muscle is normally supported upward by a ligament to keeps it angled. The strong horizontal  pull of the muscle gradually changes the shape from a strongly angled to a loose straight line. All tissues around it including those from the face follow. Fat also accumulates under the chin becoming more noticeable., and crepe-like skin becomes more apparent since it is now loose.

Facial Aging, you have a Rival!
We put a lot of effort into reducing fine lines and wrinkles under the eyes, on the forehead, and around the mouth. But if we forget to look a little farther South, we could be missing the mark on our intended goal. To address an aging neck, consider:

• Liposuction to diminish a double-chin caused mainly by excess fat.
• Skin care to correct the sun damage and tighten and smooth the surface.
• Simple localized neck lifts.
• Face and Neck Lift in those with severe gravitational aging.

Several things, therefore, can give you a look that you will love. To see how we can help you, call our Highlands plastic surgery office at (828) 526-3783.