What to Expect After Your Neck Lift Procedure

As you age, you lose the plentiful supplies of collagen and elastin, two structural proteins that helped create the plump, taut skin of your youth. As a result, your skin becomes riddled with fine lines and wrinkles. 

Then, as the protein levels continue to decline, and with the constant downward pull of gravity, the skin along your jaw and around your neck starts to sag, hanging in loose folds you may find quite unflattering.

In the early stages of aging, injectables, such as Botox® and dermal fillers, can gently maintain your youthful appearance; however, they’re not strong enough to overcome lax skin and shifting fat stores. To address those, you may need a neck lift.

At 817 Surgical Arts, double-board-certified facial cosmetic and plastic surgeon Dr. Emily Johnson and our staff offer neck lifts for our patients in Fort Worth, Texas, who want to halt or delay the more advanced signs of aging. Here’s how the process works.

What can a neck lift address, and how does it work?

The neck lift is an outpatient procedure performed either with IV sedation or general anesthesia. Neck lifts address several different issues:

• Wrinkled, sun-damaged neck skin
• Sagging or hanging jowls
• A turkey wattle
• A double chin
• Excess skin under your chin 
• Tight muscle bands that create abnormal contours

How we address the neck contouring part of a neck lift depends on your symptoms and aesthetic goals. Dr. Johnson uses different surgical techniques for someone with a turkey wattle versus someone who wants to lose a double chin.

The contouring can be performed as a stand-alone treatment or combined with other procedures, such as a facelift, brow lift, rhinoplasty, and/or chin augmentation, to provide more comprehensive and complementary de-aging.

If you primarily want to address excess fat under your chin, Dr. Johnson starts with liposuction, removing the fat with suction through a small hollow tube. Your skin has to have good elasticity to contract evenly following the procedure. Since liposuction alone can’t significantly improve sagging skin, if all you need is liposuction, you should be no older than your early 50s to have skin with enough resilience.

To address sagging jowls and loose neck skin, Dr. Johnson performs a cervicoplasty (removes excess skin) and a platysmaplasty (tightens loose neck muscles), giving you a smoother jawline and a better-defined neck appearance.

Dr. Johnson makes a small incision behind each ear and may also make one underneath your chin. She tightens the neck muscles and/or underlying tissues, removes excess, sagging skin, and then sutures the wounds closed.

What to expect after your neck lift procedure

Recovery time depends on your age, health, and the number of procedures performed. Following your neck lift, you can expect some temporary bruising or swelling, and Dr. Johnson may have you wear a compression garment to minimize both swelling and movement.

Most patients can return to daily activities after about two weeks — but don’t do anything strenuous until the doctor gives you the all-clear.

If you’re unhappy with lax or sagging neck skin or with the contour of your jawline, a neck lift can help you look more like the younger you. To learn more or to schedule a consultation with Dr. Johnson, call 817 Surgical Arts at 817-241-5375 or book online with us today.