Introduction:

People young and old undergo this neck llift surgery all the time.

A neck lift will make a person look like he or she has lost a lot of

weight. This procedure corrects the loose neck muscles. Removes the

excess fat and also removes excess skin from the neck.

A neck lift has two kinds of procedures to improve the appearance of your neck.

• Cervicoplasty: this procedure is used to remove excess skin.

• Platysmaplasty: this procedure removes or alters neck muscles.

Pre-surgery planning:

• The neck lift surgery takes two or three hours. The

time will vary according to what kind of surgery you will be going

through.

• In order to undergo a neck lift, you must be in a

good general health, both physically and mentally.

• Be frank with your neck lift surgeon about what you

want to be altered in your neck. Make sure you get the results you want.

• During your consultation, your surgeon will

instruct you on what medications to avoid prior to your surgery.

• If you are a smoker, you must quit at least two

weeks before the surgery and two weeks after, to ensure proper healing.

• Make sure you wear loose, comfortable clothing on

the day of the surgery.

Neck Lift Surgery Procedure and

Problems:

The most common problems are

• Turkey wattle neck weakened or loose neck muscles.

• Excess fat

• Too much skin

Turkey wattle-weakened or loose neck

muscles

If you have weakened or loose muscle, this may cause the turkey wattle

or appearance of neck “bands”.

Your surgeon may recommend Platysmaplasty surgery to

correct this. The surgeon makes incisions under your chin and/or before

your ears to access the platysma and manipulate it accordingly. The

surgeon may also use permanent sutures to hold the tissue in place.

The surgeon may also decide to use a less invasive procedure by making

a smaller incision and use an endoscope (small camera attached to a

think tube) to do the surgery. You can ask your surgeon to use either

local or general anesthesia depending how you feel.

If necessary botox injections are used to make you feel relaxed parts

of neck muscles which give “band” appearances to the neck. This can be

done on an outpatient basis and completed within 15 minutes.

Excess fat:

During liposuction the surgeon will make a small incision below the

chin and remove the excess fat. This procedure will take an hour. Your

incisions will be stitched and bandaged.

Too much skin:

Surgeon will make sure similar incisions for a Cervicoplasty, trimming parts of

the skin and lifting it into place.

It will be secured with tissue glue or stitches. The Cervicoplasty can

be completed in about two or four hours, depending on the complexity of

your procedure. Again your anesthesia will depend on your own comfort level.

The bandage will have to be worn for a week. Unless instructed

otherwise.

Recovery:

Recovery takes time. Most people return to their normal routine after

10-14 days. You need to wait for at least three weeks before you become

physically active.

Complications:

• In the first few weeks after the surgery you will

have swelling and bruising that can last for several days.

• You may feel tightness or tingling and different

sensations including burning or pulling.

• You may also experience numbness

• There is a risk of infection

• If you are running temperature then contact your doctor.