Is It Time to Get a Facelift or Neck Lift?

How comfortable are you in your skin?

If you look in the mirror and see jowls, facial folds, deep wrinkles, and other signs of aging, it could be impacting your self esteem.

Not everyone buys into the euphemism of “aging gracefully.” Especially if you’re dissatisfied with how your face is aging.

If you’re unhappy with your appearance, it could be time to get a facelift or neck lift from a board-certified plastic surgeon.

But what do these procedures entail exactly? Let’s take a look.

Full Facelift

Your facial skin loses elasticity as you age. Without the ability to bounce back, the cheeks begin to sag along the jaw bone, creating fleshy jowls and often a double chin.

As time goes on, the cheek fat may then sag further forward and increase the appearance of the nasolabial folds in that parenthesis area between the nose and corners of the mouth.

But a facelift can reverse these signs of aging.

A facelift is known medically as a rhytidectomy. It comes from the Ancient Greek rhytis, meaning “wrinkle”, and ektome, meaning “excision.” Essentially, it’s the surgical removal of wrinkles.

Today, one of the most effective procedures is the SMAS facelift. A SMAS facelift is more involved than a skin only facelift, which does not last.

The SMAS, or superficial muscular aponeurotic system, is one of the most important structures for the face. The SMAS is a continuous sheet of muscles that are tightened to give true strength and longevity to a facelift.

By manipulating the SMAS, a plastic surgeon is able to change the appearance of the face.

With an SMAS facelift, the emphasis of the lift is placed on the SMAS. The plastic surgeon plicates, or folds, the SMAS to tighten it. He or she then redrapes and trims the skin with minimal tension to provide a smoother, tighter, and more youthful appearance.

In addition, a fat transfer may be performed to bring more volume to the face.

Your recovery time from this procedure will depend on a number of factors. Typically, patients can do light cardio after two weeks, enjoy dinner out with friends after two to three weeks, and be wedding ready in just four to six weeks.

When to Get a Neck Lift

Some people experience excess skin and fat on their neck as they age. This “turkey” neck is also a result of the thinning of a neck muscle known as the platysma.

The Platysma muscle stretches from the collarbone to just over the jawline. A youthful platysma creates a deep neck angle and tight hammock for the neck. As the platysma muscle gets thinner and more lax, it creates an oblique neck angle instead of a deep youthful angle.

A neck lift, or platysmaplasty, is more effective when the surgeon performs a platysma muscle plication.

Similar to the SMAS facelift procedure, the surgeon plicates the platysma muscle to tighten it, then redrapes the skin with minimal tension. This returns the muscle to a tight hammock for the neck.

Because the platysma muscle does impact muscles in the face, a neck lift can bring balance to the facial shape. This can make it a good choice for those who aren’t quite ready for a full facial lift, but want to restore this balance.

As with the facelift procedure, your surgeon will discuss with you your recovery timeline. This will be based on the invasiveness of the procedure you choose.

Adding Other Procedures

It’s not unusual for a neck lift to be combined with liposuction of the anterior neck.

And both the neck lift and facelift can be combined with a brow lift and/or eyelid lift, laser resurfacing, and volume replacement with fat or fillers.

The laser resurfacing addresses the finer wrinkles in the perioral area, and injectable fillers or fat can be used to replace loss of volume of facial lipoatrophy.

Now Is the Time to Get a Facelift or Neck Lift

There’s no need to lack confidence in your appearance any longer.

Contact us today to find out if you’re a candidate to get a facelift or neck lift. One of our board-certified surgeons will discuss all of your options with you to ensure you get the best results.

Then prepare to restore your youthful appearance – and your confidence too.