Neck lift surgery is a surgical procedure in which the entire neck skin, including the jowl area under the chin, and the fat and muscle tissues under the skin are tightened and excess tissues are removed in order to correct wrinkles, sagging and loosening in the neck area. Neck lift surgery can be performed alone or, if necessary, combined with facelift, blepharoplasty, facial fat injection, botox and filler applications. In this way, it is possible to achieve more successful results. Under the influence of various factors such as genetic factors, gravity, environmental conditions, smoking, frequent weight gain and loss, age and stress, the young and healthy appearance of the face and neck disappears over time, resulting in sagging of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissues, loss of elasticity and volume and prominence of wrinkles.
Neck lift surgery is not a single surgery, but the common name of a group of surgeries. The physician and the patient decide together during the examination which technique is suitable for which patient in neck aesthetics.
Neck lift via facelift
Neck lift surgery performed through face lift is the most frequently performed neck aesthetic operation. This surgery is performed simultaneously with face lift surgery. Face lift surgery is performed by using incisions in front of the ear and behind the ear to reach the neck from the side to the midline. The neck skin is separated from the platysma muscle. Looseness in the platysma muscle is tightened with stitching techniques called the “corset” technique. Afterwards, the neck skin is stretched to the side and the excess skin is removed from behind the ear. This surgical technique is the most effective and “few scarring” way to get rid of excess skin on the neck and sagging neck skin. Since this technique can only be performed through a face lift, patients with excess skin on the neck need to decide carefully whether they want a neck lift during face lift surgery. Otherwise, if you change your mind and want to have neck lift surgery in the future, you should know that face lift surgery scars will have to be repeated and the cost of the surgery will increase.
Neck lift under the chin
In this approach, a 3-4 cm incision is made under the chin. Through this incision, subcutaneous and submuscular fat tissue under the chin can be reduced. The platysma muscle is separated from the skin. The platysma muscle can be shaped with suturing techniques. In short, it is a process aimed at shaping the muscle and fat tissues under the skin. After the procedure, the neck skin is expected to adapt to the new neck contour. This technique is suitable for young patients, especially young men. This technique is not suitable for patients in the older age group whose skin is loose and sagging. Since excess skin is not removed, folds, wrinkles, bands and undesirable shape changes can be observed on the neck skin. In male patients for whom we perform a neck lift under the chin, we often prefer to place a prosthesis at the tip of the chin in order to compensate for the lack of volume caused by the fat tissue removed from the neck.
Deep plane neck lift
Deep plane neck lift surgery can be considered as an extension of deep plane face lift surgery to the neck. During the deep plane face lift, we proceed under the smas layer of the face. When we follow this separation plane towards the neck, we proceed under the platysma muscle in the neck. When we hang the smas layer upwards in face lift surgery, this pulling force is transmitted to the neck thanks to the platysma muscle and the neck/under the chin is stretched like a hammock. This technique is suitable for individuals aged 40-50 who are in the early stages of facial aging, have relatively thin subcutaneous fat tissue in the neck, prominent neck bands, limited skin surface aging, and low skin laxity.
Neck lift that shapes deep neck structures
During neck lift surgery, growths in the deep muscle structures in the neck, growths and sagging in the salivary glands under the chin, fat growths under the platysma muscle, and hyoid bone problems that determine the neck angle can be corrected. Failure to correct these problems in patients with problems in the deep neck structures will result in incomplete neck lift surgery results. However, shaping the deep neck structures requires a more comprehensive surgery and advanced surgical experience, and is riskier than classical surgical approaches in terms of complications.
Open midline neck lift
It is a technique used in patients in the older age group with severe neck skin sagging. The skin is incised at the midline of the neck and removed, leaving a visible vertical incision when viewed from the outside. It is rarely used in cases where excess neck skin or neck skin sagging cannot be corrected with classical techniques.
