Removing extra skin and fat from beneath the chin and tightening the remaining tissue can dramatically enhance a man’s youthful appearance
A neck lift may be needed to combat the affects of aging or it may be necessary after the loss of a significant amount of weight. The procedure may involve removal and/or alteration of the muscles like the platysma. “The platysma is the muscle men activate to shave their neck – it’s a big, flat strap of muscle that runs from the bottom of the jaw to the collar bone. After the 30s, sometimes there is separation in the mid-line, and the “turkey gobbler” falls down in between; you get that jowly appearance. So we make a one-inch incision under the chin, take out the turkey gobbler, and suture the muscles back to their proper anatomical position, which restores the neck to a youthful architecture. Then we re-drape the neck skin.”
“For men, another thing we have to consider is they have more hair-bearing skin, so we have to carefully remove hair follicles that will fall outside the normal pattern of facial/neck hair growth when we re-drape the skin. We perform laser hair removal to address that, and that’s included as part of my recovery package – typically once a month for six months.”
What to expect during and after your neck lift procedure
Depending on the concerns being corrected and the techniques used, the neck lift procedure takes from one to four hours to complete, using general anesthesia or local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. You will need about a week off before returning to work and an additional week or two before participating in heavy exercise and sports activities. Most men can golf the day once their sutures are out by day 8 or 10 after the surgery. “No one can guarantee a great result, but if it’s an outcome that is possible, I will strive to achieve that outcome,” says Dr. Vanek.