Face Lift/Neck Lift

The patient is a 66 year old woman who noted the overall loosening of the skin of her face and neck over the past five years. She was especially bothered by the excess skin about the side of the mouth (jowling) and the looseness of the skin of the neck that seemed to droop and move as she moved her head to the sides.

Face Lift Before and After Photos

As can be seen from this patient’s before and after photos, she had significant improvement over the face, including the cheeks and jowls. She did not want to have any laser treatment for wrinkles to remove the wrinkles around the mouth and eyes/Crow’s foot areas but rather just wanted to have a face lift/ neck lift. The photographs show that a face lift is very effective in diminishing wrinkles and folds over the lower cheek just outside the corners of the mouth.

We don’t want the face lift to widen the mouth and with current techniques, the jowl and the cheek can be lifted without the mouth being pulled. The downside of that is that the face lift doesn’t remove wrinkles around the lips and therefore the laser is required to remove these wrinkles. This patient did not want to have the laser and so the face lift has improved the wrinkles outside the mouth but not near the lips themselves. This patient still has the option of coming back to have laser treatment for wrinkles around the lips at a future date. Unlike a face lift, which is performed under general anesthesia, laser treatment can be performed under local anesthesia or local anesthesia with oral sedation for comfort.

The patient was very pleased with her cosmetic results.

Face Lift Surgery/Lower Face Lift

The term face lift is the same as “lower face lift because a face lift treats the lower face as well as the neck. The upper face consists of mainly the eyes, brow and forehead and these areas are treated with other procedures such as eyelid surgery, laser treatment for wrinkles and a brow lift.

Face Lift Incisions usually include hidden incisions in front and behind the ear for a face lift. As opposed to face lifts, mini face lifts involve just an incision in front of the ear. These incisions are very difficult to find, even the next day after the procedure.

Mini Face Lift

Mini face lifts treat the cheek and jowl but don’t treat the neck unless a neck lift is added. They involve a hidden incision in front of the ear. Plastic surgeons spend a lot of time working to hide this incision during the procedure. Some patients only require a mini face lift while others require a mini face lift with a neck lift. And even other patients may need a face lift (lower face lift) with a neck lift to achieve their best cosmetic results.

Neck lift incisions

Neck lift incisions are hidden under the chin and sometimes behind the ear and into the hair in patients that require skin removal.

Neck lift procedure

In a neck lift procedure, a pocket is created under the skin and excess fat is removed while retaining some fat to keep the skin looking rich and youthful. Some patients may require a platysmaplasty, where the superficial neck muscles are brought together to lift the neck and create a sharper angle between the upper and lower neck.

Neck lift without surgery

Some patients may simply have extra fullness (fat) within the neck and simply suction will solve the problem. This can be performed with the patient awake or with mild sedation.

Neck lift complications

Fortunately, neck lift complications and face lift complications are quite rare. This is because the skin and underlying tissues of the neck have very good blood supply and so healing is quick and uneventful.

Neck lifts gone wrong

It is pretty rare to have complications from a neck lift.

Neck lift recovery

Most patients who have a face lift are able to begin a walking program outside the next morning. Swelling is mostly gone at five to seven days but is not completely gone for about five months.  Most patients return to their usual activities at five to seven days after their procedure.