The patient is a 66 year old woman who wished to have facial plastic surgery. It was very important to her that her results be natural and even. Her plastic surgery treatment included a face lift with a neck lift, a brow lift and laser treatment for wrinkles and was not only happy with her cosmetic surgery results but also with her rapid return to work.
Cosmetic surgery of the face is performed for cosmetic and functional reasons. On the cosmetic side of the equation, a facelift remains the gold standard for facial rejuvenation and is the procedure against which all other surgeries and technique are compared, including Botox and fillers because they achieve small parts of what a face lift can give patients. One can see from looking at facelift surgery before and after photos that the facelift part of the surgery which can include parts or all of a neck lift creates harmony among the different parts of the face an also helps the face relate aesthetically to the neck.
Within the neck lift procedural realm, there are a host of different alternative procedures that can be customized to a patient’s anatomy and wishes, and neck lifts can be a “stand alone” surgery or be combined with different types of facelift procedures. A thorough evaluation with a face surgeon who does a lot facial plastic surgery can shed light on the best way to return youth and harmony to the face and neck. Neck issues, amazingly, determine what procedure might be best but also whether a neck lift alone will suffice or if a face lift will help to get to the patient’s goals for improvement. Structures to be understood about the neck include the location of any skin looseness or excess, prominence of fat under the skin and any issues related to the muscles under the skin which can not only lead to “banding” or cause skin injury over time. A surgery can be individually crafted based on the different treatment of each of these three components to best help a patient. And as mentioned, a necklift can be performed alone or in combination with a face lift, laser treatment for wrinkles and eyelid procedures. It is the working through of the customization process that can be enjoyable for patients to talk about with a plastic surgeon and can help give them their best results.
