A neck lift has two kinds of procedures to improve the appearance of your neck.
Cervicoplasty: this procedure is used to remove excess skin.
Platysmaplasty: this procedure removes or alters neck muscles.
Pre-surgery planning:
The surgery takes two or three hours. The time will vary according to what kind of surgery you will be going through.
In order to undergo a neck lift, you must be in a good general health, both physically and mentally.
Be frank with your surgeon about what you want to be altered in your neck. Make sure you get the results you want.
During your consultation, your surgeon will instruct you on what medications to avoid prior to your surgery.
If you are a smoker, you must quit at least two weeks before the surgery and two weeks after, to ensure proper healing.
Make sure you wear loose, comfortable clothing on the day of the surgery.
Procedure:
The most common problems are:
Turkey wattle neck weakened or loose neck muscles.
Excess fat
Too much skin
Turkey wattle-weakened or loose neck muscles
If you have weakened or loose muscle, this may cause the turkey wattle or appearance of neck "bands".
Your surgeon may recommend Platysmaplasty surgery to correct this. The surgeon makes incisions under your chin and/or before your ears to access the platysma and manipulate it accordingly. The surgeon may also use permanent sutures to hold the tissue in place.
The surgeon may also decide to use a less invasive procedure by making a smaller incision and use an endoscope (small camera attached to a think tube) to do the surgery. You can ask your surgeon to use either local or general anesthesia depending how you feel.
If necessary botox injections are used to make you feel relaxed parts of neck muscles which give "band" appearances to the neck. This can be done on an outpatient basis and completed within 15 minutes.
Excess fat:
During liposuction the surgeon will make a small incision below the chin and remove the excess fat. This procedure will take an hour. Your incisions will be stitched and bandaged.
Too much skin:
Surgeon will make sure similar incisions for a Cervicoplasty, trimming parts of the skin and lifting it into place.
It will be secured with tissue glue or stitches. The Cervicoplasty can be completed in about two or four hours, depending on the complexity of your procedure. Again your anesthesia will depend on your own comfort level.
The bandage will have to be worn for a week. Unless instructed otherwise.
Recovery:
Recovery takes time. Most people return to their normal routine after 10-14 days. You need to wait for at least three weeks before you become physically active.
Complications:
In the first few weeks after the surgery you will have swelling and bruising that can last for several days.
You may feel tightness or tingling and different sensations including burning or pulling.
You may also experience numbness
There is a risk of infection
If you are running temperature then contact your doctor.
