The neck and jaw line is an issue in all age groups, but increasing with age. Some families have a characteristic neck shape, and some of them don’t like it! Often the issue relates to the angle that the jaw makes with the neck, and how from the front a jowl can give the face a “boxy” look rather than something more almond shaped.
In young people the problem can simply be one off too much fat – in which case there are two solutions. The cheap one is to loose weight, and the expensive version is some liposuction. Always go cheap first if you are carrying some extra kilos, as the result will be better and so will your long term health. It takes an awful lot of PT sessions to be the same cost as an hour of lipo!
With age, the muscle that runs between the underside of the jawbone and the collar bones (called the platysma), tends to stretch and produce a gap in the midline. You can see this in yourself by tensing the muscle so that two bands appear in the middle of your neck (if you really want to!).
Think of a neck lift as a hammock (the muscles) suspended between two palm trees. With age the hammock often fill up (with fat), and the fabric stretches. The procedure is designed to empty the hammock (with liposuction) and to tighten the fabric by pulling it sideways and anchoring it to something solid. Usually this is the tight tissue overlying the bony mastoid of the ear. People tell me that they stand in front of the mirror and do this with their fingers, pulling the looseness from the angle of the jaw up to their earlobes. If this is you, and you like what you see, it’s probably worth coming to talk to me about a neck lift!
There is another group of people who just don’t like the little bit of wobbly skin that hangs in the midline (wasn’t there a lawyer who called it a wattle in Ally McBeal, for those of you old and sad enough to remember?). Most Australians call it “a chook neck”. It can be easy to deal with using a small direct removal of skin and fat from the area and tightening the muscle in a limited way. I do these under local anaesthetic in my rooms, and provided people are happy to accept the scar, they are generally happy. My mother was, and trust me, she is critical!
So everyone’s neck is different, depending on their genetics, age and what they are trying to achieve.
Although I have blogged about the face as if it was three different areas over the last few days, the reality is that you have to look at it as a whole so that any surgery will produce a balance, harmonious result, not something that will scare your friends and hate your surgeon.
I hope these blogs on facial surgery have been useful. Our next blog series will be on body lifting after weight loss.
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
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