You love looking after your grandchildren after school. The sound of laughter from the play room, the baking of cupcakes and the raiding of your wardrobe to play dress-ups.
But today something happened – and you feel upset.
As you were helping your youngest granddaughter walk in your stilettos up and down the hallway, your eldest granddaughter was watching closely. Later when you were helping them put frosted icing on the cupcakes, you caught her staring at the side of your face and neck.
And then she said, “Grandma, did you know that your neck looks like a turkey neck? Will mum’s neck look like that soon as well?”
You know that children see things and say it – without an inner filter. So you pretend you didn’t hear and got on with making them a hot chocolate. But after they’ve gone, you stand in front of your bathroom mirror and using your compact mirror look at the side of your face and neck.
And that’s when you realise the ageing process has well and truly caught up with you! Even though you’ve been having regular Botox and dermal filler treatments for a while now, the supporting structures of your lower face have drooped and sagged.
No wonder your granddaughter thinks your neck looks like a turkey!
There is something you can do to fix this – lower face and neck lift surgery can help you look younger and feel better.
What is a lower face and neck lift?
Lower face and neck lift is a surgical cosmetic procedure that tightens lower face underlying skin structures that slacken with age. It focuses on the jowls, neck and lower face area.
Lower face and neck lift surgery can:
- Eliminate sagging jowls, lax skin and down turned corners of the mouth so your neck and face are more visually appealing,
- Trim away excess facial skin that has sagged because of a loss of facial volume or lost elasticity due to the ageing process,
- Smooth out facial wrinkles and creases around your face, lower mouth, and neck,
Why do people get lower face and neck lift surgery?
Lower face and neck lift surgery reverses the effects of gravity and ageing in your lower and mid face. This type of facelift repositions muscles and fat and removes excess skin, resulting in a more defined jawline appearing and your jowls reducing.
The way your face and body ages is largely genetic. It is also influenced by sun exposure, health and fitness, weight and smoking.
Your face and neck age because of the following processes:
Gravity: During the ageing process, your brow, jaw line, neck tissue and cheeks can droop and become lax. This results looseness of tissues, such as the folds around your mouth.
Structure: The appearance of premature ageing may result because of your underlying bone and facial soft tissue shape.
Volume: When you were younger, you had full, plump facial tissue. With ageing, the loss of volume in parts of your face including your cheeks or lower eyelids can result in a drawn or tired appearance.
Texture: The ageing process causes changes to the texture of your skin. Textural changes also include loss of elasticity, wrinkling, pigment changes and broken veins.
Who gets lower face and neck lift surgery?
If you are interested in having lower face and neck lift surgery, and want to know if you are a good candidate for the treatment, it is very important that you have consultations with a few highly trained and experienced Cosmetic Surgeons.
Ideal candidates for this surgery include women and men aged 40 to 80 years of age who are in good health and want to address:
- A sun or wind damaged neck and skin
- Double or triple chin with fat under your chin
- A turkey wattle neck with slack, loose neck skin
- Jaw jowls with loose fat or too much skin
- Their excess neck skin or neck fat
- Visible muscle bands running down the neck, which created abnormal contours
- Horizontal lines running across the neck
How is lower face and neck lift surgery performed?
Most lower face and neck lift surgeries take between 4 to 5 hours. For your comfort and safety you will need to stay in hospital for a couple of days. Most patients experience only minor pain that can be easily relieved with pain medication. You will have some bruising and swelling of the face and that neck that usually decreases within 3 weeks.
Your lower face lift surgery can be performed through a traditional complete neck lift incision, or a limited-incision neck lift. A limited-incision neck lift uses incisions only around the ears. While the scars are less visible and the incisions are shorter, the results of this approach can be more limited.
A neck lift procedure may also be required if you have excess skin below the jawline, on the neck or have small deposits of fat accumulated under your chin. In some cases, liposuction can be used to remove excess fat in some cases. If you are slim, your Cosmetic Surgeon will tighten the platysma muscle and remove the excess skin.
You can read more about lower face and neck lift surgery here.
What is recovery like after lower face and neck lift surgery?
After you’ve had lower face and neck lift surgery, your face will feel swollen and look bruised. It’s important to note that it can take from 2 to 3 weeks for this swelling and bruising to settle.
Most patients take 3 to 4 weeks off work. Any scars you have will be initially pink and will fade to white in 12 to 18 months. The scar healing process will be different if you have olive, brown or Asian skin.
Most facial and neck procedures result in discomfort, rather than pain. You will be given medication to limit pain and nausea. You may experience numbness in your lower face and neck as a result of the local anaesthetic that was used.
Are there risks and complications of lower face and neck lift surgery?
It’s important to note that any surgical operation brings complications of anaesthesia. Your anaesthetist will be able to discuss with you the possible complications of having an anaesthetic.
Specific risks and complications of lower face and neck lift surgery include:
- Scarring
- Nerve injury
- Healing issues
- Change in skin sensation
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Change in skin firmness
How to find the best lower face and neck lift Australian Cosmetic Surgeons
Although good results from lower face and neck lift surgery are expected, there is no guarantee or warranty expressed or implied, on the results that may be obtained. It is important to note that the face is not symmetric. Almost everyone has some degree of unevenness. One side of your face may be slightly larger, while the other side of the face may be droopier.
Lower face and neck lift surgery is a cosmetic operation to make your face and neck appear younger. This surgery is usually safe and effective but complications can happen. Your Cosmetic Surgeon will inform you about any risks and complications.
You can find the best Facelift Cosmetic Surgeons in Australia here.