I’ve had many patients over the years that were mostly concerned with the appearance of their neck but chose not to do anything about it because they didn’t want a facelift. But once I explained that a person can choose to have a neck lift without a facelift, they were thrilled and proceeded with a surgical correction. For those of you wondering the opposite, “can I have a facelift without a neck lift,” the answer is “maybe”. If you don’t have a great deal of excess neck skin, it is plausible to just have your face lifted to remove the jowls, the hanging skin along the jaw line, and avoid any manipulation of the neck. But this really depends on how much excess neck skin you have and your board certified plastic surgeon can help you with this decision.
But back to the “neck lift only” procedure. If you have minimal jowling (hanging skin along the jaw line), it is appropriate to make hidden incisions behind the ear and only lift the neck skin. Here are a few images of my patients that only had a neck lift and were thrilled they had this option. While a full facelift is very safe, patients sometimes have more anxiety when discussing a facelift vs a necklift.
These patients were very happy with their results, especially since I was able to provide them with a “smaller” operation than a facelift. It is important for patients to understand that if you opt for a neck lift only, that this operation can accentuate any jowling you may already have. Even if you have very little excess skin along the jawline before surgery, the tightening and lifting of the neck can make the jowls look heavier even though nothing has been done to this area. So keep that very important point in mind before proceeding the “neck lift only” option.
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