One of the main procedures for neck contouring is liposuction. For the younger patient with good skin but a full neck, liposuction can remove fat and aid the skin in drawing back up and creating a better cervicomental angle. Older patients with more loose and inelastic skin will not do as favorably and will need some form of a facelift to deal with the excess skin issue.
Neck liposuction can be done alone or in conjunction with many other facial procedures including chin augmentation (implants) and facelifts most commonly. Currently, I prefer the use of Smartlipo as my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice technique for the liposuction method. The use of heat, both before and after fat evacuation, can only be favorable for optimal skin retraction. Ultimately, the result of neck fat removal will only be seen as good as how well the skin retracts.
Regardless of the neck liposuction technique used, there is a requisite recovery period. The neck liposuction recovery period is unique in that it differs in what patients typically expect. At the completion of the neck liposuction, the contour of the neck can be well seen and will ultimately be what the patient eventually sees. In isolated cases of neck liposuction done under local anesthesia, I will bring out a mirror and show a patient how much improvement has been gained.
The course of neck liposuction recovery, however, will mar and efface this immediate impressive result. With the onset of swelling and bruising, the beautiful early results will be overwhelmed by swelling and firmness. By postoperative day two, the neck will be swollen and bruised and will be a far cru what it looked like just days ago. This is a normal response and is the result of two factors. The normal swelling and bruising part is inevitable. Unlike most liposuction-treated areas, however, it is virtually impossible to really compress a neck after surgery. There is no good circumferential compression method for the neck. While the of neck and circmferential head dressings is used, even modern designs of such garments are wanting. Without good compression, the neck will swell more than any other liposuction-treated area.
With this swelling comes induration or firmness of the neck. The stiff and firm neck will remain so for weeks and really doesn’t get soft and supple again for at least six weeks. Time will eventually soften the neck and show the final result but it takes time to get there and patients need to be so appraised. The neck skin will also feel numb for about the same amount of time. This is typical for liposuction done anywhere on the body and full feeling will return.
Neck liposuction is a very useful and successful procedure but there is a definite recovery period. Unlike what is seen on the operative table, the healing process involves swelling and firmness of the treated area. This is not what most patients typically expect and they need to know it can take up to three months after surgery to see the final result.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana