Facial aging affects everyone but men almost always delay considering its treatment until the condition is more advanced. Many more women undergo some form of a facelift than men. No one knows the exact average of men vs. women who undergo a facelift, but it would be fair to say that the age difference is at least ten years if not more.
What really drives a man to consider a facelift is the aging changes in the neck. A sagging neck, often called a turkeyneck, is the most compelling reason for men to undergo some plastic surgery improvement. The droopy neck skin and tissue bands, besides making for an older appearance, also interfere with the comfort of wearing shirts. By the time a man has presence of a real turkey neck they are usually at least 65 years of age or older.
A facelift, with its incisions in and around the ears, is a very effective changer of the jowl and neck area. The greatest benefit achieved with a facelift is in the neck and this is why the terms facelift and necklift are often used interchangeably. But a facelift in men poses challenges when it comes to hiding scars around the ears and getting complete elimination of a significant neck wattle. In addition, many older men do not want to undergo the extent of the surgery and recovery of a traditional facelift procedure.
An alternative to a facelift in the older man is a direct neck lift. Rather than chasing the neck skin back to the ears for its removal in a standard facelift operation, the direct necklift removes the skin and fat of the turkeyneck by removing it where it hangs. This greatly simplifies the operation and makes for virtually no real recovery. And, interestingly, the change in the neck is nothing short of dramatic and will last longer than that of a traditional facelift. When done over age 65 it will largely last the rest of one’s lifetime with the reappearance of a central neck wattle as unlikely. This is also an operation which can be done fairly comfortably under local anesthesia with oral sedation. This means that men of any age, almost regardless of their medical condition, can be successfully treated.
The trade-off to all of these direct necklift benefits is that there will be a fineline scar down the center of the neck. While no such scar should be taken lightly, the beard skin of men is a particularly favorable area for such scars to heal inconspicuously. It also helps that most men perform daily microdermabrasion scar therapy, also known as shaving. And if one wears a beard then the scar is particularly irrelevant.
For an older male with a significant neck waddle, a direct neck lift can be a very simple and uncomplicated procedure that can quickly get the results many men desire. A direct neck lift produces an immediate tightening of the neck and makes it look like it did twenty years ago in many cases. Such an operation easily fits into the lifestyle of the older male who is looking for a neck change that is both quick and simple.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana