Best Anti-Aging Procedures for the Lower Face and Neck

Posted on October 19, 2020

For patients seeking dramatic improvement in the appearance of the lower face, facelift remains the go-to choice. After more than a half century of popularity, this proven surgery is still referred to as the “gold standard” in facial rejuvenation.

There are alternatives, however, including an ever-expanding array of noninvasive options. Here, experienced South Florida plastic surgeons Dr. David Rankin and Dr. Dev Vibhakar discuss the full range of available choices.

Facelift

Facelift works by tightening facial skin and muscles, while sometimes also removing skin and fat. It comprehensively corrects signs of aging by focusing on the middle and lower facial regions. It targets loose skin, displaced fat or sagging tissue on the cheeks, creases beneath the lower eyelids, excess skin and fat along the jawline and furrows between the nose and corners of the mouth.

Neck Procedures

If you were born with skin that lacks flexibility and resilience, you may develop neck skin that sags, creates folds or hangs loosely. This is especially true in the case of patients who have lost a great deal of weight: Skin that lacks suppleness will not shrink sufficiently to conform to the reduced volume of a slimmer neck.

Liposuction, cervicoplasty and platysmaplasty are the main surgical solutions for improving the appearance of the neck. Liposuction removes fat, cervicoplasty eliminates excess skin and platysmaplasty goes even deeper by tightening or excising neck muscles. Platysmaplasty is indicated when sagging neck muscles create a “banded” appearance.

In most cases these procedures can be performed endoscopically, which reduces scarring and typically can be done as an outpatient procedure with a local anesthetic.

Other Options

To improve the appearance of the lower face, there are many noninvasive options to consider in place of surgery. Laser resurfacing can smooth and tighten the skin, and injectables will fill lines, wrinkles and hollows on your face that make you look older. New varieties of dermal fillers not only add volume to targeted facial areas but also trigger the production of collagen, the natural protein that adds strength and flexibility to the skin.

Fat transfer is an older technology, but very effective in specific cases. This technique harvests excess fat from elsewhere in the body and transplants small amounts into areas along the jawline to build volume.

When too much volume is the concern, liposuction under the chin to the neckline can be an effective option. Other techniques that can impact the look of the jawline include Kybella injections to shrink under-chin fat, ultrasound treatments and new radiofrequency (RF) energy treatments such as FACEtite, AccuTite and Agnest RF.

To find out more about plastic surgery solutions for the lower face and neck, please contact Aqua Plastic Surgery by calling our Jupiter office at (561) 776-2830 or our Ft. Lauderdale office at (954) 564-3832.