The neck can be overlooked by patients when it comes to addressing signs of aging. While Dr. John Q. Cook is adept at identifying those who would benefit from tissue tightening below the chin, many people seeking a facelift are surprised to learn that they would benefit from something lower (i.e. a neck lift) at the Chicago-area practice.
In fact, there are certain patients who can enjoy quite remarkable results from a neck lift alone, known as an isolated neck lift.
An isolated neck lift is ideal for women and men who want to address lost definition, but who have not yet seen the same type of age-related changes above the jawline. For some people, the neck is the first place where significant signs of aging appear. Even if the face retains its youthful contours, an aged-looking neck can cause a person’s overall appearance to take on an older look.
The isolated neck lift is a local anesthesia procedure in which Dr. Cook makes incisions behind the ears, possibly extending the line minimally in front of the earlobes themselves. This hides the resulting scars quite well while still allowing Dr. Cook to access all of the tissues and layers necessary to give the neck a tighter and more youthful look. This tightening involves the skin of the neck and the underlying platysma muscle.
Signs of aging that have begun to “creep up” a bit may be addressed with a neck and jaw border lift, which aims to restore definition in the jawline while leaving youthful-looking contours higher on the cheeks along. Incisions for this approach are typically extended from those made for an isolated neck lift. This procedure will correct looseness of the skin and restore the underlying structures to their original natural position. Dr. Cook performs this procedure with a local anesthesia technique.
The right patient may even benefit from a minimally invasive approach known as MyEllevate®. This device uses a fiberoptic guidance system to disrupt muscle bands, as well as create a definition-improving suture network that holds the muscles in a more aesthetically pleasing position.
If the muscle of the neck still has good tone, but there is a moderate degree of looseness of the neck skin, the Sofwave™ treatment can be very helpful. This uses parallel beams of ultrasound energy to tighten the structure of the skin and produces an improvement in tone that is better than what we have seen with other external devices, although not as good as what we can achieve with as surgical neck lift.
No matter the ultimate approach, know that it is possible—and sometimes very beneficial—to focus on the neck alone. For more information, or to arrange a consultation, contact Whole Beauty® Institute by calling 312-751-2112 (Chicago Gold Coast Office) or 847-446-7562 (North Shore Office in Winnetka) or submit an online contact form.