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Why Do They Cut the Nap of Your Neck when Having a Facelift

asked 1 year ago by Mia 229 in San Jose, Ca
Latest answer by Sam Naficy, MD
Question viewed 434 times
Tags: neck, nape, technique

I had a facelift about 3 months ago and in the process of this the back of my neck or nap . Is this normal? Any information would help.

15 answers to Why Do They Cut the Nap of Your Neck when Having a Facelift

Facelift with incision in the back of the neck.

This is only done if there is an extreme amount of skin hanging in the neck. Otherwise the incision can be placed in the hair or along the hairline behind the ear.

Toby Mayer, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Nape of the neck incisions

Depending on how much laxity there is in the neck it may be necessary to make incisions towards the back of the ear/ neck, but rarely all the way to the very back

Sam Naficy, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Facelift Incisions

A facelift incision typically extends along the back of teh ear and into the hairline It is important to make sure that the incision is well concealed in the hariline so that it is not visible after it has healed. The lengthof the incision in the nape of the neck is largely dependent on the amont of exces skin that needs to be removed. If a large amount of skin needs to be trimmed it is actually beneficial to extend the incision so that you don't get scar irregularities such as a... more

Todd C. Miller, MD
Orange County Facial Plastic Surgeon

A Facelift incision is normally placed on the neck behind the ear but should be hidden in the hair

A Facelift incision is normally placed behind the ear and down along the nape of the neck but it must be hidden in the hair above the hairline along the neck so that it is not visible. This incision is necessary to adequately tighten the neck and re drape the tissues properly after the facial skin is tightened and the excess removed. This "posterior " aspect of the face;lift incision should not be visible and should be concealed by the hair at or above the hairline of the neck more

Brooke R. Seckel, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

www.drseckel.com

Incision does not typically exit onto the neck

Typically no, the incisions for a full Face Lift and Neck Lift start in the temple scalp, curve around the front of the ear, continue in the crease behind the ear and enter the posterior scalp but do not exit the hair onto the neck.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Incision along nape of neck for facelift

It is not uncommon to make an incision between the hairline and skin behind the ear (pretrichal) for patient with excessive neck skin that must be removed. Otherwise, the incision is typically made into the hairbearing skin of the scalp behind the ear to more easily camouflage the incision. One downside to this pretrichal incision is potential scar widening. I would wait 4-6 months for the scar to mature and discuss revision with your surgeon if necessary. I... more

Paul S. Gill, MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon

Extent of Facelift Incisions

As other Surgeons have correctly noted, the length or extent of the Facelift incision into the hairline depends on the amount of skin redundancy present at the time of surgery; your incision is not unusual. Generally, I use an incision that initially follows the occipital hairline, then at a defined lower position, enters the occipital hairline. This allows for removal of a greater amount of non-hair bearing skin.

Stephen Prendiville, MD
Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.drprendiville.com

Unusual scar after facelift? No.

Without a photograph it is difficult to tell exactly what you are talking about. I am assuming that you're talking about a vertical scar in the absolute back of your neck. This is not usually part of a facelift but if someone has excessive amounts of skin in their neck it has to be removed somewhere or cause bunching. The "somewhere" in this case is at the back of the neck. Generally this scar is preferable to bunching of the skin

Andrew Kaczynski, MD
Sacramento Plastic Surgeon

Faeclift incisions

Facelift incisions can be designed in many different ways depending upon what the patient needs. Sometimes this includes extending it to the posterior hairline along the back of the neck in severely loose necks.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Facelift incisions.

Depending on the amount of excess skin that needs to be removed, Facelift incisions vary in length. When the incision is carried back behind the ear to the nape of the neck it is to remove the excess skin in the neck that is too redundant to be dealt with in another fashion.

Paul Vitenas, Jr., MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon

Facelift: Common Techniques

There are a multiple approaches to facelift surgery, each catered to the patient’s desires and to the degree of the surgical task at hand. When patients have considerable redundancy of soft tissue in the front of the neck a more extensive lift is required to rejuvenate the neck in relation to the face. To this end, the surgical incision is carried behind the ear and often into the hairline so that excess skin can be removed in a concealed fashion. To leave the neck unaddressed... more

James M. Ridgway, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Experienced facial rejuvination surgeons use a variety of incisions depending on the patients needs.

Typically the incision that goes into the "Nape" of the neck is the one that is needed to create a well defined neck in patients that have loose skin in the front of the neck. Patients having their lift limited to the face will usually not need an incision that extends onto the neck. From your description, I would assume that you had issues in the center of the neck which were best addressed by a "retro auricular" or behind the ear takeout of skin. Dr.... more

Nathan Mayl, MD
Fort Lauderdale Plastic Surgeon

Facelift scars can be hidden in hairline.

In this case the hairline around the nape of your neck can be your friend. The scar can be concealed in and around the hairline with excellent results.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Incisions vary for facelifts

Depending on the technique, the surgeon's preference, the amount of extra skin you had in the neck and how you wear your hair, there will usually be incisions in the hairline or into the hair in the back of the neck for a facelift.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Facelift variations

In layman's terms, the back of the neck, or nuchal hairline, is referred to as the nape. There are numerous variations in facelift techniques. Some involve only threads passed through the skin. Others involve only a scar in front of the ear. Even other techniques involve more extensive excision of skin and scarring. These techniques vary with each practitioner and and with the amount of skin that requires excision. So, in answer to your question,... more