Treatment for Neck Bands when Botox and Neck Lift Aren't Options?

asked 3 years ago by anon
Latest answer by Raffy Karamanoukian, MD
Question viewed 15,851 times
Tags: age 35-44, neck, alternative, neck bands, platysmal

I am 39 and have decent skin tone and texture but hereditary Platysmal banding...no smoking at all and a positive history of sun exposure but no sun in the last 5 years (religious use of sunscreen in 7 years). I have had several consults with surgeons (board certified plastic and facial plastic) regarding my neck. I have platysmal bands that go down from chin to my scapular bone and have had Botox 3 times in this area with no result and Total FX (conservatively done). No improvement with Botox with three attempts by two surgeons (despite their incredible credentials). The two surgeons also didn't consider me a face lift/neck lift candidate and don't do isolated neck lifts in their practices due to inconsistency of results....therefore they won't work on me because I'm not a face lift candidate. Can someone suggest another option for my platysmal bands besides a neck lift or Botox?

5 answers to Treatment for Neck Bands when Botox and Neck Lift Aren't Options?

Treating neck bands with minimally invasive treatments

Neck bands are usually a combination of three things: 1. Loose skin of the face and neck 2. Loose muscles 3. Loss of volume of the face The reason you did not have success with minimally invasive tightening treatments and Botox to the neck muscles lies in the weaknessof those treatments. Botox relaxes muscles. It does not tighten them. Radiofrequency treatments or fractionated lasers offer only a very small amount of permanent tightening, much less than what is typically bothering... more

Brent Moelleken, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

www.drbrent.com

Platysmaplasty can be performed alone or with additional facial surgery

Immediately under the skin of the neck is the platysma muscle, which you can easily see in a mirror when you clench your teeth and tighten your jaw. In youth, this paired muscle meets in the midline below the chin. With age, the right and left sides of the platysma often separate, producing vertical 'cords' in the anterior neck. The platysma can be divided anteriorly and tightened during neck lift cosmetic surgery to permanently eliminate these 'cords' and improve the... more

Michael Law, MD
Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon

michaellawmd.com

Thanks for the question Skylar - I know that your...

Thanks for the question Skylar - I know that your research and interaction with surgeons has provided you with a great deal of information and it seems like you've gone down pathways that are reasonable places to start. In my practice, patients that are not facelift candidates because they have a minimal amount of lower face skin excess can benefit from Botox treatments. Given the fact that you've failed that, you may be looking at surgical options. In my experience, Total Fx treatments... more

Steven H. Williams, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

Platysmal Bands Require Neck Lift and Platysmal Plication

Platysmal bands occur because of a diastasis of the midline platysmal muscle and a laxity of the submental fat. Serious thought should be placed into performing the gold standard for correction, neck lift and platysmal plication, rather than other non-invasive procedures that do not address the muscle. In my practice, I adhere to surgical guidelines to correct problems that are surgical in nature. Performing lesser treatments lead to dissatisfied results.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

I can understand your frustration and can see that you...

I can understand your frustration and can see that you have researched your options well. Botox has limited success with platysmal bands. As far as I am aware, surgically treating the platysmal bands is the only method to give you a reliable result. Traditionally, we (plastic surgeons) do not do isolated neck lifts in patients that are not having a facelift or have not had a facelift in the recent past. However, someone with isolated platysmal bands can be a candidate for a "neck... more

Sirish Maddali, MD
Portland Plastic Surgeon

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