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Neck Firming Options

I have sagging neck skin ("turkey neck"). What are my surgical and non-surgical options to firm sagging nec skin?

Sort 22 expert answers by:
+9

Necklift, Jowls, Facelift Options

If a person’s neck does not appear youthful, the face – no matter how limited the aging changes are – will often not be perceived as youthful either, unless the aging neck is concealed. Even in the absence of other signs of facial aging, a poorly-defined or sagging neck can add years to a patients overall facial appearance. When performed expertly and with great attention to detail, a necklift surgery can dramatically restore a natural and youthful neck profile, with no... more
Michael Law, MD
Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon
+4

Neck Lift and Sagging Skin: Surgical Treatments to Repair Neck Skin

Excessive sagging of the neck skin is usually a result of a variety of factors including: Quality of skin Skin redundancy Laxity of the platysma muscle Surgery, including a neck lift would improve the amount of skin redundancy and the laxity of the platysma neck muscles by sewing them along the midline. This can usually be accomplished through a small incision under the chin and two small counterincisions in back of the ear. Alternative treatments that address the skin will generally not... more
Raffy Karamanoukian, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
+3

Neck firming fixes

Thanks for your question. As we get older a number of factors can change the contour of the neck and jaw line. These include weight gain (and loss!), weakening of the supporting structures and loss of skin elasticity. This can cause the the "turkey neck" type description you mention. The things to consider when looking to correction include: • Amount of fat • Quality of skin • Skin laxity • Position of the platysma muscle A neck lift and... more
Steven H. Williams, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
+2

How to correct a sagging neck or turkey neck

The most dramatic changes occur with a formal surgical neck lift. The turkey neck is caused by two components: 1. Excess fat deposition in the neck 2. Lax neck muscles  A surgical neck lift involves both liposculpting of the fat above and below the muscles as well as tightening the plastysma muscle to create a sling or corsett. This will improve your jaw line, profile, and overall facial aesthetic harmony. When considering a neck lift in Jacksonville, you should consult... more
Ankit Desai, MD
Jacksonville Plastic Surgeon
+2

Neck Lift Procedures

To get the best results with Neck Lift, the following is needed; Bringing the edges of the Platysma muscles together if indicated. Doing some degree of Liposuction to sculpt the area Re-draping the skin to help contour the entire neck placing a chin implant only if indicated. Please consult a Board certified plastic surgeon with training in head and neck surgery for best results. Hope this helped.
Ali Sajjadian, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon
+2

Options for a sagging neck

 If you have sagging neck skin there are really no non-surgical options at all that do anything worthwhile.  What you need is a well performed facelift or cheek and neck lift. Check the necks on the photos on my web site and on RealSelf and see if this is what you are thinking about wanting.
Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon
+1

Saggy Neck Options

You have several different options to improve the appearance of your neck. Your nonsurgical options would be to a non-invasive skin tightnening treatment such as Thermage, Titan, Ulthera, or Exilis. All of these devices use different forms of energy to bulk heat the area and cause collagen and elastin stimulation, which can help tighten the area. All of these modalities are extremely technician dependant, so you want to go to someone who does a lot and gets great results... more
Grant Stevens, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
+1

Turkey wattle can be corrected

There are a few options available when it comes to firming up a sagging neck, often dubbed “turkey” neck. Non-surgical options like Botox treatments can have some effect if there are bands that form when you form facial expressions. Minimally invasive treatments such as liposuction can also be a potential treatment option if your skin is overall pretty tight and the issue is just extra fat. The best recourse is to seek a face to face consult with a surgeon... more
Scott W. Mosser, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
+1

Sagging neck and neck lift options

There are surgical and nonsurgical neck firming options. Depending of the severity of the sagginess, some patients may be treated non surgical with Botox. Other options would include laser assisted liposuction, such as SmartLipo, as a minimally invasive method of neck lift. And finally, traditional neck lift for severe cases. I recommend a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon. K. Jacob Cohen-Kashi, NY plastic surgeon.
Kambiz Jacob Cohen-Kashi, MD
Long Island Plastic Surgeon
+1

"Turkey Neck" Surgery

Sagging of the neck skin is best treated with surgery.  There are noninvasive options, but I suspect the results will be disappointing.  The skin can be tightened in conjunction with a lower facelift, where the incisions are made close to the natural curves of the ears.  A primary neck lift is an option as well, where incisions are made in the central neck area which can vary quite a bit, depending on the degree of laxity.  The advantage of a primary neck lift is... more
Michael Vincent, MD
Rockville Plastic Surgeon
+1

Neck lift

 If you have  redundat skin in your neck and bands in yur neck it is probably  better to perform a neck lift. You  can try  Botox for the bands in the neck in a temporal remedy  and  Thermage in the skin  but again is limited the result.
Alejandro J. Quiroz, M.D.
Mexico Plastic Surgeon
+1

Sagging neck options

Unfortunately, the skin tightening non-invasive procedures do not work well once the skin actually starts to sag. They are good at tightening the skin when it first starts to sag. For sagging skin, a neck or facelift is ussually the treatment of choice.
Andres Bustillo, MD
Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Surgery is the best way to correct a sagging neck.

Surgery is the best way to correct a sagging neck.  The real question is WHICH surgery is best for you.  There are minimally invasive options as well as more aggressive surgical options. This decision needs to be made during a consultation with a plastic surgeon.  The surgeon needs to evaluate whether you have excess skin, fat or deep supporting tissue. I have been having excellent results with minimally invasive SmartLipo of the neck in good candidates. ... more
Richard H. Fryer, MD
Salt Lake City Plastic Surgeon
+1

Correcting a "turkey wattle" or sagging neck skin

There are very few non-surgical options that I am aware of to tighten excess skin and hanging muscle bands. That being said there are minimally invasive surgical options which include possibly liposuction of the front of the neck with suture tightening of the muscles. If you have excess skin also, this can be excised directly but you might have a potentially visible scar. Alternatively, you can have a necklift procedure done where incisions are made around the curvature of the ear to the... more
Scott Trimas, MD
Jacksonville Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Turkey Neck Options

The necklift is often the best option for a turkey neck. Typically, a necklift will include liposuction to remove fat. Cervicoplasty may be included to remove excess skin, and platysmaplasty to remove or tighten neck muscles: a process that gets rid of unwanted band lines. If necessary, a segmental facelift may be combined to provide a more complete and natural looking improvement. Accent is a nonsurgical possibility that may provide some improvement for the neck if the... more
Kris M. Reddy, MD
West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon
+1

Only surgery will fix a "turkey neck" but it is a simple outpatient operation through a chin incision.

A "turkey neck" can be fixed by a cervicoplasty or necklift. In the properly suited patient, this can be all accomplished through an incision under the chin a inch or so in length. Patients with true excesses of skin are probably not candidates.
Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon
+1

There are really only surgical options for neck firming

While it is nice to imagine a laser or some other device that can tighten the neck and avoid surgery, as of yet I have never seen one that really works. Until the day we have a non-surgical device you are looking at a neck lift of some sort. There are different variations but basically you are going to have some incision around the ear and tightening of the neck fascia. Down time will range from 1-2 weeks. Results are usually good though the aging process will slowly continue and over time... more
Ivan Wayne, MD
Oklahoma City Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Surgical and non-surgical options to treat sagging neck skin

Depending on your age, skin elasticity and the fatty tissue content in your neck, you might be a candidate for several varieties of surgical procedures: liposuction only; liposuction with muscle tightening; or muscle tightening, liposuction and skin tightening. The correct treatment for you is best individualized by you and your doctor depending on your desires and the characteristics of your skin as mentioned above. In general, the younger you are, the less surgery required to give you a... more
Deason Dunagan, MD
Huntsville Plastic Surgeon
+1

Neck Lift Procedures

Aging changes in the neck are related to several factors: skin laxity, decreased muscle tone/ muscle laxity, and fat excess. Although the treatment for a "turkey neck" is best approached surgically, the type of surgery to employ depends on whether a patient has significant aging changes in the face. If the patient also has significant jowls, a poorly defined jawline, and mid-facial descent, the best surgical treatment would be a Facelift. If however, the aging changes are... more
Stephen Prendiville, MD
Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Correction of sagging neck skin ("turkey neck")

Neck aging is an interplay between an increase in and having sagging skin, an increase of fat in the neck AND the separation of the Platysma neck muscle from its attachments on the deeper neck structures. SOME neck improvement may be gotten without surgery by weakening the Platysma muscle bands with Botox and shrinking the neck skin with some lasers or IPL. In some people such noninvasive results are quite acceptable but they are NOT the same as a neck lift. The neck lift that would best... more
Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon
+1

Platysmaplasty

The neck has three critical components that have to be addressed: 1. Excess skin 2. Excess fat 3. Loosening of the platymal muscle causing the appearance of platysmal bands or turkey goblers Treatments: Excess Skin: surgical redraping or tightening is the only reliable treatment. Forget lasers or radiofrequency treatments, they are expensive and don't work! Excess Fat: weight loss, liposuction or direct surgical excision is the way to go. Platysmal bands: The key to a reliable long term... more
Robert M. Freund, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon
+1

Neck procedures

Neck lift surgery is really the best way to tackle loose skinin the neck. I use some lasers in my office inclduing skin tightening lasers, however they probably only give about 20-30% improvement over time. I tell patients that they ARE NOT DONE INSTEAD OF A NECK LIFT, but they may put it off a bit. If they are happy with a 20-30% improvment, then I do it for them.
Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon
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