For the past week, Teddi Mellencamp has documented the before, during, and after stages of her neck lift for her 1 million Instagram followers. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum started with a video explaining her decision to have the surgery and share the experience. “Okay, so I’ve been nervous to talk about this, because when you have, you know, over a million followers on Instagram, there’s a lot of people with really strong opinions and they can come at you in all different kinds of ways. But I’ve always been 100% transparent with you guys about my life and what I’ve done,” she said.
“Anyone who knows me knows that throughout my life I’ve gained 80 to 100 pounds and then lost it. That happened multiple times until I went all in seven years ago,” she continued (referencing her accountability program, aptly named All In.) “However, there’s been one thing that’s consistently bothered me. It seems like nothing to you guys, but it’s the loose skin on my neck. This doesn’t mean that I don’t love the skin I’m in. This is something that has bothered me since I was a young girl. It’s a deep, dark insecurity that I have, and I’m going to do something about it,” she also told her followers.
The 40-year-old Mellencamp then went on to explain that she had tried noninvasive alternatives, with little success. “I’ve gone to multiple doctors to see if there are lasers or things like that to help me and pretty much there really isn’t anything. I’ve tried the [threads], I’ve tried Botox, I’ve tried having filler around my jaw. Apparently, [because of] the way that my neck is angled and the loose skin, the only way to do it is to pull it up,” she said.
“Teddi was a good candidate for a neck lift because she had excess fat under her platysma muscle, which cannot be accessed with nonsurgical means. For example, neither Kybella or liposuction can reach this area,” explains Beverly Hills, California, board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Sarmela Sunder, who performed the surgery. “In addition, her muscle and underlying bony anatomy was such that her muscle needed to be redraped, to achieve her desired aesthetic goal. Finally, she had muscle laxity, which needed to be addressed with excision.” All of these things can be achieved during a neck lit, which is the term used for any type of surgical rejuvenation of the neck, Dr. Sunder adds.
Mellencamp also posted a photo to her Instagram story, pointing out exactly what bothers her, writing, “I have always been comfortable with my neck in the front, it’s the side profile that has always made me feel insecure.”
She documented her final pre-op appointment with Dr. Sunder, filming the doctor explaining the anatomical issues at play—specifically, how the location of her hyoid bone (a bone in the middle of the neck) contributed to the appearance of jowling. “It’s an anatomical thing—you were born with it. If you look at your relatives, they probably have it too,” says Dr. Sunder in the video. “I’m blaming my dad [singer John Mellencamp] for this,” Mellencamp jokes in response.
Post-surgery (during which Dr. Sunder also performed Morpheus8, to help with skin texture and tone), Mellencamp filmed herself bandaged and recovering in a post-op care center, acknowledging that doing so was a privilege. “I’m grateful to be in a post-op location where they’re helping me. A big thing is making sure you have post-surgery support. We all love Edwin [her husband], but he’s having fun and hanging with the kiddos and leaving it to the professionals. But I understand this is a luxury not everyone can do, so just make sure you have someone who can help you after.”
Three days after surgery, Mellencamp posted her first “unofficial” before and after, comparing her pre-op photo to a present-day selfie, noting that she would share the “official” version after her next appointment with Dr. Sunder. “Recovery usually takes two to three weeks, but we can already see her results, which both she and I are both thrilled with,” Dr. Sunder tells RealSelf. “Her neck contour is already more defined, and her jawline looks much cleaner and lifted.”
