Adam's Apple After Surgery?

The pulling of the neck skin with tightening of the platysma may make the underlying tissue more visible. In most cases, this is an enhancement to see the neck contour.Raffy Karamanoukian Los Angeles

Thank you for your question. Liposuction can reveal what is underneath if the suctioned that low. Allow 6-8 weeks for your swelling to subside, then you can evaluate the long term picture you will have. I hope this helps.

It is not uncommon to see a prominent adam's apple immediately following facelift surgery.  The adam's apple is actually the thyroid cartilage of the larynx (voice box).  The structures that are pulled generally settle in the first several weeks.  If it is still prominent in women after the swelling resolves, a minor surgical intervention can be performed such as cartilage shaving or revision platysmaplasty surgery.

What you are describing is not uncommon in the immediate postoperative period.  The neck will relax a bit (most likely) in the next few weeks, and this should resolve.  You should communicate your concerns with your surgeon, and s/he will hopefully be able to confirm this.  Hope this helps and good luck to you!

Thank you for sharing your concerns. First, prominence of the Adam's apple (larynx) during the early healing period is not uncommon after a Facelift/Lower Facelift/Necklift.   When achieving a sharp neckline the tension is mainly placed just above this structure. This almost always improves with a tincture of time as a small amount of relaxation is inevitable.  That said, prominence can be persistent if attention to the size of the Adams apple was not appreciated prior to surgery and addressed intraoperatively. Also, overzealous removal of the under chin (sub mental) fat and muscle can leave you with a similar result. 

At this point, I would not be concerned. Give it some time and discuss your concerns with your surgeon. I hope this alleviates some of your concern and you achieve a great result from your surgery. 

Dear Lloveny,

Thank you for your post. It is important to assess for structures in the neck such as and adams apple or fallen salivary glands that are masked by the sagging neck tissue, although sometimes this can be suprising.  These can be addressed at the time of surgery, or after.  Cartilage shaving can be performed to reduce your adam's apple.  The followin link is of a lady who had a very prominent adam's apple that was very obvious after pulling her tissue back, and this was shaved during surgery.

Best wishes,

Pablo Prichard, MD

In the first few weeks after a combined facelift and neck liposuction the Adam's Apple can be seen more prominently in female patients. This occurs due to tightness from swelling and from fat removal from around the Adam's Apple (which is in fact your larynx or voice box).

While in men this extra definition is nice to see, it is obviously not so great in females. The concern is if too much fat was removed from around the Adam's Apple, called "skeletonization". This may require some fat injections at a later time to help soften the area up.

Good news is that this does not occur too often with just liposuction and is more common with direct fat removal as is done during a necklift.

Give yourself some time and follow with your surgeon.

All the best,

Dr. J

You are in the early healing phase. I am sure you are tight and swollen.  Follow up with your Plastic Surgeon regarding your healing.  A lot depends on your gender, and how much fat was taken out of your neck.