A facelift is commonly understood to address the cheeks, jowls, and neck. Typically, a "neck-lift" will only address the neck without the jowls or cheeks. As others have mentioned, the terminology mentioned above can vary from Surgeon to Surgeon based on their preferences and techniques used. It is important to understand that the anatomical component that ages in the neck, leading to banding/ cording is the platysma muscle, which actually starts in the lower face. In my experience, patients are generally more satisfied with facelifts, because it allows for addressing the platysma in the lower face and neck, in addition to contouring the other aging areas in the face. There is nothing wrong with asking your Surgeon what specific components will be addressed with the proposed procedure and ask to see lots of before/after pictures. Good luck!
It is very individual and sometimes very confusing nomenclature used in neck and facial surgery related conversation with our patients.There is a transition zone over lower jaw (jowls, jawline, mandible angle) which frequently needs to be addressed and can not be properly approached without making "facial addition" to a neck lift. Cleaning this area from fat and lifting it would require lower face lift in association to neck lift. This is an issue that you can clarify only with your surgeon(s) based on what they want to correct. Good luck.
