What Can I Do to Fix my Neck, is It Simply a Matter of Losing Weight? (photo)

In short, it might just be a matter of losing weight, yes.  If you feel you can do that, you should feel empowered to try.  That said, many active people have certain stubborn areas of fat that do not go away with their exercise regimen and diet, and conservative liposuction of those areas is a wonderful procedure for them.  At 35, you are unlikely to need skin removal but this could be evaluated in the office.Best of luck with whatever you choose!

Thanks for your question.  Small areas of excess fat under the chin in patients with good skin tone and no muscle laxity do well with liposuction.  Looking at the picture I would offer liposuction to help.  There are also laser-assisted liposuction treatments such as Smartlipo which is a great way to treat the area without having to go to the operating room.  I offer Smartlipo and have treated similar patients with very nice results.  Seek out a plastic surgeon board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery with experience with this problem and be sure to see examples of patients the doctor has treated with similar issues.  I hope this helps.  Good luck. By the way, you should only seek out the procedure once you are at a stable, realistic weight for you.  If you can lose 10-15 and keep it off then great, but if not, then be realistic and see someone when you are at a weight that is normal for you.

if your neck skin still has quality elastic properties, loosing some weight might improve the angle between you neck and jaw.  if the elastic qualities of your neck are poor, loosing weight might make the skin sag more.  can tell for sure from the photo.  conservative liposuction might be considered as an option plus/minus a genoiplasty.

It appears that you have some excess fatty tissue in the neck area.  In my experience with patients with your type of anatomy, loosing 10 lb probably will not improve the appearance of your neck.  You could benefit from an expertly performed liposuction in the neck area.  Your skin should retraction  quite nicely.  Make sure that the surgeon is experienced with this type of a procedure.  In your particular case, the actual instrumentation is less important (laser, vaser, etc.) than the technique.

The elasticity of your skin should be quite good at your age, and weight loss will definitely improve your neckline and the neck "sag" that you notice.  If the appearance of your neck still concerns you after weight loss, conservative liposuction in that area can help to improve the contour.  

Without a physical examination it is impossible to say but it looks as though significant improvement can be accomplished with liposuction in the neck. This is a simple operation that can be performed under local anesthesia.

Thank you for your photo.  It never hurts to be at your ideal weight prior to entertaining any aesthetic procedures.  If you loose the weight but still have fullness then liposuction may be a consideration.  Seek consultation from BC plastic surgeons.

Dr. ES

As always it is difficult to tell with photos, but you might consider a less invasive, nonsurgical option first.  Utherapy is microfocused ultrasound energy that is delivered  deep in the skin.  There is no peeling and really not much for down time.  It seems to work well in people your age and may even work slightly better in men (not proven but an interesting finding).  Other options would include liposuction and a necklift but these are more invasive.

Consider finding a board certified plastic surgeon that has Ultherapy in their practice, if you cannot improve by weight loss and it is mostly a skin problem.

Good luck.

Hello,

The question you ask is thoughtful. If your neck changes with weight change, then weight loss would be a very effective and non-invasive means of changing the appearance of your neck. Commonly this is enough for most people, but if you have a neck that all of your family members have - then the changes you want will take more than weight loss. Fullness is caused by excess fat, muscle laxity and redundant skin. Rarely is it purely one of these three components. A more conservative approach is the treatment of the muscle and fat while a more aggressive treatment involves a neck lift (all 3 components). I would recommend first placing yourself at your ideal weight and then evaluating the degree of changes you want from that point.

Be healthy and be well,

James M. Ridgway, MD, FACS

Fullness under the chin is often due to fat. This fat may respond to weight loss or may not. The best way to tell is to actually diet and see if it goes away. If not you may need liposuction. Even then, liposuction may not yield a sculpted neck. If you grab the skin and fat under your chin and feel a firm muscle under that and it's still bulging, then fat may be beneath the muscle called the platysma. In that case a sub-mentoplasty will get a better result than lip alone. The muscle is opened up surgically and fat removed from underneath the muscle. Lastly, a receding chin can also exaggerate fullness under the chin. In that case we consider a chin implant.