I need a second neck lift from aging ten years after the successful first. Is a revision specialist recommended?

Secondary (or revision) necklifts and facelifts are frequently performed, as many patients are having their first lift at a younger age and then desire to maintain a healthy, more youthful look as years pass.  It is best to seek out a plastic surgeon who has experience with primary and revision face and/or necklifts.  The anatomical conditions being treated are similar, but there are some special concerns for the revision operations.    The presence of scar tissue from the first procedure many affect the way in which the muscle and skin can be shifted.  And the position of underlying nerves may have been altered slightly.  As with a primary lift, the most important aspect is for the surgeon to carefully analyze the anatomical changes that need to be improved, and to plan a safe operation to improve your appearance.  Surprisingly, there is often less loose skin that needs removal than one would think, and more work is often done on the deeper tissues.

This is a great question and will help educate others. Most people after about 8-10 years after a facelift, will look into some kind of 'touch up' in order to maintain their best appearance. Like you have mentioned, you look great, but feel a little touch up is in order. What you are doing is a secondary neck lift- not necessarily a revision, as a revision is performed when suboptimal results are obtained. This is all semantics, as in both cases you are having surgery a second time. My suggestion is to find someone that is VERY comfortable doing neck lifts and has done a lot of secondary neck lifts as my experience has been that even more care is involved and techniques are a little different the second time around (for example, less skin is always removed, so care has to be taken during the placement of the incisions and closure- and extra work has to be done to the underlying neck muslces). Good luck!

Thank you for your question, Maxime. I suggest you consult with board certified facial plastic surgeons for a handful of in-person opinions. Consider the Laser-Assisted Weekend Necklift which contours the neck line utilizing laser technology and hidden incisions while providing a short recovery of a few days. Based on your age and your desires, you may be a great candidate for this procedure. Best wishes,

A lower face/neck lift is a great procedure now that it is done under local with a little iv sedation. Everytime you do it, it is like a new procedure except that there is a little more fibrous tissue involved which may make it a little longer but not a big deal in most cases.

Thanks for sharing.  Seek a board certified facial plastic surgeon who specializes in aging face procedures such as face and neck lifting.  Invariably and experienced one will have done revisions on his own and others surgeon's patients.  Inquire about surgical experience with these procedures and their comfort level. There are several important certain things to consider when doing a revision that is learned by experience.  I have performed several thousand and feel comfortable with any revision and any shapes and sizes. 

It sounds as though you might be a candidate for Revision facelift/ neck lift/tightening . Seek an experienced Board Certified PS with extensive experience in Revision Surgeries. 

You definitely need a surgeon who is comfortable with revision procedures and has a practice that is focused on facelift and necklift surgery.  The simple truth is that most surgeons who perform a reasonable amount of face and neck lift surgeries SHOULD be comfortable with this type of procedure and should also be competent to get a good result.There are a few points to consider though:You mention necklift, but for most patients a revision procedure needs to include the neck and lower cheek / jowl area.  The neck often begins to show the aging changes earlier, but both areas have the same problems going on and will likely benefit from revising the neck and face simultaneously.Early revision or delayed second surgery in this area will always be a little more challenging with increased risk for complications and less-than-ideal results.  One thing that is challenging is that if the initial surgery was done by someone else your revision surgeon will  never really know exactly what to expect in the operating room until the surgery is underway.  This highlights the importance of a very careful pre-operative evaluation to understand what is and is not possible with the revision surgery.  That analysis is helpful for planning.The next point that is of critical importance is that your revision surgeon needs to be able to recognize what was done during the first operation and adapt intra-operatively to give you the best result possible by taking into account what was done before and the best ways to correct what has changed since then.  A deep plane facelift technique has some great advantages in revision facelift / necklift surgery because it allows the surgeon to work at a deeper level under the scar tissue plane of a previous surgery assuming that a deep plane technique was not done originally.

Hello there- If you had a successful necklift at age 40, and now have the return of neck laxity issues at 50, you may be a good candidate for a secondary necklift procedure. Most necklifts a for 40 year old would include liposuction and limited posterior neck lifting techniques. It's likely that some of the more advanced platysma muscle and deep neck contouring procedures were not performed at that time. Also, you may not have had jowl lifting performed at that time, and so it would be in your best interest to consult with at least a few facelift surgeons who are experienced in secondary neck lifting to learn more about your specific situation and to explore the various options that would be helpful for you at this time. The more you know about your own anatomy and modern surgical techniques, the more confident you will be in selecting the right surgeon for the job. Good luck to you. 

I think it would be best to find a board-certified surgeon who performs revision facelifts and neck lifts as a part of his or her regular practice. Ask to see and analyze some of their before-and-after photos to ensure your happy with the results you hope to achieve.  It may also be helpful to talk with at least 2-3 surgeons to get different ideas about whom you feel more comfortable with.

This is definitely considered a secondary facelift.  Some would also call it a revision.  If you do not find a true expert in secondary facelifts, you will most likely hollow significantly in the lateral cheek and look more unnatural.  This is the opinion of someone who does 50% revision or secondary facelifts and necklifts in his practice.  The only lift which will give a significant, long-lasting, and natural improvement is an extended and modified deep plane lift.  A regular deep plane lift is better than a smas plication in these situations. Make sure to look at a lot of before and after photos and look specifically for second facelifts.   Best of luck.