Why is my Neck Sagging 4 Weeks After Neck Lift?

Your problem may lie in the type of procedure performed... or not.

Many minilifts or neck-only lifts do nothing for the jowl area, and little to pick up and adjust the deeper, or SMAS, tissues.  They are just not powerful enough.  Once the swelling goes down, the disappointing results become apparent.

Fortunately, it is possible to revise the necklift and correctly elevate and fix the SMAS to a higher position.

This assessment is quite speculative, however, and we don't see a photograph of your before-after pictures and a description of what was done in surgery, so nobody can do anything more than speculate and speak generally about procedures.

In some cases, no matter who the surgeon, the neckline will not be perfect if there is a large amount of soft tissue to adjust or if the bone support is not adequate.

Since you are only a few weeks out from surgery, do not judge the results just yet! As swelling goes down you will see improvements overall. Loose skin under the chin is the most likely problem I see after a few months as you have to be able to move your neck, raise your head up and down and chew your food! But it is usually mild and can be made better with RF microneedling in the future.

hello Spokane6975 It is very early in your recovery journey, your results at this point is far from permanent. You should visit or contact your PS about this concern. #results #sagging

Many patients who have neck liposuction see swelling distort their features for a few months after surgery. If the liposuction is combined with surgery, such as a neck lift, platysmaplasty, etc. then the swelling can be more severe. Keep your followup appointments and see the improvement along with your doctor. Many patients are told by their surgeons that they should wear a compression garment which may help make the swelling recede faster.

It is hard to say whether your neck skin will tighten further at this stage (especially without seeing you in person and examining your neck).

However, there is more healing to occur and your skin may tighten some more. Continuing to wear your compressive neck dressing at night may help with this process.

At 56 the neck skin may not have enough elasticity to contract fully after neck lift. This can be improved with a facelift procedure to tighten the underlying muscles and remove excess skin.