Question About Lipo to Tighten the Jowls and Neck After a Facelift

Hi Mia 229With regards to the face - the skin looses elasticity over time. The tissues under the skin tend to drop due to gravity and there is a degree of loss of volume of the face. It is important to address each of these issues that are present in any individual to achieve a desirable and long lasting outcome. The skin needs to be lifted and tightened as does the muscle layer underneath, called the SMAS and this gives it the longevity of a facelift that should last 7-10 years.Some surgeons perform a skin only tightening without tightening the SMAS which has a good outcome immediately after surgery but has very little longevity and lasts only a few months.With lipo, this reduces the volume under the jowls and its good for contouring of the jaw line but does nothing to make the procedure to last longer. Commonly face and neck tightening are performed together and in the neck typically, the skin, the fat under the skin and the muscle called the platysma, are addressed to different degrees on any individual. The lipo to the neck and skin tightening improves the contour but if there is laxity of platysma underneath then tightening the muscle will give the contour of the neck a longer lasting result. It is important to ask your surgeon whether he has performed skin only or he has tightened the underlying muscle for your facelift.

The rate with which you will continue to age after your facelift procedure is not something that surgeons can predict.  Long-term results will often vary patient to patient depending on ethnicity, hormones, the use of topical therapy and medical grade-skincare, sun avoidance, etc.  If what you are describing is loose skin (not fat) at the jowls and neck, liposuction will do nothing to address your concerns in a way that will make you happy.  Some docs claim that using radio frequency will aid in tightening skin in that area of the face, but I have yet to see a device that yields the type of results that would justify asking price for the procedure.  Having said that, there is probably a facelift revision procedure in your future, as no surgery, treatment or topical can ultimately stop the aging process.  

Sorry but liposuction will not tighten your jowls, especially if your problem is skin laxity. If you have recent post lift skin laxity, your skin elasticity may be the culprit. It's best to see your surgeon for follow up and get a treatment plan for your individual condition.

A well-performed face and neck lift should last muchlonger than just a year or two. If adequate fatty tissue was not removed, lipo-sculpturingof the area or laser liposuction may help to reduce the bulkiness of the jowls.

Liposuction After a Facelift

Liposuction will remove excess fat, but will not tighten your jowls and neck. This procedure is not designed to tighten sagging tissue, merely to contour party of your body.I agree with your surgeon that you should wait at least 6 months before pursuing another procedure. More importantly, it sounds like you need a second opinion from a board certified Plastic or Facial Plastic Surgeon who specializes in facelifts.

 

 

It is very common to wait 6 to 9 months after a surgical procedure before having any type of revision or secondary procedure. It’s important to let the area heal and stabilize first. Depending on the type of face lift you had, will determine the longevity and how soon you may need a touch up. If just the skin was lifted and NOT the underlying muscles your skin may continue to relax and finding a secondary method of skin tightening will be important. Liposuction may or may not help tighten the skin. Other non-surgical treatments are available to help tone and tighten skin such as Ultherapy. Ultherapy is the first nonsurgical technology approved by the FDA to tighten and lift skin with NO downtime and very little if any, risk. See your surgeon regarding liposuction VS. Ultherapy or seek out a board certified facial plastic surgeon who offers Ulthera for a second opinion.

The suggestion that you wait at least 6 months after your surgery was good advice. Although you will look much better than you did before as early as 3-4 weeks after surgery, post-op would healing and remodeling continues for at least 6 months and often more than a year following surgery.

During this time, skin will continue to tighten and the contour will continue to improve. As a result, you may find that you are very pleased with your results and may not need any further treatment after waiting for adequate wound healing time.

Often liposuction is performed in the lower neck and face at the time of the original facelift procedure. As a result, further liposuction in these areas may not result in as much improvement as you would hope. As an adjunct to the surgery that you've already had, you may consider the Sciton SkinTyte BBL therapy procedure to further tighten the skin of your neck and lower face post-operatively.  

Uncommonly, further skin tightening to the skin and the muscles deep to the skin may occasionally be needed to give you the best results. 

Liposuction by itself does not tighten tissue but laser liposuction such as Smartlipo may have limited tightening effect

In general, liposuction does not work in the aging neck and should not be done as it can actually make the neck sag more and be more difficult when it comes time to do a real face and necklift. Liposuction only works in the younger patient who has tight skin and fat without any platysmal banding.

There is a period in the early going after a facelift  when the swelling can make you look tighter than any surgical result can ever be.  I call it the honeymoon period.  Then that last bit of swelling resolves and patients look at that minute jowl or neck laxity and focus on it too much.  Ask to see your before pictures and look in the mirror with those images available.  If you still want tighter skin, Thermage it rather than remove more volume.