18 months post SMAS facelift - What could have caused hanging neck skin? (photos)

Unfortunately this can be common with SMAS lifts. The technique fails to properly lift and address all the deeper structures leaving to skin pulled but not the structure beneath. You can speak with your surgeon about your concerns and obtain your operative report for specifics on what was done during your procedure. It is important to select a surgeon with experience in deep plane facelifts, this may give you a better chance at achieving your desired results. Best of luck.

Thank you for your enquiry and sharing your photographs.
I am sure that if your provider has advised you that they did a SMAS lift, it is actually what they did.
The neck contour, suggests problems with volume from the digastric muscles and submandibular glands. This would be addressed by a deep plane neck lift but it would not be controlled by platysmaplasty or liposuction.
Your photographs suggest a moderate amount of sun damage which leads to reduced elasticity of the skin. It is a significant contributor to the presence of sleep lines in combination with the direction of the lift. To control the lateral sweep, a more vertical vector for the left is likely to be the solution. Deep plane facelift may be of help in your case.
In some instances, in order to control the contours better, placement of the temporal scars in front of the hairline facilitates removal of skin excess in a more vertical direction show.
I would suggest in the first instance to discuss with your surgeon regarding your concerns and find out what solutions they would offer to help you achieve a result that you feel comfortable with. She

Hi, thank you for your question regarding what could be causing neck laxity 18 months post-SMAS facelift and neck lift. Thank you for sharing your history and your pictures. Upon analyzing your pictures, it is evident that you have hanging neck skin. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what was or was not performed during your initial surgery. However, the presence of residual neck skin and fat suggests that a corrective procedure, specifically a neck lift involving the removal of excess neck skin, may be necessary. This procedure may also include a platysmaplasty or plication of your platysma, the neck muscle, depending on the specific needs of your case.

The neck lift is typically achieved by making an incision in front of and behind the ear, with dissection extending to the neck, allowing for the resuspension of the neck skin. This procedure can often be performed through your existing SMAS facelift incisions. The revision surgery should take approximately two to three hours. I hope this response has helped to clarify your options for addressing neck laxity 18 months after an SMAS facelift. Good luck.

Sincerely,

J. Timothy Katzen, MD, FASMBS, FICS
Plastic and Aesthetic Surgeon