Why is my turkey neck coming back 4 months after Neck and Facelift? (photos)

Hello,

Skin ageing involves a number of factors: skin laxity, loss of elasticity, fine wrinkles and irregular colour changes amongst others. A face-lift addresses mainly skin laxity. In modern surgery, the tension after a facelift should be at the level of the deep tissues whereas the skin should not be repaired under too much tension. However, unfortunately the loss of elasticity means that the wrinkles have a tendency to come back.

Some factors which accelerate ageing are sun and smoking and they can be avoided.

Thank you for your question and pictures.  It is typical for the skin to relax slightly after all swelling has diminished.  Your skin before had lost quite a bit of elasticity therefore even when tightened after surgery your skin will be prone to relaxing quicker, e.  Please discuss your concerns with your surgeon to see if an adjust can be made to make the neck tighter.  A chemical peel could be discussed as well to smooth the texture of your skin.  All The Best 

This is actually a big improvement in your appearance.  I would encourage you to heal a full year before considering a revisional facelift.  I also think you would benefit from a full face chemical peel.

It is not uncommon to see relaxation of the skin after a facelift. From the photos, it looks like you are thin, and your skin is thin and crepy. Nothing wrong with that, it's just more prone to the return of laxity, even after skin tightening procedures like face or neck lifts. You have creases throughout the skin surface which contribute to the overall appearance. Revisit your plastic surgeon and discuss touching up the skin tightening.  But also discuss ways he or she can resurface your skin.  I believe that will go a long way to improving your outcome. I wish you the best!

You seem to have a very reasonable result after your facial surgery with a nice improvement in your facial structure.  Unfortunately, the return of some laxity in the neck is not uncommon, even after an extensive procedure like yours.  You appear to have thin, crepey skin that is more prone to this type of recurrence.  You should revisit this issue with your Plastic Surgeon -- in some cases a bit of secondary tightening of the neck may help, and the fine lines and wrinkles may benefit from some type of resurfacing.

You certainly have good improvement overall. Facelift removes the extra skin and tightens the support layer under the skin to lift it. However, it does not change the quality of the skin or the elasticity of the skin. Deep skin creases that form over years of movements do not go away with facelift. You still got great results but what you see now is a result of poor skin elasticity. Let it heal fully before thinking about another tuck for the neck. Best wishes. 

Congratulations on your result.  You look as though you look decades younger in the before and after photos.  Keep in mind that improving the signs of aging is the primary goal of any surgical rejuvenation. Some recurrent laxity in the neck is very common after facelifting surgery once the swelling subsides.  If you are a current or former smoker a less aggressive neck lift may have been performed in order to perform the surgery without putting you at unnecessary risk.  You have a nice result.   

but you started at an extreme as well with advanced wrinkling and laxity.  If your surgeon promised a smooth neck for months or years, then you have a legitimate concern.  Otherwise you do have a marked improvement and if really motivated to achieve a smooth neck, there are some less invasive or office procedures that could be done to improve results if you are accepting of additional scars.  This should fall under your surgeon's revision policy and you should talk to him/her about it.

The longevity of a facelift has many determinants, one of which is the elasticity of your skin before surgery.  Surgery can reposition skin, can tighten skin, but it cannot make it more elastic.  The new appearance of the face can be sculpted by fat removal or displacement, fat grafting, and lifting the underlying support, but if your skin has poor elasticity, you will see some recurrence of the original facial contour once the swelling has resolved.

Dr. Z

So you seem to have patysmal bands. These are tight lines under the chin especially when you strain your neck and are contractions of the muscle that we classically tighten during a facelift. Rather than tighten them again, I would suggest they need a little botox to soften them. This will not affect the tightness of your neck, just the banding that can be seen in this picture. Hope that helps. Adam Goodwin