How long for prominent platysma muscles and scar tissue to abate? 6 months post Face lift. (photos)

Neck bands after a facelift can be caused from scar tissue or tight platysma muscle fibers. After looking at your photos, it appears to me that most of the problem is from scar tissue as your doctor has explained. Deep massage, while stretching the neck can help soften these bands. Kenalog can also be injected into the bands which often dramatically helps to soften this scar tissue. If these conservative measures fail, then retightening of the SMAS laterally without elevation of the skin over the scar tissue can be very effective in making the bands less prominent. 

Hello, Thanks for your question. At 6 months, if you see any banding, my opinion would be that it is permanent. Typically, when we do a neck lift and platysmaplasty, you should see no edges of the muscle or at least very minimal edge. If the surgery does not work perfectly, you can sometimes start to see the muscle again. In my opinion, a revision surgery would likely be required to correct this. Dr James Bonaparte

There are different approaches to platysma bands in the neck, but in your case I would not expect further improvement at 6 months post op. A revision with platysmaplasty might be considered, and this would include sewing the muscles together, cutting them horizontally to disrupt the bowstring effect, or both.

These bands look too prominent to be treated with Botox. Because they are more medial, you may need further medial tightening of the muscle and skin flap undermining of the entire neck. It's best to seek evaluation from your surgeon or seek a second opinion if needed.

At 6 months post op, your swelling and inflammation should be fairly stable. I would suggest that you schedule another appointment with your surgeon to discuss your options. It looks as if you may need some work done on your platysma muscle to release the tension. Kindly,Kouros Azar