Could too much fat have been removed from my neck? (Photo)

Hello.  Thank you for your question.  You are still relatively early in the healing process following your facelift.  It is very normal, and expected, for the neck to feel very tight, swollen, and sometimes a little lumpy in the early postoperative period.  These things will typically resolve over time, as there will be some natural relaxation that will occur as everything heals, repairs, and smooths out after surgery.  There does not appear to be over-resection of fat from the neck in the picture that you provided.  It is not uncommon to do some conservative sculpting of the neck and jawline with liposuction during a facelift, even in relatively thin patients.  The 1/2 tsp of fat that you described that your surgeon removed with liposuction is actually a minimal amount.  The bands that you see in your neck are the underlying platysma muscle.  It is not uncommon to see these with the neck in an extended position that you show in the picture, especially in thin patients, because the skin is pulled tight over the muscle.  If the bands of the platysma muscle remain prominent with your head and neck in a neutral position once you have completed healing from your surgery, then botox injections can be used to relax the muscle.  I would encourage you to communicate all of your concerns to your surgeon and be patient with the healing process.  I wish you the best in achieving your aesthetic goals.

. . . with just this one photo, but looks OK overall, as some "new normal" tightness is certainly to be expected, and will relax (sometimes a bit too much . . . ) Also, that positioning and any platysmal "flexing" may accentuate what you're seeing. Time is on your side with these things; better to assess closer to 3 months out at minimum, in a neutral position, and in comparison to your pre-op photos - my guess is that you'll be pleased (and that "turkey neck" definitely will be gone)!)

Every surgeon tackles the area under the chin in a different way (both technically, and philosophically). Some are more conservative and remove only modest amounts of fat.  Others are more aggressive and take every bit of fat (potentially leaving the muscle visible underneath).  Additionally, depending on the amount of plat muscle drooping, some docs will either remove or tighten the muscle under the chin.  Depending on how this is performed, it my leave irregularities.  The point is that there are so many ways the work could have been performed.At this time you are certainly in the early-mid stages of healing. You should keep in touch with your PS since there are treatments potentially that can help this healing along (ie wearing a headwrap, ultrasound, steriod injections).  That said, what you have may very well still be normal healing based on how your surgeon does the procedure.  Your PS will be better able to assess this, so I advise a follow up with him/her as soon as reasonable.