Will Not Wearing a Compression Garment Affect Final Results on Neck?

It’s not unusual
for surgeons to recommend the use of compression garments following neck
liposuction.  Although, the
majority of plastic surgeons recommend some type of compression, there are
surgeons who don’t always recommend compression. It’s important to understand
that every patient’s situation is unique.

The importance of
compressive chin straps depends on a variety of factors.  These might include the amount of fat
removed and the patient’s baseline skin laxity to name a few. In some cases,
not wearing a compression garment may have no significance.  In other cases, it might be the
difference between an excellent result and an average result.

We generally
recommend the use of chin straps day and night for one week.  This is followed by night time use for
an additional 2 to 3 weeks following neck liposuction.  We also recommend a low salt diet
before and after neck liposuction.

It’s important to
discuss this issue with your surgeon before proceeding with surgery so you will
have an understanding of why post-operative compression garments are important
for you.  In some cases, premature
cessation of compression might adversely impact the results of liposuction.  In the vast majority of cases, it would
probably not affect the result, but instead lead to prolonged swelling.

 When performing  minimal liposuction of the neck, we use a compression garment for 3-4 days after the procedure. In the majority of cases, we perform a necklift ft by removing the fat above and below the platysma muscle in the neck, and a platysma plasty. We insert 2 Jackson-Pratt drains in the neck that are left in for 2 days to remove blood and fluid from underneath the skin. We do not use any compression wraps for a neck lift.  A neck lift procedure does not remove any skin, just additional fat below the muscle in the neck. For many examples, please see the link below to our neck lift photo gallery

Fist of all, every patient is different, and each surgeon may have his/her own protocol.  The protocol is usually in line with their particular procedure for that particular patient.  Our office has the patients wear compression garments as we believe it decreases swelling and improves contour.  The idea is to have the skin attach down to the underlying tissues.  Please ask your individual surgeon what he/she likes and then do what he/she says.