Neck Lift

Refine Your Neck and Jawline

Few things age the face faster than the neck. Loose, crepey skin, vertical banding, and stubborn fullness under the chin can create a turkey neck or double chin even when the rest of the face still looks youthful. At Cosmetic Doc, Dr. Husam Elias, MD, DMD, FACS, performs neck lift surgery for patients throughout Sherman Oaks, Pasadena, and greater Los Angeles. As a triple board-certified cosmetic surgeon who understands the face from the bone outward, Dr. Elias knows how the jaw, chin, and neck structures work together, and he shapes each neck lift to restore a clean, defined angle between the jawline and neck.

What Is a Neck Lift?

A neck lift, or lower rhytidectomy, is a surgical procedure that tightens the platysma muscle, removes or repositions excess fat, and trims loose skin to smooth and redefine the neck. Depending on your anatomy, your neck lift may include:

• Platysmaplasty: Through a small incision hidden under the chin, Dr. Elias tightens the paired platysma muscles, correcting the vertical cords that appear when the muscle edges separate with age.
• Submental liposuction: Precise neck liposuction removes stubborn fat beneath the chin and along the jawline, an effective answer to a double chin in patients with good skin tone.
• Cervicoplasty: Excess, sagging skin is trimmed through discreet incisions tucked around and behind the ears, eliminating the loose folds of a turkey neck.

Jowls and neck laxity usually develop together, so many patients achieve the most balanced result when a neck lift is combined with a facelift, rejuvenating the cheeks, jawline, and neck as one continuous unit. Dr. Elias will tell you honestly whether the neck alone is the right target.

Who Is a Good Candidate for a Neck Lift?

The best candidates are people in good general health who are bothered by loose neck skin, visible muscle bands, or fullness beneath the chin that diet and exercise never touch. Age matters far less than tissue quality. Patients in their forties often need only muscle tightening and liposuction, while those in their sixties and beyond typically benefit from skin removal as well.

Skin elasticity is the single most useful predictor of your result. Skin with reasonable spring redrapes smoothly along the new contour, while heavily sun-damaged skin may limit how crisp the final angle can be. A recessed or small chin is worth discussing too, because it can make an otherwise good neck look fuller than it is, and adding chin projection often sharpens the profile more than neck surgery alone.

Non-smokers, or patients willing to stop several weeks before and after surgery, heal considerably better. If your goals are realistic and your health is stable, you are likely a strong candidate, and Dr. Elias will confirm that in person.