In Inland Empire, California where I practice, many find themselves looking for ways to get rid of a double chin or turkey neck – with or without surgery. And whether you’re in Inland Empire, San Francisco, Sacramento, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Boston or Providence, RI, you may be wondering the same thing. A double chin or turkey neck can be downright embarrassing. It can make a person who feels young and vital look old and out-of-date. Many women report that when they started looking older, people stopped paying attention to them, even when they have good ideas to present at work. If you’ve ever felt that way, maybe it’s time to “save your neck.”
Editor’s Note: Dr. Brian Machida is a highly experienced, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon in Ontario, CA, part of California’s Inland Empire. He has performed thousands of facial rejuvenation procedures. Dr. Machida taught facial plastic surgery for years at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. He serves as Medical Director at STC Plastic Surgery.
Treating a Double Chin or Turkey Neck without Surgery
Botox
If you’re younger, have healthy, elastic skin and your neck issue is vertical neck banding rather than a double chin, Botox could be an excellent option. Your neck banding is most likely caused by prominent platysma muscles. Botox blocks some of the nerve signals that make those muscles stand out. Getting injections every 3-4 months can keep them relaxed and your neck looking good.
If, on the other hand, you’re well into middle age, have more loose skin that’s less elastic, have a double chin or heavy horizontal neck bands, you’ll need more than Botox. Here are some of your options and what you need to know about them:
Kybella
Kybella is widely advertised as a non-invasive solution to a double chin. It’s not the method I recommend. Kybella works by dissolving fat, which your body will then absorb. Unfortunately, it also causes inflammation at the injection site. This inflammation can cause scar tissue nodules to form. This pulls and tightens your neck skin. And while nurses often give Kybella injections, it’s important that these be given by a highly skilled doctor. If not injected properly, Kybella can cause scar tissue nodules to become larger and more noticeable.
Most people need 3 Kybella injection sessions to get the desired results. Each one will cause redness and inflammation. Costs for those injections can add up. In addition, Kybella doesn’t help loose muscles, usually a key factor in aging necks. For this reason, at my practice – STC Plastic Surgery in Inland Empire – we don’t offer Kybella.
Neck Liposuction + Renuvion CONTACT Dr. Machida Inland Empire, CA
There’s no more effective way to remove excess neck fullness than neck liposuction. This method directly removes fat cells that often cause a double chin. Neck liposuction doesn’t do much to improve sagging skin, so skin elasticity is a major factor in determining whether this procedure by itself will give you the results you want. If you’re in your 20s through your early 50s and have healthy skin, neck liposuction may do a great job at removing your double chin.
If your skin is healthy, but there’s a greater amount of fullness to remove or loose skin, Renuvion/J-Plasma is a great procedure to add to neck liposuction. It does an outstanding job tightening loose but otherwise healthy skin. After giving you a local anesthetic, I’ll use the small incisions used for neck liposuction to insert the Renuvion wand under your skin. Renuvion uses the heat from energized gas plasma to make your skin contract and cool helium gas to prevent it from overheating.
Your skin will immediately firm up. And since the controlled thermal injury to your skin stimulates your body to make more collagen, your skin will get firmer and more elastic as time goes on. The healthier your skin is, the better skin firming you’ll get with Renuvion (see “Can Food Fight Wrinkles and Aging Skin” on this site).
On the other hand, if you want to get rid of a double chin and you’re in your mid-50s or older, or if your skin elasticity isn’t great, you’ll often need to combine neck liposuction with a surgical procedure like a neck lift. Particularly when combined with a lower face lift, a neck lift is your best option to eliminate a turkey neck or double chin.
Your Best Neck Rejuvenation Option –Surgical Neck Lift
If your physician determines that your turkey neck or double chin is more than can be successfully treated with Botox or neck liposuction, he or she may recommend a surgical neck lift. While it requires about 10 days of downtime, a neck lift is still the gold standard for rejuvenating an aging neck.
I usually start with neck liposuction to remove any excess fat. Then, using minimal incisions in front of the ears and under your chin, I’ll tighten the platysma muscle on the sides and in the middle of your neck. This will smooth its contours, removing the muscular V often responsible for a turkey neck. Then I’ll pull your skin back to tighten it and remove any excess.
Many patients benefit from having a lower facelift at the same time as their surgical neck lift. This is particularly true if you have a lot of excess skin. I’ll utilize the same incisions and can tighten up your jawline and get rid of any jowls. At the same time, I’ll eliminate marionette lines that run from your mouth to either side of your chin. The combination of a lower facelift with a surgical neck lift will give you excellent results that will last for years.
If you’ve felt embarrassed because of a double chin or turkey neck, it’s good to know that effective nonsurgical and surgical methods are available. If you’re young, Botox can do a lot to improve a turkey neck. Neck liposuction can eliminate a double chin. If you’re past your early 50s or your neck requires more improvement than these methods can provide, a neck lift is the gold standard for neck rejuvenation. Combining a surgical neck lift with a lower face lift will give you the best results available.
A better-looking neck is within your reach. Why not consult with an expert now to learn your best options? If you’re in Inland Empire, east of Los Angeles, California you can find me at STC Plastic Surgery in Ontario. CONTACT Dr. Machida Inland Empire, CA
