Loving Your Neck: The Neck Lift
It’s one of the first telltale signs of age—a neck that’s losing firmness and definition. No one is immune. All you have to do is catch the title of Nora Ephron’s best-seller, "I Feel Bad About My Neck" and you know what she’s talking about without reading one more word. There are answers. And Rejuva Center’s founder, Dr. Bart Rademaker has them.
Targeted liposuction with the GPS Guided Laser are ideal for mild cases of excess fat and loose skin. Surgical neck lifts correct for greater skin laxity and atrophied surface musculature. Coupled with a mini-face lift to smooth the path from neck to lower face, the procedure restores a smooth, graceful and youthful line.
Dr. Rademaker, Board Certified in Plastic Surgery, has honed the neck lift to insure that the muscles of the face, so essential for communication and emotional expression, remain intact.
"Part of the problem with the neck is that the superficial muscle and skin loosen up and stretch out. That’s what we want to address," he explains.
The neck lift involves releasing the skin all the underlying structures, pulling it back and paring away the excess. The skin is rightly anchored behind the ear. That’s part one.
Part two involves muscle tightening. Depending on each individual’s configuration, Dr. Rademaker reaches the muscles through the anterior midline, along the back of the neck or in some combination. Sutures hold the tightened muscles in place.
For optimal results, a mini-facelift tightens the skin of the lower face so that there are no hash contrasts between the neck and what’s right above. As always, Dr. Rademaker protects the facial muscles using a hairline incision that starts from just in front of the ear and extends to the jaw and jowl. He pulls the skin just tight enough, sutures it in place and removes the excess. After two weeks or so of healing, you’ll stop wearing turtlenecks in the summer. What you’ll notice is the renewed sense of confidence that comes from reclaiming that graceful neck and jaw line.