	Article Directory		Article Submission Service		Article Marketing Blog		Publishers		Member Log In

Article Directory :: Health & Fitness Articles

What To Do With That Aging Neck

By Dr Barry Eppley

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 21May2008
Word count: 472
Viewed: 313 time(s)

Get Free Content For Your Site

While there are many changes that occur in the face as we age, one of the most bothersome to many patients is the changes that occur in the neck.

Progessive fullness of the neck, loose sagging skin, the development of vertical banding, the numerous horizontal wrinkles that appear low in the neck and the loss of a good sharp neck angle all capture the eye of the patient and others as well. These neck changes rank right up there with aging around the eyes as the most concerning facial aging concerns to most patients.

Like the rest of medicine, it is important to determine what the anatomic problems are in the neck to match up the best operation to improve it. Younger patients often just have some beginning neck fullness and a little bit of jowling. Simple liposuction and a little jowl tuck-up may be all that is needed in these younger patients. In some of these cases, I have used LipoDissolve injections alone and have gotten a good result if the patient can tolerate the temporary swelling that comes after eacj injection session and the 3 to 4 months to get the final result. Older patients usually have more sagging and loose skin and something like a more extended facelift (neck-jowl lift) is more appropriate. This is where sitting down with your plastic surgeon and going over your concerns with the aid of a mirror is so important. The selection of which operation is best for you will depend on a good understanding on your part of what do you want to see changed and what are you willing to go through to get it.

The aging neck in the male poses some different issues. They often have more skin excess and the facelift incisions that are used in females have to be altered to account for the male beard pattern. In addition, males have a much greater tendency towards some relapse after facelift surgery due to their thicker and heavier skin. Men also have a much greater aversion to major facelift surgery and may opt for an alternative procedure known as a direct neck lift. This procedure dramatically reshapes the neck and can produce a very sharp neck angle...but at the cost of a midline neck scar from below the chin down to the adam's apple. For some older men this may be a good trade-off and this scar usually turns out fairly well due to how better hair-bearing skin heals scars.

In the aging neck, a young patient may be able to get by with some limited procedures such as lipodissolve, liposuction, skin tightening device treatments, or some limited neck manipulation. In the older aging neck (> 50 years old), the amount of loose skin will require more invasive facelift approachs for significant improvement.

Dr Barry Eppley, board-certified plastic surgeon of Indianapolis, operates his private practice at Clarian North and West Medical cenetrs in suburban Indianapolis. He writes a daily blogs on topics and trends in plastic surgery at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here