Facelift Before & After Case 18

This 66 year old patient, referred to Dr. Parker by another patient, asked Dr. Parker to improve the contour of her neck--she said her neck and not her face, was her primary concern. After examining the patient's skin, Dr. Parker explained he could more effectively improve the contour of her neck by combining a facelift with her neck lift. This would allow him to lift the skin as well as the deeper tissues (SMAS in the face, platysma in the neck ) in both an upward and backward direction improving her neck contour more effectively than would be done with a neck lift alone. The direction of pull in an isolated neck lift is posteriorly (and not upward as in a face and neck lift), therefore not as effective in an older patient with less skin elasticity in improving the neck contour. The patient said she understood this logic and subsequently had Dr. Parker perform a biplaner SMAS facelift and deep plane neck lift on her. The patient recovered quickly and looked terrific for her daughter’s wedding 3 months after surgery.