Our board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Robert Cristel, and our Synergi Facial Surgery team in Chesterfield and O’Fallon, Missouri, are passionate about helping our patients achieve their ideal look, and we have years of experience getting it just right.
Once you’ve decided to take the step and undergo plastic surgery, it’s normal to find yourself in a dilemma between two (or more) procedures. Dr. Cristel offers sage advice that can help you navigate your options, but when it comes to choosing between a neck lift and a face lift, he often recommends both, and here’s why.
Fixing only one area may highlight flaws in the other
Let’s play out the scenario of choosing a neck lift over a face lift. You have significant sagging and waddling under your chin and want to shore up that loose skin and redefine your jawline. A neck lift is perfect for these problems and a few more, such as:
- Prominent neck bands
- Crepey skin texture
- Stubborn fat bulges
Dr. Cristel can eliminate all these problems during your neck lift procedure. He makes one small incision hidden under chin to tighten the muscle, remove excess fat, and contour the deep neck tissues to create a sharper jawline.
Sadly, once your neck is rejuvenated and looking younger, suddenly, your facial flaws stand out like a sore thumb. Compared to your tight, smooth neck, your facial wrinkles look more prominent, your cheeks look hollow and droopy, and you have an unbalanced appearance.
Likewise, a face lift alone highlights your neck problems. A taut, youthful face next to a sagging, wrinkled neck looks odd and also tells all onlookers that you’ve just had work done in one area — but you still need it in another.
A face-and-neck-lift combo addresses all the signs of aging in a single surgery, so you walk away with a complete package.
A face-and-neck-lift combo means a shorter recovery time
Face lifts and neck lifts offer stunning results that last for years, but they do come with downtime.
During the first week, you’ll need to take it easy and allow your body to heal. You may be in discomfort and require pain medication. You can also expect bruising and swelling, which is why most patients opt to keep their social life calm so they can wow their friends with a big reveal later.
Dr. Cristel removes your sutures after the first week. As the swelling fades, you start seeing the results you’ve been waiting for — your facial contours become more defined, and you see significant improvements.
It takes a few weeks to get back into the social scene, while final results are at 1 year. Although the outcome is worth the wait — no one wants to go through it twice. Combining your face and neck lifts allows you to go through a single operation and a single recovery period.
One surgery also costs less than two independent procedures, so you’ll save money by doing them together.
Plastic surgery — The more, the merrier
Dr. Cristel specializes in routine and complex facial surgeries and can often combine several procedures in the same surgical session. In addition to a face lift and neck lift, he can address other issues, such as:
- Hooded eyes with upper blepharoplasty
- Under-eye bags with lower blepharoplasty
- Thinning lips with a lip lift
- Drooping forehead with a brow lift
- A misshapen or ill-sized nose with rhinoplasty
Whatever it takes to give you the fresh, youthful look you desire, Dr. Cristel can accomplish, and in many cases, he can perform more than one procedure at a time.
To find out if you’re a good candidate for a face-and-neck-lift combo, book a consultation online, or call Synergi Facial Surgery.