Patient 3
This 56 year-old lady underwent a revision neck lift to address residual submental fullness following a deep plane face and neck lift 4 years previously. The fullness was due to bulky submandibular glands and digastric muscles that were not addressed at the original surgery. This is a common issue in revision cases that I see in my practice as few surgeons perform genuine deep neck surgery. The structures and fullness are particularly apparent as a shadow under the border of the jaw in the oblique pre-operative images.
There were additional complexities in this case including a previous post-operative infection and thin skin envelope – which made for a more challenging dissection.
An improved neck contour was achieved through a deep neck lift involving a reduction in the submandibular glands and digastric muscles as well as tightening of the platysma muscle in the midline and at the side (through an incision behind the ear). At 2 months, she was thrilled with the improvement in neck contour and had also noticed better jawline definition despite the fact that the face lift had not been revised.