Over my 25 years in practice, I have seen hundreds of patients who come in, concerned about the way their cheeks have started to sag. Many will push their cheek up and say “if I could only get my cheek to look like this, I would be happy.” These were patients who may or may not also need a facelift. Over the last five years, I have developed a suture suspension technique which I call a loop suspension.

Through a small incision in the temporal (temple) hairline, a small instrument is passed down over the lateral cheekbone, passing underneath the cheek fat, and entering the mouth just beneath the nasolabial fold (that’s the facial line that runs from the corner of the nose to the corner of the mouth). The end of the instrument has an opening through which I pass a suture and bring it back through the hairline incision. I then make a second pass with the instrument and grab the other end of the suture and pull it back. This feature now forms a loop which I can pull onto lift the cheek fat pad and corner of the mouth. The two free ends of the suture are then tied into the firm fascia of the temporal hairline. This gives a firm, reliable lift.

For some individuals, the neck begins to show age faster than whole face and many times patients only need a neck lift, rather than a full face lift. However, when a face lift is chosen and a neck lift is included - these two together can complete the rejuvenation package. Sometimes, it isn't age that determines the need for a neck lift, but rather having lost considerable weight or it may even be hereditary feature you'd like to remedy. In fact, many younger people undergo platysmaplasty. Many men and women who have undergone neck lift are often thought to have "lost a lot of weight" or "toned up" rather than having had surgery.

Jowls can form from fatty deposits at the jaw line and laxity in the muscles, the neck muscles may begin to separate and hang, creating "bands" and the skin may hang more that we'd like creating the "turkey waddle" look. If this is the case perhaps you'd like to further research the platysmaplasty procedure.