As we age, time, gravity and environmental factors begin to take their toll on our skin and bodies. This is often most prominently noticeable in areas such as the chin and neck, and can show your age even if your face remains relatively youthful. This week’s Atlantic Coast Aesthetics Question of the Week was submitted through our Facebook page, and asks: “I’m about to turn 52. The skin on my face is relatively firm and in great condition for my age, so I don’t need a facelift. However, my neck and chin area doesn’t look nearly as good as my face. What are my options for firming up the neck and chin area?”
Dr. Pane said that how this area is treated depends mostly on what the skin looks like, and the degree to which it has progressed. For fine lines and wrinkles, laser treatments, medicated creams and other non-invasive treatments can be tried, although Dr. Pane noted that it’s important to remember that not all laser treatments can be used on the neck area. If there is banding or webbing of the skin, Botox-type treatments can give a good, long-lasting result.
If the condition or conditions are more prominent and more stringent tightening is necessary, one non-invasive treatment that can be used is a pulsed radio-frequency, or RF, treatment. Think of a cross between a laser and ultrasound to understand the basic gist of how this technology works. A probe is placed on the treatment area which sends pulses of electromagnetic radiation into the skin, causing it to tighten without surgery by warming and building up the connective tissue, or collagen, within the skin itself. This can help to firm up the neck and chin area without surgical intervention.
In cases where webbing and wrinkling are very prominent, or where non-invasive treatments prove to be insufficient because of the overall quality of the skin or the patient’s reaction to the treatments is negligible, then a full neck lift may be required. In this procedure, similar to a tummy tuck, excess skin is removed and then the remaining skin is tightened so that the neck and chin area presents a firmer, more sculpted and youthful appearance. Because of the site of the procedure, this is generally considered a last resort when other treatments have not delivered the optimal results.
Even non-invasive treatments may sometimes have side effects. These generally depend on factors such as the quality of the patient’s skin, healing factor, whether they have known or unknown allergies and other medical conditions. For this reason, it is important for patients to be completely open about their past medical history and current state of health, so the maximum range of beneficial options are considered and options which could cause unnecessary reactions or problems can be avoided. However, most non-invasive treatments still do not carry nearly the risks and potential problems of surgery, which is why they are the preferred intervention method in situations where the skin is of good general quality and/or where the problems are in a sufficiently early stage of development that they can be addressed through means other than surgery.
What the “perfect” treatment or set of treatments for a given person is varies. Pictures of the target area that give a good indication of the appearance of the skin is a starting point for a cosmetic surgeon, but cannot substitute for direct clinical examination of the area and the texture, suppleness and condition of the skin. Every person is a little different, so what works wonders for Patient A may have no effect whatsoever on Patient B, even though “on paper” they would seem to be more or less identical. Especially with non-invasive procedures, some experimentation to find the ideal combination of treatments may be necessary. In the hands of an experienced cosmetic surgeon like Dr. Pane, this “trial time” should be fairly minimal and yield the best results, but there is no way to absolutely guarantee the outcome of any treatment or surgery.
If you’d like to ask a question related to cosmetic surgery, we at ACA invite you to contact us through our Facebook page, email us at https://acplasticsurg.com or call us at 561-422-4116. Your question may help other patients who have similar concerns or problems, and you may even find your question is ACA’s next Question of the Week! Dr. Pane answers the Question of the Week on live Google Hangouts, so you and others can get the best possible information to decide what the perfect treatment is for you!