Neck Liposuction in Irvine, CA
Over time, fat disappears from certain areas of the body and becomes more obvious in others. One example of this is the hollowing of the cheeks while the submental fat under the chin becomes more prominent. It isn’t because the fat from the cheeks has shifted south; it’s because the skin in the neck is looser and the fat hangs a little lower. As an expert in submental fat removal, Dr. Houmehr Hojjat in Irvine can use neck liposuction to improve the area under your chin.
Submental Liposuction
What Is Neck Liposuction?
Neck liposuction is a cosmetic surgery that starts with a very small incision on the underside of the chin. A tiny cannula (suction tube) is inserted and the board certified plastic surgeon carefully removes the excess fat in this sensitive area.
Great care is taken to avoid wounding the structures of the throat, sublingual muscles, and nerves while removing the fat cells. Sometimes fat is removed from the lower part of the neck or sides of the neck to give the profile a more sculpted look.
Neck liposuction may be combined with other procedures, such as chin implants or lower facelifts to help redefine the lower face and neck. People with very small or almost non-existent chins that appear buried in a layer of fat cells benefit from neck lipo and a chin implant. Fat may also be removed from the lower cheeks to help bring the chin forward.
Performance
How Neck Liposuction Is Performed
At your initial consultation, pictures are taken from the front and sides of your profile. Then, the board certified plastic surgeon will use special software to show you how you might look after you have lipo on your neck and/or chin.
You will be able to see how your appearance may change before you ever decide to have the plastic surgery. The surgeon can also show you how to improve your appearance with supplemental and complementary procedures.
Depending on the age of the patient and the elasticity of the skin in the neck and under the chin, the surgeon may either take the cannula (i.e., suction wand) through an incision under the underside of the chin or through two incisions on the sides of the face under the ear lobes. If the patient is young enough but has a particularly full neck as a result of genetics, the surgeon will use the double incision under the ear lobes to suction out more fat from the sides of the neck as well as under the chin.
The incisions are very small and the procedure does not take long at all. A local anesthetic is all that is necessary. Most patients are awake for the neck lipo procedure and are able to see some results right away. As the neck and chin area heal and the tiny incisions close over, patients will see more dramatic results from their neck liposuction procedure.
To ease the fat grafting process and reduce stress on the skin and muscles in the neck, a laser may be used to liquefy the fat deposits. This is entirely painless.
Using a laser to liquefy the fat before it is suctioned out reduces the amount of pressure and scraping from the cannula needed to loosen the fat right before it is removed. It also reduces the amount of bruising and pain in the treated areas. If you are interested in having the laser as part of your procedure, ask the doctor about it and the additional cost to include it.
Benefits of Neck Liposuction
One of the most obvious benefits of neck lipo is the confidence patients gain when the swelling goes down and their necks and chins are so much thinner. Other benefits include the fact that clothes fit better around the neck, there’s more mobility to a neck that doesn’t have to turn against large fat pads, and many people find that they experience easier breathing and/or a reduction in snoring with the extra fat removed.
When the skin heals around your neck and under the chin, it becomes tighter as a result of less fat weighing it down. Whatever your main reason for addressing neck fat, you may find other benefits to having the procedure done.
Recovery
Submental Liposuction Recovery Time
Because the incisions are so small, recovery time is very short. Most people can return to their regular daily activities within a day or two, and the bruising and swelling that can occur disappears after about a month. You can take up to a week off if you want to rest and wait for some swelling and discomfort to resolve.
You may be prescribed a chin strap to wear to bed and/or during the day for a while to help brace up the skin and shape it while you heal. The brace also protects the skin from excessive pressure while you sleep at night, which can have a negative effect so soon after the plastic surgery. After six weeks, everything is healed and you should notice how much smoother and tighter your neck and chin skin appear.
Candidates
The Best Candidates for Neck Liposuction
The best candidates for this cosmetic surgery should be in their 20’s or 30’s. This is when the skin under the chin and around the neck is most supple and most elastic. The skin here is most likely to bounce back into a great profile in patients of this age. Many people have fat deposits in these areas due to genetics.
You can still have lipo on your chin and neck in your 40’s and 50’s, but you may need other procedures to avoid drooping skin or crepe-y skin on your neck after the fat is removed. In fact, most older patients are advised to have a neck lift rather than neck liposuction as the loose skin in older patients can become looser still without fat cells deposits to hold it up.
If you have liposuction on your neck when you are young, you may still need a lower facelift or neck lift later on. Gaining a lot of weight can negatively impact the results of your procedure as well.
Be sure you are at or close to your ideal weight and that you are not likely to gain a lot of weight in the next several years. The best results occur when people are under a healthy diet, on the lean side, and just have that little pocket of stubborn submental fat left.
Cost of the Submental Liposuction
Most of the time a simple neck liposuction procedure costs around $3,000 or less. Liposuction can be a simple or complex procedure, depending on the amount of fat and the areas where the fat deposits have concentrated.
The greater the number of incisions and sites noted for fat grafting, the higher the cost. You can discuss the cost at length with Dr. Hojjat at your initial consultation.
This cost does not include the price of anesthesia, post-procedure pain, and infection control medications, the cost and fitting of the chin strap, etc. These details all involve their own separate costs. Some of these items may be covered by insurance, but the actual liposuction is not. You can inquire about financing to help pay for your procedure.
FAQs
Neck Liposuction Frequently Asked Questions
Depending on your health and candidacy, yes. However, you should expect this more intensive surgery to be performed under general anesthesia and require greater recovery time at a greater cost.
It can remove some fat that may be contributing to the issue, but you may need to consider a facelift to rejuvenate your lower face instead. You may want a chin implant as well to make the cheeks look less “bulldoggish.”
The procedure is typically only repeated when patients gain a lot more weight and then can’t lose the fat from their neck and jowls. As you age, you may need a different sort of procedure, such as a neck lift, instead of liposuction.
If you live near Irvine, CA, Socal Aesthetic Surgery offers submental liposuction among its services and is conveniently located at 113 waterworks way, Suite #100, Irvine, CA 92618.
Irvine, CA
Schedule Your Free Consultation Today
Consultations are always free. It doesn’t hurt to see how much better you could look with a thinned down neck and chin. Call the office of Dr. Hojjat in Irvine, CA to schedule your consultation by dialing 949-996-3274.
ADDRESS:
113 waterworks way, Suite #100
Irvine, CA 92618
PHONE:
HOURS OF OPERATION:
Mon-Friday: 09:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sat-Sun: Closed