Direct Necklift

Q: Dr. Eppley, I want to do a direct necklift by cervical waveplasty or Z plasty. I have already tried liposuction and not much fat came out and my issue is loose skin so I thought of direct doing it. Attached are my photos. However I do shave my hair so please bear in mind the scars need to be able to be hidden.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. A direct neck lift of any pattern would not be appropriate for you. The scars would turn out to not only be visible but would also be of poor quality. Direct neck lifts in men are only appropriate in much older men (age 65 or older) who have the skin laxity to create scars that heal better. Between your age and ethnicity any form of direct necklift would be a terrible decision that would result in scars from which there would be no good recovery. The only neck contouring option to consider in your case is a submentoplasty where fat is directly excised from beneath the platysma muscle and he muscle edges are resected.This will create a neck contour that would be better than that from your prior liposuction efforts although undoubtably not the 90 degree cervicomental angle that you desire.