How Can I Get Rid Of My Double Chin?

Q:Dr. Eppley, Can you tell me how to get rid of my pesky double chin? It bothers me tremendously. I am only 43 years old and my neck looks twenty years older! I am too young to look like this. I am at a good weight and haven’t been able to shake these two chins off no matter what I do. What do you recommend?

A: The ‘double chin’ appearance comes from two upside down hump areas. The first is the chin, which everyone has, but in the double chin patient it is often short or set back. This can make it appear that it is part of the neck when it should be a more distinct forward prominence of the jaw. The second hump or sag is the soft tissue of the neck. This may be just a lot of fat but is usually mixed in with some loose skin as well. This is particularly so in older patients who may have overall neck skin laxity. Given your relatively young age, I would envision that the anatomic composition of your double chin is a bony chin shortness and a collection of fat with some mild amount of loose skin in the neck.

Therefore, correction of your jaw and neck contour could be done by a combined chin augmentation and neck liposuction. It may also be beneficial to do a little neck muscle (platysma) tightening at the same time to get the best neck angle. I doubt if you need any removal of skin at your age and we would rely on the natural skin tightening that occurs after liposuction in good quality skin.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana