What Is The Best Way To Get Rid Of Loose Skin In My Neck And Give Me A Jawline?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I always felt I had too much skin  in my neck and as you can see from my pictures I have no jaw line and I must have too many platysma  muscles causing  me to have this large oversized  neck. I have the neck of a 80 year old and have had this since I was 19. If you look at my high school year picture it is not too bad but for some reason after I hit 20 my skin just got more and more loose in my neck. It just sucked. Which is why I can never wear a hat as all you see is my multiple chins. I hate  the fact that I have this old man neck and have had it all these years. If I gain an ounce its always in my neck and face. Just fyi, I’m 5'10 and 219lbs. My BMI or fat percent when I am training  regularly is 19 which is not bad. But when I slack off it’s between 25 to 30. I really just want too get rid of all  this loose skin and for once in my life be able too wear a hat!!! Does it take long too recover since I am embarassed and don’t want anyone to know. Have you seen this Lifestyle Lift advertisement? Would that help? Thank you so much for looking into this for me, greatful for your time. From a guy with too many chins.

A: The problem is your neck is not just loose skin or 'too much platysma muscle' (such a thing doesn't exist), it is a combination of anatomic factors including loose skin, subplatysmal and supraplaytsmal fat, a high hyoid bone and a mildly recessive chin. The one thing you absolutely don't want to do is the Lifestyle Lift. That would be a waste of money for you because that is an operation that is too small and inadequate for your neck problems. That is really a limited form of a facelift that is good for jowling problems but is inadequate for you neck concerns. What you really need is a neck-jowl lift combined with chin augmentation with aggressive work in the submental/subplatysmal area. (all part of what is more commonly called a facelift) That is the only approach that will have any chance of making a significant change. Do not waste your time or money searching for other solutions that appear simpler and easier…because they will not work for your anatomic neck problem.

When you look at recovery from this type of operation, it is going to take two or three weeks to look pretty good again and you feel comfortable out in public. So it is a commitment on your part to make this change. Yours is not a neck problem that will be fine in a few days or a week after surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana