Facelift | Neck Lift

Facelift in Nj | Deep Plane SMAS Composite Neck Lift

A facelift and neck lift is a combination of surgical procedures that reverses the visible signs of aging in the face, neck, and jawline. Aging, stress, heredity, smoking, environmental factors, and even gravity can cause the loss of desired contours and the formation of unwanted lines and wrinkles in your face and neck. A combined facelift and neck lift can help restore your contours, smooth deep creases between the nose and corner of the mouth and eliminate jowls in the cheeks and jaw. The procedure can also remove excess, unwanted fat from under your chin, and fat can be placed in areas where you need more volume, such as in your upper cheeks, lips, and jawline. 

By using advanced techniques to reposition and tighten the underlying muscles and connective tissues (deep plane) of the face and neck, and by treating the lower face and neck as a whole, I’ve had great success in creating beautifully natural results for my patients. I preserve who you are, bringing out the best in your unique appearance, while turning back the clock to make you look younger and more attractive. I painstakingly work to preserve the natural appearance of your face. Patients have come from more than 25 states and 17 different countries for our surgical treatment because of our results. We want everyone who chooses us to remember us as a positive, life-changing influence.

To learn more about how a New Jersey facelift and neck lift can refresh your appearance, call (973) 736-5907 or contact us today.

Real Patient Result
Real Patient Result

Facelift | Neck Lift Results

After facelift and neck lift surgery, you’ll experience a sharper and defined jawline, improved neck angle, and a more youthful appearance after your recovery. View our face and neck lift before-and-after photos to see our patients’ facial transformations! 

How a Facelift and Neck Lift Can Improve Your Appearance

A facelift and neck lift corrects signs of aging in the upper, central, and lower part of the face, along the jawline, under the chin, and on the neck. By lifting and tightening the skin and underlying muscles and connective tissue, the combined procedure can:

  • Smooth wrinkles and lines on your lower face and neck, including the deep creases that can form around the mouth and nose (marionette lines)
  • Add volume to your cheeks and under eye areas
  • Eliminate jowls 
  • Remove loose, hanging skin on the neck and under the chin (a turkey wattle)
  • Flatten a double chin
  • Redefine your jawline
  • Accentuate the angle between your chin and neck
  • Remove excess fat and loose skin to tighten and smooth the neck
  • Get rid of horizontal neck bands
  • Elevate Brow sag and eliminate forehead lines (brow lift)
  • Elevate the upper lip to a shorter, higher, and more youthful location (lip lift)

Meet Scott SpiRo, M.D., F.A.C.S.

SURGEON BY TRADE

I am a board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in breast cancer reconstructive surgery and cosmetic procedures of the breast, body, and face. To me, every patient is unique and deserves results tailored to their concerns. You can understand my approach to care by reviewing the testimonials and before and after galleries on this site and learning about the many “Top Doctor” awards I have won.

ARTIST AT HEART

Art is my other passion, and my artist’s vision guides my work as a surgeon. I have done technical illustrations for many journal articles, book chapters, and patient resource pamphlets for national societies. I am also an accomplished painter, sculptor, and photographer. When you visit our office, you’ll see a gallery of reproductions of many of my pieces in oil, graphite, and photography.

Who Is a Good Candidate for a Facelift and Neck Lift?

Good candidates for facelift and neck lift surgery are experiencing sagging skin, jowls, lines and wrinkles, and other noticeable signs of aging in their face and neck.

Ideal candidates also: 

  • Are in overall good general health 
  • Have no serious medical conditions that can impact healing 
  • Have realistic expectations for their surgical outcomes 
  • Are accepting of a need for a one to two month recovery phase

You must be free from nicotine, all cannabinoids, and ADHD medications for a minimum of six weeks before and after surgery.

What to Expect During a Facelift and Neck Lift Consultation

During your consultation, I will talk with you about your previous medical treatments and surgeries, current medications, drug and alcohol use, drug allergies, and surgical goals. My team and I will also evaluate your general health status, take photographs, discuss rejuvenation options, recommend a course of action, and review likely outcomes and potential risks or complications associated with the procedure.

How Do You Prepare for a Facelift and Neck Lift?

To get ready for your surgery, you may need to take specific medications or adjust current ones, and avoid taking aspirin or other over-the-counter drugs that may increase bleeding and bruising. If you smoke, vape, use any nicotine, cannabinoid, and/or ADHD medication, you must be willing to stop for several weeks before and after your surgery. You will stay overnight in the hospital, and I will come to see you with my nursing team the next morning.

What Happens During Facelift and Neck Lift Surgery?

Your facelift and neck lift surgery will take place while you are under general anesthesia. During the procedure, I separate the skin from the underlying (deeper) fatty layer. I use the SMAS Composite surgical technique to combine the deep fascial layers with the platysma layers of the neck. I elevate the underlying layers and redistribute this tissue from the neck, face, and jowls. This technique allows me to reposition the top layer of skin over the uplifted contours without applying too much tension to the surface. Finally, I trim the excess skin away and eliminate lines and the surface laxity of the neck. Fat excisional sculpting in the neck and nasolabial area as well as jowl are also addressed.

As needed, I will use fat grafting to contour areas of lost volume, such as under your eyes, in your cheeks, along the marionette area, jawline, and lips.

What to Expect in Recovery

Following surgery, you will have a bandage around your face and neck to minimize swelling and bruising, with thin tubes to drain any excess blood or fluid. My team and I will provide you with specific instructions to care for the surgical site(s), medications to take orally, concerns to look out for, and when to make a follow-up appointment. Together with my nursing staff, I see my facial rejuvenation patients several times a week for the first two weeks to aid the recovery process and allow patients to return to normal activities within a month.

Results of a Facelift and Neck Lift

With 27 years of experience, the surgical techniques I use, my extensive understanding of facial anatomy, and my aesthetic eye, I’ve provided my patients with long-lasting, natural-looking, and transformative results. You can expect to see a noticeable difference in your appearance after about a month. Your results will then continue to improve over the next several months as the last of the post-surgical swelling disappears. My goal is a natural but more youthful you!

Facelift and Neck Lift Surgery FAQs in New Jersey

Facial aging is a gradual process. In its early stages, it can be slowed with the use of creams, lotions, and other skin care products, and its signs can be temporarily reversed with non-surgical treatments, such as microneedling, chemical peels, Botox or Xeomin, or injectable fillers. But you may reach a point where creams, lotions, and temporary treatments aren’t enough to correct lax or sagging skin and more severe wrinkles and lines. 

When those unwanted changes are on the lower part of your face—below your eyes, in your cheeks, along and under your jawline—and on your neck, a facelift or neck lift may be the solution. Look at the before and after pictures in our gallery to see how facelifts and neck lifts have helped others with their facial aging concerns.

A facelift smooths lines and wrinkles on the lower part of the face, including the deep creases that can form from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth (marionette lines). It can also restore volume to the cheeks and the area under the eyes, which can take on a hollowed look with age. Finally, it can help to firm the jawline and reduce the severity of jowls. A combined facelift and neck lift is the best solution for eliminating advanced jowls. A necklift can also be called a “lower face lift.”

A neck lift can remove loose skin and excess fat from under the chin, eliminating a double chin or turkey wattle. It can give better definition to the jawline and the angle between the jawline and the neck, for a younger and healthier appearance. It can also remove excess fat and loose skin from the neck and eliminate horizontal neck bands.

By combining a facelift and neck lift, you get the rejuvenating effects of both procedures. Combining a facelift and neck lift is the best way to eliminate jowls.

Yes. A facelift and neck lift correct skin laxity, volume loss, jowls, and certain creases below the eyes. If you also have concerns with drooping or puffy eyelids or sagging brows, you might combine a facelift and/or neck lift with eyelid surgery or a brow lift. Facial surgery can also be combined, though not on the same day, with nonsurgical treatments to reduce uneven coloring and improve skin brightness and texture. Fat transfer to various parts of the face is often combined with facelift surgery to restore youthful volume.

With the Deep Plane SMAS Platysma Composite surgical technique I use, the results of your facelift and neck lift will be very long-lasting, making you look younger and more attractive for many years. Of course, your skin will continue to age, but these changes will begin from a younger-looking starting point. Good skin care – including sun protection, hydration, nutrition, and exercise – can prolong your results. At Spiro Plastic Surgery, we sell medical-grade skin care products, which can also contribute to skin health.  Our on-site aesthetician can provide you with personalized recommendations and treatments to optimize your outcome and maintain your results.

All plastic surgery leaves scars, but I place incisions in areas where they will heal and be well-concealed until they fade. I typically make my facelift and neck lift incisions along the edge of the hairline, behind the ears, or under the chin. Scars may be darker or redder for the first few months, after which they usually fade to match your skin tone. Until your scars have faded, you can easily conceal them with makeup. You will meet with our aesthetician throughout your surgical journey who will help monitor your skin’s healing and recovery and recommend follow-up skin care treatments such as products, peels, and Diamond Glow with PRP to further enhance your results.

You can go out in public around two weeks after your facelift, but you will still be slightly swollen, bruised, and have visible incisions. Lower eyelid procedures and fat grafting combined with facelift surgery will increase the bruising and swelling. We usually recommend allowing at least 6 weeks before any social obligations or big events.

Medical grade skin care, non-surgical procedures, such as microneedling to stimulate collagen production, and injectable Botox/fillers can help to maintain results over time. Also, avoiding sun exposure will preserve your outcome.

Some doctors refer to a lower facelift as a “mini” facelift; however, there is no such thing anatomically as a mini facelift. Just because you see the aging predominantly in your lower face (jowls and neck), the solution requires a complete restructuring of the deeper tissues. Remember, “mini” procedures generally produce “mini” results. Dr. Spiro’s extended neck lift surgery is actually a lower facelift with neck lift.

Decide which areas of the face and neck bother you and come prepared with questions about how these areas can be improved. It may be helpful to bring a support person to your consultation, someone who will be helping you during your recovery and can act as a second set of ears in your consultation. Above all, have reasonable expectations and achievable goals.

Avoid blood thinning medications and supplements for 3 weeks prior to surgery and avoid alcohol for 10 days prior to surgery. Plan on coloring your hair at least a week prior to surgery since you will not be able to have it colored for 4 weeks after surgery and remove all hair extensions. Avoid all nicotine, THC, vaping, and ADHD medications for at least 6 weeks prior to surgery.

As with any surgical procedure, bleeding/infection/healing delays could result in another surgery to correct. The biggest risk of facelift surgery is damage to the nerves of the face that are responsible for animation, damage that can be temporary or permanent.

No! You must stop smoking for at least 6 weeks before surgery and 6 weeks after surgery, but to maintain your results, we recommend quitting indefinitely as smoking and vaping tend to accelerate facial aging.

Facelifts are often performed in conjunction with brow lifts, eyelid surgery, and fat grafting. What is recommended for you will be discussed at your consultation along with the fees associated with these procedures.

In most cases, patients can return to most activities and light exercise at 3-4 weeks, but we usually recommend allowing at least 6 weeks before any social obligations or big events.

You can begin light exercise 3-4 weeks after your facelift.

Patients can return to work 1-2 weeks after facelift surgery, but many patients choose to work remotely since bruising/swelling and incisions can be visible for more than 4 weeks.

Patients as young as 40 and as old as 80 can be great candidates for a facelift as long as they are in good health and can undergo a surgical procedure under general anesthesia.

There are no non-surgical options that can lift tissue and deliver the same results as a surgical facelift. The only way to correct saggy tissue is to reposition it and remove any excess.

Yes, we ask patients to send photos of their face at different angles prior to their consultation so they can be properly evaluated, and their treatment options can be discussed during their virtual appointment.

A “liquid” facelift is performed using injectable fillers and a traditional facelift is a surgical procedure where the tissue and muscle layer underneath are lifted, and excess skin and saggy tissue are removed. A liquid facelift is a temporary way to soften mild to moderate facial creases and fill hollowed areas. It doesn’t correct loose or sagging skin, and the treatment must be repeated every few months. A facelift is a long-lasting surgical treatment that subtly but thoroughly rejuvenates facial appearance.

Facelifts may last 10+ years. However, you will continue to age after your facelift, but you will likely never look as aged as you did before your facelift surgery. Think of it as setting the clock back. Major changes in your health, weight, or stress may speed up the process.

During a facelift, the muscle layer under the skin is lifted and resuspended to the correct position, the skin is re-draped over it, and excess skin is removed. Dr. Spiro’s multilayered approach addresses most, if not all, facets of aging. This will give you a natural, more youthful appearance. Dr. Spiro also does fat transfer to various parts of the face during facelifts to improve youthful volume.

The deep plane facelift technique lifts the muscle, deep fat, and tissue layer of the face and neck combined together, and the skin independently. Dr. Spiro does this as a Bi-Laminar SMAS Platysma Composite Deep Plane Facelift, allowing the skin and deeper tissues to be elevated in different vectors which improves aesthetic outcomes.

SMAS stands for superficial musculoaponeurotic system, this technique lifts the muscle and tissues beneath the skin separately from the skin.

A facelift alone typically takes four to five hours, but your procedure can be as long as seven hours if it includes a brow lift, eyelid surgery, and/or fat grafting.

Dr. Spiro has over 28 years of experience performing facelifts, brow lifts, eyelid surgery, and facial fat transfer.

Dr. Spiro does a bilaminar (separating the two planes [Bilaminar] of tissues skin and subcutaneous from subcutaneous and SMAS) composite (lifting SMAS and Platysma together “en block”) deeper plane (elevating the SMAS as a composite with the platysma in the lateral neck) along with a central neck muscle tightening (central cervicoplasty). Depending on volume deflation issues, fat grafting of various parts of the face may also be done.

Dr. Spiro often combines a comprehensive coronal approach foreheadplasty with facelifts. This is an extension of the face lift incisions up into and through the scalp without loss of hair. He is then able to manipulate and elevate brow position and shape naturally and remove all forehead wrinkles far better than endoscopic approaches or even Botox.

Dr. Scott Spiro – New Jersey’s Leading Facelift | neck Lift Plastic Surgeron

Dr. Scott Spiro is a board-certified plastic surgeon at Spiro Plastic Surgery in West Orange, NJ, specializing in facelift and neck lift surgery. Call us at (973) 736-5907 or reach out online to learn more.

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Graphite/Pencil Hybrid-Painting by Dr. Scott Spiro