Recently a 49-year-old lady came in to see me for consultation. She had gone to a clinic that advertises extensively here in Beverly Hills. They performed some type of “intelligent liposuction” for her sagging neck. She wasn’t happy with the results and I don’t blame her. However, the lady made a very poor consumer choice. She was somehow in the belief that removal of the superficial layer of the fat underneath the skin of the neck would somehow transform her neck into a tight and well structured anatomical zone. Not very likely since she was 215 pounds. Frankly, these type of liposuction procedures have very limited indications and are never an answer to a problem of sags and bags and loose skin of the neck and jaw.
Before and After Photo from Robert Kotler, MD
First, the patient should have been told that until she lost weight she wasn’t an acceptable candidate. Secondly, the procedure that she needed was a standard face and neck lift which would have addressed not only the excess fat in the neck, but the sagging skin, the sagging muscle and would have allowed for the maximum benefit.
The procedure was approximately 15% of the cost of a standard face and neck lift.
There are no bargains in life. There are no shortcuts. Indeed, in cosmetic plastic surgery as in other things, you do get what you pay for.