TJR in Savannah, GA asks:

“If you had too much fat removed from submental liposuction and it caused your muscle bands to show and indentations how would you go about correcting this problem? If you are a PS what would you recommend to fix something like this and what sort of reasonable expectations should a person have in terms of having a normal looking neck again? I am scared and upset so any insight would be appreciated.”

Correction of the described problem can be addressed in several different ways.  Specifically it is important to really get an anatomical evaluation and overall sense of what the underlying issues are.  It is not an uncommon problem/complication to have “too much fat removed in the neck area” as liposuction is a component of facelift surgery commonly.  But also residual band laxity is also not too uncommon.  Bands are the platysmal muscle bands that can remain lax after surgery.

A number of treatments are available including repeat platysmal band tightening.  This will often times resolve the problem by itself.  Other supplemental treatments include fat injections as needed if there is significant contour deformity.  This procedure is less common than a simple platysmal muscle repeat tightening.  Nonetheless this area can be addressed commonly and long term permanent problems is something not seen too often.

David Q. Santos, MD

Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon