Facial Liposuction: An Overview

The way our face looks can be very important. It is not so much a matter of “beauty” (which is ultimately a relative concept), as of general image which one projects. We can blame the Ancient Greeks and their aesthetic principle for this, but an accumulation of fat in the neck and the face areas can project a gawky and dull image, with possible self-esteem issues. This is where facial and neck liposuction (they very often go together) are considered as a possible solution.

...sometimes it's not. When it comes to problems like double chin and fat cheeks, there is a good news and a bad news. The good news is that an excess of fat in the facial and neck area can be caused by pure and simple overweight, which will alter the real extent of the problem. Even the best liposuction surgeon will not be able to change your food habits and lifestyle, and draining the excess of fat will only make room for more fat. On the other hand though (and this is the bad news), some of the fat in excess on our body is genetically inherited, and it would not go away.

Since in most cases, a particular subject will have a combination of both, before even considering a facial liposuction (or a liposuction in general) the first doctor one should see is a dietician, who will be able to determine how much fat can be eliminated through a better diet and lifestyle. A successful diet may even make a facial liposuction unnecessary.

From a mobility standpoint, facial liposuction recovery is faster than other types of liposuction. Nonetheless, the prerequisite for a successful facial and neck liposuction is a skin with a good degree of elasticity to allow the tissues to adapt to the new reduced volumes. At the end of the operation, stitches and bandage will be applied, and then removed after seven days. In order to accelerate the absorption of the swelling and the blood, a manual lymphatic drainage is usually recommended.

Although facial and neck liposuction are usually carried out within a broader anti-aging program, which often includes facial lifting, they can of course be considered with the sole purpose of making the area thinner. For surgical facial operations the tumescent liposuction technique is generally used. Anesthesia will be regional, with intravenous sedation, and adrenalin is used in order to limit blood loss and make the recovery very short. The patient is generally able to leave the hospital the very next day.

When it comes to liposuction face used to be a very delicate zone to treat. Fortunately though, the technique has improved dramatically over the past years. The plastic surgeon will cut  the skin under the neck, where it will be very difficult to see the scars, and will drain the fat using very small pipes. The length of these cuts will be only a small fraction of an inch.

The most common aesthetic problem for which facial liposuction is carried out is double chin. The benefit on the image that the subject projects, is generally outstanding: more vitality in the expression, a slimmer and more dynamic look, a more defined outline of the jaw.

Neck liposuction can also eliminate accumulation of fat in the nape area behind the neck, which is one of the causes of excessive snoring.
Here is the list of the areas where facial and neck liposuction is performed:

• Temples
• Cheeks
• Jaw
• Chin
• Neck
• Nape