A neck lift is a surgical procedure to tighten loose neck skin, correct the vertical bands of the platysma muscle and restore a crisp angle between the jaw and the neck. For many people, the neck is the first area that betrays age, sometimes long before the face itself. At her Harley Street practice in London, Ms Anna De Leo offers neck lift surgery as a precise, individually planned operation, either on its own or as part of a combined face and neck lift.
The neck is a complex area. Concerns may come from lax skin, from separated or banded muscle, from fat above or below the muscle, or from prominent salivary glands, and each requires a different solution. As a female plastic surgeon with more than twenty years of experience in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, Ms De Leo takes time to identify exactly what is creating your concern, so that the treatment chosen is the one most likely to give you a natural, lasting improvement.
01What Is a Neck Lift?
A neck lift, sometimes called a lower rhytidectomy or cervicoplasty, is a group of techniques designed to rejuvenate the neck and lower jawline. Depending on what is needed, it may involve:
- Platysmaplasty: tightening and repairing the platysma, the thin sheet of muscle that runs from the collarbones up to the jaw. With age, its inner edges separate and slacken, creating the vertical cords sometimes described as a ‘turkey neck’.
- Removal or reshaping of fat: excess fat beneath the chin and jawline, either above the muscle (often treated with liposuction) or beneath it, which may be carefully sculpted through a small incision under the chin.
- Skin redraping: lifting and trimming loose skin through incisions placed around and behind the ears.
A neck lift does not change the quality of the skin itself, and very fine crêpey lines may persist. It also cannot replace a weak chin, although chin augmentation can be combined when the jaw profile needs more projection. Understanding which of these elements apply to you is the essence of good planning.
02Are You a Good Candidate for Neck Lift Surgery?
Patients who come to Harley Street for a neck lift often describe the same frustrations: the jawline has lost its definition, there is a soft fullness under the chin that will not shift with exercise or diet, or they find themselves avoiding photographs taken from the side. You may be a good candidate if you have:
- Loose or sagging skin in the neck and under the jaw
- Visible vertical bands in the front of the neck
- Fullness under the chin that persists despite a stable, healthy weight
- An obtuse, blurred angle between the jaw and the neck
- Good general health, and you are a non-smoker or willing to stop
Younger patients with good skin elasticity and fullness due to fat alone may only need liposuction of the neck. Those with jowls as well as neck laxity are usually best served by a combined procedure with a facelift, because treating the neck in isolation would leave the jawline unaddressed. Honest assessment matters: the right operation is the one that fits your anatomy.
03Your Neck Lift Consultation on Harley Street
Your consultation with Ms Anna De Leo takes place at 64 Harley Street in Marylebone. She will take a full medical history, including any previous neck or thyroid surgery, and examine the skin, muscle, fat and underlying structures with you sitting upright and with your head in different positions. Photographs help you both see the profile clearly.
You will discuss which techniques are suitable, where the incisions would be placed, how long surgery would take and what recovery would look like in practice. Ms De Leo is candid about likely results and will tell you if a less invasive option would achieve what you want, or if your expectations need adjusting.
The factors that influence the cost of a neck lift include the techniques required, whether it is combined with a facelift or other procedures, the anaesthetic, the hospital stay and your recovery programme. These are set out in a personalised written plan. As with all cosmetic surgery in the UK, there is a cooling-off period of at least two weeks between consultation and surgery, and you are welcome to return for a second consultation before deciding.
04Neck Lift Techniques and Platysmaplasty
Neck lift surgery is performed under general anaesthesia or intravenous sedation with local anaesthetic, in an accredited London hospital, and usually takes two to three hours on its own. The techniques are chosen and combined according to your needs.
Submental incision and platysmaplasty
A short incision is made in the natural crease just beneath the chin. Through it, excess fat can be removed or sculpted under direct vision, and the separated inner borders of the platysma are drawn together and stitched in the midline, like tightening a corset. This sharpens the neck angle and reduces banding.
Lateral lift
Through incisions that run around the earlobe and into the hairline behind the ear, the lateral edges of the platysma can be lifted and secured, and loose skin is redraped upwards and backwards, then trimmed. The incisions follow the same discreet lines used in facelift surgery, keeping scars well hidden.
Liposuction of the neck
Where the problem is predominantly fat and the skin is elastic, fine-cannula liposuction may be enough, with tiny incisions and a quicker recovery. It can also refine the result of a surgical neck lift.
A neck lift is commonly combined with a facelift, eyelid surgery or chin augmentation as part of a balanced, whole-face plan.
A beautiful neck lift is about the line from ear to chin: clean, soft and quietly youthful, never tight.
ADLSynergy · Harley Street
05Neck Lift Recovery Time
Many patients go home the same day or stay one night. A supportive compression garment is worn around the chin and neck, initially day and night and then at night for a few weeks. A sensation of tightness in the neck is very common, particularly where the platysma has been repaired, and it eases over several weeks.
- First week: rest with your head elevated, avoid bending the neck sharply, take gentle walks and use simple pain relief.
- Days 7–10: stitches are removed. Bruising often tracks down towards the collarbones before fading.
- Weeks 2: most people return to desk work and light social activities.
- Weeks 4–6: strenuous exercise and heavy lifting can resume.
- Months 3–6: residual firmness and swelling resolve and the neck contour settles.
At ADLSynergy, recovery is actively supported. Manual lymphatic drainage, scar care and massage with Tika, our experienced theatre practitioner, together with nutrition advice and oxygen therapy or red light therapy where appropriate, all help tissues heal and swelling settle. You will have direct access to the team throughout your recovery in London.
06Neck Lift Risks and Realistic Results
Every operation carries risks, and these are explained fully before you decide. Those relevant to a neck lift include:
- Haematoma (bleeding under the skin), which may require drainage or a return to theatre
- Swelling, bruising and temporary firmness or lumpiness under the chin
- Temporary numbness of the neck skin and earlobes
- Injury to the marginal mandibular nerve, which can temporarily affect the movement of the lower lip; permanent injury is rare
- Contour irregularities, asymmetry or recurrent banding
- Infection, wound-healing problems and visible or thickened scars
- The general risks of anaesthesia, including blood clots
Neck lift before and after photographs can be striking, but results vary between individuals and depend on skin quality, anatomy and healing. The improvement is long-lasting, although the neck will continue to age naturally. Keeping a stable weight, protecting the skin from the sun and avoiding smoking all help to preserve your result.
07Why Choose Ms Anna De Leo on Harley Street
Ms Anna De Leo is a GMC-registered Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Consultant and a Fellow of the European Board of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (FEBOPRAS), with a Master's degree in reconstructive microsurgery. Her experience across NHS centres in London and Oxford, and in leading international units, gives her a detailed understanding of the anatomy of the head and neck and the delicate structures within it.
Patients looking for the best neck lift surgeon in London often want someone who will listen, explain clearly and aim for refinement rather than an operated look. As a female surgeon, Ms De Leo places particular emphasis on proportion, subtlety and a calm, supportive experience from consultation through recovery.
At our Harley Street practice, surgery is integrated with recovery science, nutrition and longevity care. To discuss neck lift surgery, please book a consultation.
