Plastic surgeon Dr. Steve Davis has an arsenal of cosmetic techniques at his disposal.
Among them is one of the least invasive options called a neck lift. Forty-five-year-old Christina Chang is one of his patients.
"I'm going to have some Botox done to my neck to get rid of the light wrinkles and this that is starting to hang," Chang said.
Dr. Davis said Botox, the popular injectable age-eraser, has been effective for expression lines in the forehead and crow's feet around the eyes by relaxing the muscle underneath.
In the neck area, he targets the platysma muscle near the surface.
"Everyone has a muscle that comes around the bottom of their jawline and it criss-crosses in the middle," said Dr. Davis. "As we get older, that criss-crossing starts to separate, and what you can end up with is banding or little tiny cords that run up and down the neck."
Dr. Davis said carefully placed Botox injections can relax those platysmal bands and make the neck look younger.
He said the technique works best on relatively young women like Christina who don't need a full-fledged surgical procedure.
We checked back with Christina five days later, after the Botox begins having an effect.
Dr. Davis said she would see optimal results after a week to 10 days, but Christina already noticed a difference. "The lines I had (around my lower neck) are pretty much gone, but up (higher) is where the big difference is," she said.
Dr. Davis said Botox can interfere with swallowing if it is injected too deeply in neck, so finding an experienced physician is a must.
Also realize that all the wrinkles on the surface of the skin won't disappear, but should look smoother as the muscles relax.
"I'm really excited. I can't wait to see it in a few days," she said.
The cost for the Botox neck lift is similar to a treatment of the brow and forehead because of the amount of Botox used. Dr. Davis said it usually runs between four and eight hundred dollars, and needs to be repeated every five to six months.
Davis Cosmetic Plastic Surgery offices - 1916 Route 70 E., Cherry Hill, NJ 08003. Phone: 856-424-1700
