Neck Lift with Platysmaplasty, SMAS Facelift & Jowl Correction

This patient underwent a lower facelift and neck lift with platysmaplasty, SMAS elevation, and direct trimming of the jowls, along with a temple lift, performed by Dr. Joseph Cruise at his Newport Beach practice. Her photographs were taken just 4 weeks after surgery.

Jowls are one of the most common complaints Dr. Cruise hears in consultation, and one of the most misunderstood. The heaviness that collects along the jawline is descended facial tissue, and it sits directly above the loose skin and banding of the neck. Treating one without the other leaves an unfinished result: a smooth neck beneath persistent jowls, or a lifted jaw above a soft, banded neck. Her surgery treated them as the single unit they are.

Dr. Cruise elevated and repositioned the SMAS, the deeper structural layer of the face, lifting the descended tissue back into position, and directly trimmed the jowls to fully clean the jawline. Beneath the chin, a platysmaplasty repaired the separated edges of the platysma muscle, rebuilding the firm foundation that gives the neck its smooth, sharp angle. A temple lift balanced the upper face so the refreshed lower face doesn't sit beneath heavy temples and brows.

At only 4 weeks, her jawline is already clean and continuous from ear to chin, her neck angle is crisp, and her profile is transformed. Swelling is still settling and incisions are still maturing at this stage, so a result this defined this early means the final outcome, months from now, will be even better.

If jowls or a softening jawline are what you notice first in photos, a consultation at our Newport Beach office will evaluate your jawline and neck together, because correcting them as one unit is what produces a clean, natural line from ear to neck.