Double Chin Surgery

Conveniently located to serve the areas of Corpus Christi and South Texas

A firm neck line and firm skin under the chin line, makes us look youthful and fit. However, some people get extra fat deposits in their neck and under the chin, as well as having flabby skin. This can make a person look older and heavier than they actually are. A double chin can be the result of age, a sedentary lifestyle, weight gain, and genetics. Even though you might work-out a lot, eat well, try all types of tightening cream, lotions, and serums, you can still have the appearance of a double chin. This can make us feel less attractive and uncomfortable about our appearance. Some people might wear scarves and turtle necks, and not feel at ease in a bathing suit or other revealing clothing.

Whether you were genetically pre-dispositioned for a double chin, or your double chin appeared over time, it can be frustrating. Once you have exhausted all of your efforts to lessen the appearance of a double chin, and it cannot be corrected solely from a healthy lifestyle, double chin surgery might be a good choice for you.

What is Double Chin Surgery?

Double chin surgery is a cosmetic procedure that helps to tighten the muscles in the neck and under the chin, remove fat, and help a receding chin line. When this is performed the appearance of the double chin is gone, and you have a smooth neck and chin line. Many choose to have a double chin procedure in combination with of an Liposuction to “suck” out stubborn fat deposits, that cannot be removed from the area by double chin surgery, alone, or Botox to smooth out wrinkles around the mouth, eyes, and brow, to give an all over youthful appearance. This surgery is not meant for those with sagging jowls, extra fat in the cheeks, or to improve the jawline. In that case a facelift or mini-facelift might be a better alternative.

Dr. Herve Gentile will help you understand which procedure would be most beneficial to you. He will only recommend a procedure that will benefit you.

Candidates For Double Chin Surgery

  • Excess fat on the neck and under the chin
  • Loose muscle allow the neck
  • Appearance of double chin
  • In good health
  • Non-smoker
  • Understands the realities of what can be accomplished through double chin surgery

Types of Double Chin Surgery

Traditional Double Chin Surgery

Traditional Double Chin Surgery will tighten the muscles along the side of the neck, remove fat, and remove excess skin. This will create the appearance of a smoother neck line and will be tighter under the chin. This surgery is for anyone 18 and over, in good health, and who does not like the appearance of their double chin.

Traditional Double Chin Surgery with Liposuction

Traditional Double Chin Surgery with Liposuction, is meant for those how have excess fat deposits under the chin line. While you are having a traditional double chin surgery to remove fat, tighten the muscles, and remove excess skin, the Liposuction will remove the stubborn, excess fat that cannot be removed by surgery alone. This could be ideal for those who have lost a lot of weight.

Traditional Double Chin Surgery with Liposuction and Chin Augmentation

Traditional Double Chin Surgery with Liposuction and Chin Augmentation, is similar to Traditional Double Chin Surgery with Liposuction except that an implant is also inserted in your chin via a very small incison in your neck for those who will benefit having a smaller jaw

Alternatives to Double Chin Surgery

Double Chin surgery is the most effective way to get rid of the appearance of a double chin. However, sometimes you may need more than just double chin surgery, your health may not make you a good candidate for double chin surgery, or you may not quite as significant a procedure. If Dr. Gentile deems any of these your situation, you may be a candidate for another procedure or treatment. Here are the alternatives to double chin surgery:

Laser Liposuction

Laser Therapy in combination with Liposuction can help remove the stubborn fat deposits, while the laser can help tighten the skin. This procedure is less invasive than double chin surgery because it does not remove skin or cut the platysma muscles. Due to laser liposuction being less invasive, it results are not as dramatic as double chin surgery. Laser Liposuction is meant for those that need help with moderate skin sagging and fat under the chin.

Facelift

A mini facelift is meant for those who need help below the nose. It will tighten the muscles, remove excess fat, and skin, to create a firmer lower facial structure. This is ideal for those whose problem area is sagging jowls and sagging skin around the nose and mouth. This procedure is not meant for people who have bags under their eyes or wrinkles on the forehead.

Ultratherapy and External Ultrasound

Ultratherapy is a non-invasive procedure that uses the combination of ultrasound therapy with ultrasound imaging to visualize the deep layers of your tissues. It can help tighten the skin and stimulates collagen production but it will take many month to visualize any results. Since the improvement expected is at the most 10-20% it is only indicated for those who are just starting to develop a very small double chin. Therefore, Dr. Gentile uses the external ultrasound rarely and reserves other minimally invasive techniques to address more moderate appearing double chins.

Kybella

Kybella consists of multiple injections in your neck to dissolve fat. It at best will give minimal results as it is an imprecise technique. Therefore, following treatment indentations and depressions can occur. It is identical to mesotherapy which has been used for the same purpose in other parts of the body. Mesotherapy is not as popular today as it was many years ago due to the unpredictable and poor to no visible results.

What To Expect During The Consultation

Dr. Herve Gentile believes that every person’s decision to undergo cosmetic surgery is personal, and he excels at encouraging his patients to address any concerns they might have.

Double Chin surgery is meant for men and women. During your consultation, the doctor will show you before and after pictures of other patients. This way you can have a better understanding of what to expect as results. If you did not always have a double chin, it is suggested that you bring in pictures of yourself when you were younger, so that the doctor can use them to help assess how to proceed.

Dr. Gentile will do a complete physical to determine if you are healthy enough to undergo surgery, as well as examine neck line and under the chin. He will examine the skin for elasticity, excess skin, and muscle tone.

The doctor will then help you make an informed decision based on all of the information presented to him, on whether double chin surgery, one of its alternatives, or if any surgery is necessary. Once a procedure is decided upon, Dr. Gentile will explain in the detail the procedure, what can be accomplished, and what to expect the before, the day of, and the weeks after surgery.

The Procedure

Double Chin surgery does a few things to make the remove the double chin. First Dr. Gentile will place the incision in an inconspicuous place under the neck, that way the scar will not be noticeable. Then he will remove the excess fat and trim the excess skin either directly or if Liposuction is performed he will “suck” the fat out. Sometimes he will also tighten the platysma muscles (the muscles that run on the side of your neck). To help ensure that scarring is minimal, the doctor will use extra fine sutures. The procedure generally takes one hour.

Double Chin surgery can be performed either under local, local with IV sedation or general anesthesia, based on your needs. Most patients recover very quickly and go home shortly thereafter on the same day.

Recovery

Dr. Herve Gentile will detail an individualized recovery plan for each patient. He will walk you through what to expect in the coming weeks after surgery. The doctor does understand that even though he will present you with a recovery schedule and instructions, that questions and concerns will arise during the recovery process. He encourages his patients to contact his staff or him, at any time during recovery from double chin surgery.

As with any medical procedure, recovery time will vary from person to person, however most people will be able to return to work and most activities within ten days.

You may or may not notice bruising and swelling under the chin and along the neck. This is part of the healing process, however, if you believe that your bruising and swelling seem abnormal, Dr. Gentile encourages you to contact him. To help not bruise more than necessary, the doctor recommends that you stay away from alcohol, herbs and especially aspirin.

Besides your individualized instructions, you will want to limit physical activity, and place ice on the area. Within a week of your double chin surgery, you will return to Dr. Gentile’s office. At this time, he will examine the area to assess your healing, ask you questions about how you feel your healing process is coming along, and give any additional instructions.

Cost

The costs of double chin surgery can vary based on the individual. Dr. Gentile’s initial consultation will give a breakdown of the costs.