Recovery from chin liposuction
One of the huge benefits of chin liposuction is that you only have local anaesthetic, not general anaesthetic. General anaesthetic carries much greater risks, with newer liposuction techniques avoiding this entirely. Liposuction is safer than ever, and a small procedure on the chin and neck area is considered very low-risk.
The small incisions used during chin liposuction heal up like any small cut to the skin, and the whole chin and neck area is usually back to normal within several days. Compression garments will need to be worn for several days, as per instructions from your surgeon. Bruising and swelling may last for up to two weeks, but is usually quick to dissipate due to the small treatment area.
You will be advised to wait to perform certain activities, since while chin liposuction is a minimally-invasive procedure, your tissues will need to be treated gently for a smooth recovery. Any discomfort can be managed with regular pain-killers, with some tenderness expected.
You can return to normal activities very soon after chin liposuction, but several days off work may be required for aesthetic purposes only, depending on what you had planned.
If you have a high-visibility occupation or events to attend, you may wish to consider some extra time off or prepare to wear clothes/scarves/special products that can disguise any remaining bruising. Specific disguising techniques can be discussed with your surgeon, who will have a range of options for bruising and blemishes, such as second skins and colour-matched make-up.
Risks of chin liposuction
This procedure is considered very low risk. Dr Michael Rich, who does all the liposuction at our Melbourne clinic, is one of Australia’s foremost liposuction experts. This means you are in the very best of hands.
Every surgery does come with risks, however, which Dr Rich will explain to you prior to treatments.
The risks of liposuction include the possibility of infection, though this is mitigated with antibiotics. There is also a small chance that the results will not be as intended, though this risk is very low with an excellent surgeon.
Will people notice that I’ve had chin liposuction?
The results of chin liposuction are usually very subtle to the untrained eye, and people don’t notice that you’ve changed your appearance, but they will notice you look better. Compliments on how well you are looking or how you look as if you have lost weight are often in plentiful supply after chin liposuction.
Chin liposuction can make a profound difference to your appearance. Many people are not aware of chin liposuction as a cosmetic surgery option, so they will think you just ‘look good’.
Most people don’t walk into a cosmetic surgery office and request chin liposuction; instead, they come in unhappy with the lower third of their face. Chin liposuction may be recommended as either a stand-alone treatment or as part of a larger facial sculpting plan.
Chin liposuction is invisible to the casual observer, so you can feel confident that nobody will know. What you will notice is that you no longer have to try to hide your double chin in photos or under clothes. You can look life directly in the eye, instead of trying to angle your way around having your double chin frozen in time.
How long does chin liposuction last for?
The change in your profile will be lasting, because liposuction is a fat-removal procedure. Your fat cells – of which there is a finite amount in your adult body – don’t migrate around your body, but have a ‘home base’. Your chin fat cells are like your other fat cells – they grow and shrink in response to the directions given by your body hormonally and genetically, rather than increasing in number.
This means that once you remove fat cells from one place in your body, they are gone for good. It then becomes critical that your surgeon has left enough fat in the area so that should you put on weight after liposuction (which is normal throughout your life), you do so evenly throughout your body, including the face and chin, as you would normally.
Will chin liposuction leave me with saggy skin?
No. Skin usually stretches and retracts to accommodate its contents, much like a balloon does. There are also many other skin-tightening treatments that can be performed to tighten any saggy skin that has not retracted back.
Skin tightening treatments that complement chin liposuction
Chin liposuction can be enhanced with skin-tightening treatments. Sagging skin is not an immediate result of liposuction itself, but it may become more obvious after the fat is removed from the area.
We have a range of skin-tightening treatments, with our new favourite being non-invasive radiofrequency treatments using the ThermiRF device. Radiofrequency treatments tighten skin immediately by shrinking proteins, but treatments improve production of collagen and elastin over the months following treatment. Results keep improving over time.
Radiofrequency treatments target fibroblasts, your collagen-producing cells, and stimulates them into action. The result is tighter, smoother skin that lasts. No surgery, no pain, no needles; just a beautiful neckline.
If you have sagging, wrinkled skin on your neck, radiofrequency treatments can dramatically enhance your chin liposuction procedure results. Your surgeon will evaluate your face and neckline, and recommend the best option for results you can both be proud of, and that will last into the future.
How can I prevent a double chin appearing again in the future?
Luckily, once the fatty tissue is eliminated via chin liposuction, it can never again be a problem for you. What may crop up as you age is sagging neck skin or platysma bands that protrude, which are treated differently.
Platysma bands in the neck are the vertical muscles that when you grimace are visible. As we age, these become more pronounced as they tighten and the skin covering them becomes less elastic. We have individual treatments for other neck, chin and jaw concerns you may have, but they will likely not include liposuction. It’s a one-stop procedure.
Caring for your new chin and neck
Your immediate aftercare is one step your surgeon will go over with you, but taking care of your lovely new profile is the next, and will be ongoing. One of the most important things you can do for your face and neck is to avoid getting sun on your skin in those areas, since the skin is thinner and more easily damaged than other areas of the body. The neck and face are also the areas most likely to face the sun.
Your surgeon will offer you advice for caring for the skin on your neck, and recommend any ongoing maintenance treatments that could enhance your profile as you age.
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