Neck condition is an important indicator of age-related changes

An anti-aging program for a patient who asked a beautician to help him look younger cannot be limited to facial correction. There are several other important indicators that visually give out age, and one of them – neck condition. Professor Daniel Cassuto, plastic surgeon, professor of plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery at the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Modena Hospital (Italy) spoke specifically for estet-portal.com about how to correct this delicate area.

Indicators of age-related changes: assessing the condition of the neck

When you look at a patient who comes to you for a consultation and asks you to make him younger and more attractive, you begin to evaluate where to start. Patients usually complain of deepening of the nasolabial folds and the appearance of "flies". Such complaints are made by 85% of patients who came for a consultation with a cosmetologist. It is at this moment that it is necessary to correctly draw up an anti-age program to optimize age-related changes in appearance.

We should start with two main points that the patient himself will not complain about during the consultation.

1. The volume of the temporal region. With age, changes lead not only to atony of the skin, a decrease in muscle turgor, and the omission of facial fat. We have learned to cope with these problems with the help of cosmetic procedures and hardware techniques. An important point is the resorption of the bones of the skull in the upper lateral part of the orbit. Restoring the volume of this area of ​​the face always gives a good aesthetic result. I use Aliaxin.
for this.
2. The condition of the neck. The skin of the neck area is always thinner than the skin of the face. It differs in that there are practically no sebaceous glands in it, and the number of melanocytes is much lower. This contributes to rapid photoaging and deterioration of appearance. 

Paying attention to these areas, you will often hear from patients: “Yes, I know about these shortcomings, but how can they be corrected?”. Today it is quite possible, and we have the opportunity to please our patients.

Steps and protocols for neck improvement

In our practice, there are many tools that help us fight age-related changes in the face. We are fine with this, but what do we know about effective protocols to improve the condition of the neck? 

I would like to introduce a new protocol that will greatly facilitate the work of restoring the good condition of the neck. The protocol consists of three main steps.

Step 1. Restoration of the hard relief of the lower jaw.

The neck is an anatomical structure that is bounded from above by the edge of the lower jaw. The lower border passes through the jugular notch of the sternum, the clavicle and a line drawn through the spinous process of the VII cervical vertebra.

It is necessary to start the neck correction with the restoration of the volume of the lower jaw. To do this, we strengthen the indicated area by retrograde injection of a dense preparation of hyaluronic acid. I use Aliaxin EV for this. This drug is best used periosteally. It gives sufficient volume and integrates well with the tissues of the lower jaw area.

2 stage. Formation of the frame along the neck.

It is important to remember the anatomical  large topographic triangles of the neck.  The boundaries between these triangles will be the anterior and posterior heads of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The function of this muscle, with a unilateral contraction, is to turn the head in the opposite direction. With bilateral contraction, this muscle throws the head back.

Technique: after forming the frame of the lower jaw   we use the same inlet, changing the angle of the cannula. Move the cannula from a horizontal to a vertical position and start advancing from top to bottom along the anterior belly of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. With retrograde movements, under the control of a finger, we evenly distribute the drug in several vertical lines.  To work with this area, it is better to use Aliaxin GP  or Aliaxin FL. The choice between these two drugs will depend on the condition of the neck and remains with the doctor who performs the correction. 

Step 3. Restoring volume deficit and creating the effect of neck skin lifting

To recreate the deficit of lost volume and create the effect of lifting the skin of the neck, it is preferable to use the drug Profailo (PROFHILO ®). This is a hybrid drug of combined action that combines the regenerating trophic effect of a biorevitalizant (intensive moisturizing) with a lifting effect due to a high concentration of hyaluronic acid fraction. Thanks to this, we get a double effect on the condition of the neck - moisturizing plus lifting.

Technically, this happens as follows: in the cannula we have already inserted, we change the drug and transfer it to a more superficial layer. Then, very carefully, subcutaneously, we begin to carry out therapy, retrogradely distributing the drug in the form of lines. Do not be afraid if you see that the drug is slightly contouring. This state will change during the first two days, because. Profilo (PROFHILO®) spreads quickly and gently and gives good results. 

When working with patients, I would recommend separating these stages, and you should start with the correction of the volume of the temporal region and the restoration  contour of the mandibular region. Secondly, it is necessary to carry out the formation of the neck frame and the restoration of the volume deficit, & nbsp; neck skin lifting. 

If necessary, these steps can be combined into one procedure.

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