What it means for a patient
- This neck lift is done under local anesthesia with liposuction, heat and permanent stitches anchored behind the ear, instead of open neck surgery.
- 4 of 73 patients had a complication: 3 fluid collections and 1 temporary nerve problem.
- The authors state open platysmaplasty remains the definitive treatment for the neck.
- Limits: one center, descriptive analysis only, no comparison group, and no measured aesthetic outcomes in the abstract.
Why this paper matters
It describes a minimally invasive neck lift that adds deep suture anchoring at the mastoid, and reports low complication rates in 73 patients.
Overview
Open neck lifts give durable results but need extensive dissection and longer recovery. The authors state earlier minimally invasive neck lifts may lack deep anchoring, especially under the jaw. They introduce the minimally invasive mastoid sling (MIMS) neck lift and describe all patients treated with it at one surgical center from 2020 to 2024, under tumescent local anesthesia.
Findings
- 73 patients; 67 (91.7%) female.
- Mean age 48.7 years (range 22-82).
- Mean BMI 25.44 kg/m2 (range 19-38).
- Technique: liposuction, thermal energy and permanent suture suspension anchored at the mastoid.
- Overall complication rate 5.4% (n = 4).
- Seroma: 3 patients (4.1%).
- Neuropraxia: 1 patient (1.4%).
- No long-term sequelae.
- No revision surgeries within a year.
- Level of evidence: 4.
Terms
- Mastoid: the bony bump behind the ear.
- Suture suspension: permanent stitches used to hold up tissue.
- Thermal energy: heat applied to the neck tissue.
- Tumescent local anesthesia: a large volume of dilute numbing solution injected into the area.
- Seroma: a pocket of clear fluid under the skin.
- Neuropraxia: a temporary nerve injury without lasting damage.
- Platysmaplasty: open surgery to tighten the platysma, the thin muscle sheet of the neck.
- Cervicomental angle: the angle between the neck and the underside of the chin.