Surgery to remove a double chin: how it is performed and prices

Cosmetic surgeries are the order of the day, especially in high-income countries where cosmetic wellness is considered, today, a matter of privilege. To give you an idea, 1.8 million surgical procedures and 1.6 million minimally invasive surgeries were performed for cosmetic purposes in 2019 in the United States alone.

Breast augmentation continues to be the dominant choice globally and behind it, find other procedures such as liposuction, reshaping the nose or surgery of the eyelids. Undoubtedly, the attributes with which we are born or develop over time no longer condition us as individuals, because with time and money almost any aesthetic issue can be fixed.

From breast augmentation to blepharoplasty, we've already covered many of the most common cosmetic surgeries here. It's today fix the spotlight on the double chin, that aesthetic imbalance that mainly brings people over 40 years of age. If you want to know everything about surgery to remove the double chin (and alternative techniques without going through the operating room), read on.

• We recommend you read: "Cheek surgery: procedures, results and prices"

What is double chin?

The double chin is generally a layer of subcutaneous fat that hangs under the chin, forming a more or less noticeable wrinkle. This aesthetic issue is very common in overweight and obese people because, as you can imagine, the more fat is stored at a physiological level, the more the appearance of a double chin is promoted.

The Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine (SEME) indicates that there are 3 general types of double chin. Among them, we find the following:

• The first of the causes is the loss of elasticity in the skin, very common in older people.
• Second, a double chin can also arise from the accumulation of fatty tissue. This is more common in obese people, but it can also occur without being overweight.
• Third, a double chin may also appear due to a loss of strength in the neck muscle, which causes it to sag.

Identifying each of these double chin types is easy. For example, if when pinching the surging an accumulation of tissue is noticed, we will be facing its fat variant, While if it slides easily when held, it is probably a skin issue and / or muscular.

What to do to eliminate double chin?

In the first place, he touches on an uncomfortable reality: if the double chin arises from obesity, this aesthetic imbalance is the least of the problems that the patient will face. Yes, the double chin can be surgically addressed, but an obese person will still be more likely to develop a colorectal cancer, heart disease, accelerated cellular aging, and generally will have a shortened life expectancy.

In cases of obesity, it is best to always put yourself in the hands of a nutritionist and a psychologist simultaneously to tackle food addiction both physically and emotionally. Diet, exercise, and even certain surgical procedures can literally save an obese person's life.

If your case is different and you are simply concerned about this aesthetic imbalance and you find yourself in body limits outside of the pathological, continue reading, because surgery to remove a double chin is a fairly simple and accessible process for the general population, if you have the money to pay it.

Surgery procedure to remove double chin

First of all, it is necessary to note that we are dealing with a type of liposuction. The procedure begins with local anesthesia plus sedation and, once the patient is numb, a cut at the level of the chin or behind the ears and a metallic micro-cannula of about 2-3 millimeters in diameter. Once this tube is inserted, an aspiration of excess subcutaneous fat is carried out that lasts a maximum of 1-2 hours.

In cases where patients have short necks, a narrow jaw, or extremely loose skin, You can also use it to remove excess skin, or what is the same, a lifting cervical.

This process is ambulatory in nature, which is why the patient can go home the same day as the procedure. Even so, it takes about a month for the inflammation of the operated area to be completely reduced and, additionally, another month / month and a half more so that the skin that was on the extracted fat normalizes.

Post-surgical care is a bit more cumbersome than one might expect for such a superficial intervention. Ice should be applied to the inflamed area during the first 2-3 days after the operation, sleeping with cushions to maintain the neck raised, not exercising for a month and wearing a chin guard (bandage) for the first week of Recovery. In any case, the results are very good and patients usually leave the clinic very happy.

Possible complications

Even if It is not very frequent, any type of cosmetic surgery can present certain complications. Among them, we find the following:

• Skin infection
• Allergic reaction to medication or anesthesia.
• Formation of fat or blood clots (thrombi) that, in the worst case, could reach the lungs or heart with disastrous effects.
• Accumulation of fluids under the skin.
• Temporary numbness in the area where the double chin used to be.
• Physiological problems derived from the osmotic imbalance produced after the suction of adipose tissue.

What to expect from surgery

Double chin liposuction reports 3 main benefits for the patient. These are the following:

• It notably reduces the accumulation of adipose tissue stored under the chin.
• Redefines the mandibular edge and shapes the neck area.
• Gives a more youthful appearance to the face.

In any case, the clinics consulted advise of the following: a good candidate for double chin reduction is one that presents an excess of subcutaneous fat, but that does not accompany it with excess skin or flaccidity in the area affected. In this case, a facelift in the submental region is contemplated, something completely different (but accessory in some cases) to liposuction.

It is also necessary to underline that the best results will be reported by young people with firm and smooth skin. In these cases, the epidermal layer is elastic enough so that it can adapt to the edge mandibular on its own, a fact that makes it very difficult for skin folds or “flaps” to appear after operation. In the case of older people this has to be done artificially by means of a “lifting”, which increases the costs and the general procedure.

Alternative options and price

One of the alternatives that are on the rise today is the injection of the medicine Belkyra, a synthetic drug approved by the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) that promotes the metabolization of local fats, a fact that causes them to be "reabsorbed" by itself Body. 4 to 6 sessions per month are required for this treatment to report results for as long as necessary.

This method may be suitable, but only in cases where the accumulations of fat are not very exaggerated. It is your decision which procedure to follow, but we recommend that you discuss the options with your trusted dermatologist before deciding on a specific one. As they say, each patient is a world, so it is better to receive professional attention before making a monetary investment.

Speaking of money, it's time to open the portfolio and calculate funds. A double chin liposuction usually has a base price of 1,250 euros, which can be easily increased to 2,500 depending on the installation in which it is performed and the particularities of the patient. Without a doubt, we are facing an intervention that is not exactly cheap.

Resume

What to say without conditioning the readers? Each person owns her body and, as such, can choose to spend the money on what is most fulfilling without fear of external prejudice. Even so, we must emphasize again that, in people who are overweight and obese, this is one of the issues that should be of least concern.

Most double chins arise from unhealthy lifestyles which, if nipped in the bud, can make them disappear without the need to spend a single euro. Having a healthy routine not only translates into aesthetics, but also in health and years of life, the most precious asset for the human being.

Bibliographic references

• How to remove a double chin without surgery? Tucanaldesalud.es. Picked up on December 23 at https://www.tucanaldesalud.es/es/voz-especialista/quitar-papada-cirugia
• Double chin surgery, adcureclinic.com. Picked up on December 23 at https://adcureclinic.com/es/cirugia-para-eliminar-la-papada/
• de Calona, ​​A. I. M. Liposuction, principles, techniques and results. HONDURAN MEDICAL JOURNAL, 64 (1-1996).
• Double chin liposuction, eonclinicpalma.com. Picked up on December 23 at https://eonclinicpalma.com/liposuccion-de-papada-lipolaser/#:~:text=La%20liposucci%C3%B3n%20de%20papada%20con%20l%C3%A1ser%20es%20un%20procedimientos%20quir%C3%BArgico, in% 20the% 20fold% 20del% 20ment% C3% B3n.
• Double chin liposuction, IMclinic.com. Picked up on December 23 at https://www.imclinic.com/es/liposuccion-de-papada/
• on Liposuction, T. (2020). Laser Lipolysis – Laserlipolysis or lipolaser What is it? Laser, 19, 01.