Neck & Jawline · Westlake, Texas
Neck lift
The full surgical procedure, with muscle repair and skin removal, for a neck that has gone past what a suture can hold.
- Fee$11,000
- In theatre2 to 4 hours
- Back to work2 weeks
01 · What it does
A neck lift is not a skin operation.
Three layers have changed, and a result that lasts addresses all three in the same sitting. The one people expect to hear about is the least of them.
The platysma
The sheet of muscle that gives the neck its shape, repaired where it has separated. This is the layer that holds.
Where the muscle is lax but the skin still has tone, a suture suspension may be enough: the MyEllevate® conversation, cheaper and shorter.
Submental fat
Contoured under the chin and along the jaw, so the border the muscle repair creates has a clean line to sit against.
Fullness under the chin is sometimes fat, sometimes muscle, sometimes both. Which it is on you is measured at the consultation.
Excess skin
Removed where it is genuinely in excess, rather than redraped over the problem.
The last layer, and the one everybody names first. Pulling it tight on its own is why work that has been done looks done.
02 · Who it suits
The test is whether the skin takes up when you lift your chin.
This is the operation for real skin excess. If the skin retracts when the chin is raised, a suspension may still be enough. If it hangs, it needs removing.
Where the skin still has tone and the problem is muscle laxity, MyEllevate® does a great deal at $6,000, with no external incision and a far shorter recovery. Dr. Stone recommends the smaller operation where it will do.
03 · How it is done
Under the chin, then around and behind the ears.
Through a small incision under the chin the platysma is repaired in the midline where it has separated and the fat is contoured. Through incisions around and behind the ears, in the natural creases, the skin is redraped and the excess removed.
Scars sit where the anatomy conceals them and mature over months from pink to pale. Scar care starts as soon as the wounds are closed.
A drain is sometimes used for the first day or two, and comes out at the first post-operative visit.
04 · Recovery
A day, a fortnight, and six months of settling.
The figures below are the practice's conventional ranges. Dr. Stone will give you the numbers for your own neck at the consultation.
The day
Two to four hours in theatre
Under general anaesthetic or deep sedation. A responsible adult brings you, waits, and drives you home. No driving for twenty-four hours afterwards.
Day three
Bruising peaks, then falls away
A support garment, swelling and tightness. Day three is the worst of it and it improves quickly after that.
Week two
Sutures out, back at a desk
Sutures come out in stages across the first two weeks. Most people are back at a desk at two weeks and comfortable in company shortly after.
Months three to six
The contour settles
The result keeps refining as swelling resolves and the tissues soften. Follow-ups are with Dr. Stone herself.
05 · Compared with
Three operations, and what decides between them.
Which you need is an anatomical fact rather than a preference. All three are quoted separately.
| MyEllevate® | Neck liftYou are here | Face & neck lift | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it treats | Muscle laxity, where the skin still has tone | Muscle separation, fat and genuine skin excess | The jowl and the neck, where they are one continuous problem |
| Incision | None on the outside | Under the chin, around and behind the ears | In front of and behind the ears, back into the hairline |
| Anaesthesia | Local with sedation | General or deep sedation | General |
| Back to work | Around a week | Two weeks | Two to three weeks |
| Results settle | 6 to 12 weeks | Three to six months | Six to twelve months |
| Fee | $6,000 | $11,000 | $18,000 |
A jawline implant is a different conversation: it adds projection to a mandible that never had it, which no lifting will create. $10,000.
06 · The surgeon
The nerve that moves your lower lip runs through this operation.
The marginal mandibular nerve runs exactly where a neck lift works. A surgeon has to know it in three dimensions, in a particular neck, under tension. Dr. Stone spent her residency rebuilding it after it had been broken, and that is the background she brings to an elective neck.
- 01Biomedical engineering degree, then a Doctorate of Dental Surgery
- 02Full oral and maxillofacial residency across three Level 1 trauma centres
- 03Attending surgeon, Baylor and Methodist Medical Centers
- 04She plans, performs and follows up every case herself
07 · Questions
The six questions this operation raises.
How is this different from MyEllevate®?
MyEllevate® suspends the platysma with a suture and removes nothing: no external incision, and recovery in days rather than weeks. A neck lift removes skin and repairs muscle directly. The first is for laxity, the second for excess.
Where do the scars go?
Under the chin, and around and behind the ears in the natural creases, where the anatomy conceals them. They mature over months from pink to pale.
How long does it last?
The practice puts a full surgical neck lift at up to ten years, against about five for MyEllevate®. The muscle repair is durable, but your neck keeps ageing around it, and skin quality, weight stability and genetics all move that number.
Will I need a drain?
Sometimes, for the first day or two, depending on how much work the neck needed. It comes out at your first post-operative visit.
What happens at the consultation?
You and Dr. Stone go through your concerns and goals. She takes a medical history, assesses your general health, and takes photographs and measurements to draw the plan against your own anatomy. You leave knowing whether this is the right procedure, and if not, which one is.
What does it cost, and can I finance it?
$11,000 for the neck alone, or $18,000 combined with the face. Financing runs through Sunbit, and membership credit can be applied to a surgical fee.
Book it
One surgeon, from the consultation to the last follow-up.
The consultation is $175 for Texas residents and $250 from out of state, with a $100 deposit that comes off the fee. You spend the hour with Dr. Stone, not a treatment coordinator.
- The practice
- 72 Andorra Dr #110
Westlake, TX 76262 - Hours
- Monday to Friday, 9 to 5
Saturday by appointment