Surgery · Second Opinion

Chin Liposuction Didn't Work

What is still holding the profile, and what can reach it

Gangnam, Seoul | Board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Jonghwan Choi
KHIDI-registered for international patients · Apgujeong Rewind

Chin Liposuction Didn't Work Chin Liposuction Didn't Work Chin Liposuction Didn't Work Chin Liposuction Didn't Work 
Why

When chin liposuction did not change the profile

Why is my double chin still there after liposuction?

The short answer

In most cases because the thing holding the profile was never in the layer suction reaches. A cannula empties fat between skin and the platysma, the muscle sheet across the front of the neck. Four structures sit outside that reach: the fat clinging to the underside of the platysma, the muscle itself once it has slackened, an enlarged submandibular gland below the jawbone, and the position of the jaw when the chin is structurally short. Skin that does not draw back after fat is removed is a fifth explanation. Rewind's own copy for its deep neck operation is addressed to exactly this situation, and the next step is an examination that establishes which of the five applies to you.

Descriptions here come from Rewind's Korean surgical pages for chin liposuction with muscle tightening and for grape-cluster fat removal. Nothing on this page evaluates surgery performed elsewhere, and no figure or interval is attached to a neck the surgeon has not examined.

There is also a timing answer worth saying first. A neck that has been operated on holds swelling, and a profile judged while it is still settling is being judged against the wrong baseline. Before any second operation is discussed, the tissue needs to have quietened down enough for the examination to tell scar from fat and fat from muscle. Rewind publishes no fixed interval for that, so it is set in person instead of guessed from a photograph.

The neck compartment worked under magnification in the operating room at Rewind
Fig. 01 — The deposit under the muscle is separated by hand, which is why no cannula reaches it
Cases

Before & After

Two Rewind necks where the plan went below the muscle

Both sessions below combined suction above the muscle with work underneath it. They are shown here for one reason: they make visible what a plan looks like when the deeper compartment is part of it, and neither profile would have changed in the same way from suction alone. Rewind names every operation performed in a photographed session.

Rewind patients — plans that included the deep compartment

Before — chin liposuction with deep platysma work and subplatysmal fat removal After — chin liposuction with deep platysma work and subplatysmal fat removal BEFOREAFTER
below the muscle
Chin liposuction with deep platysma work and the fat beneath the muscle removed
Individual results may vary.
Before — chin liposuction with platysma work and subplatysmal fat removal, alongside forehead surgery After — chin liposuction with platysma work and subplatysmal fat removal, alongside forehead surgery BEFOREAFTER
below the muscle
Chin liposuction, platysma work and deep fat removal in a session that also included forehead lift and forehead reduction
Individual results may vary.

Photographed at Rewind to one lighting and framing standard, unretouched, with the operations named. Neither case is a promise about a neck that has already been operated on, and none of these patients is being shown as a revision. Bleeding, infection, prolonged swelling and bruising, asymmetry between the two sides, altered sensation under the chin, injury to nerves near the jaw line and a scar that matures differently from the one you pictured are all possible. An outcome cannot be promised and results vary by individual.

Reach

Out of reach

Four structures a chin liposuction cannula never reaches

Suction is a layer-specific instrument, and its territory stops at the muscle. If your profile is being held by something on this list, an operation confined to that territory was never going to change it.

01
Fat under the platysma
Rewind names it grape-cluster fat for the way the granules cling to the underside of the muscle. It cannot be drawn through a cannula; the compartment has to be opened and the deposit lifted out piece by piece. Published work on neck contouring has gone as far as measuring this layer before surgery to predict how much of it will come out.
02
The slackened muscle
A stretched platysma blurs the jaw-to-neck border however little fat is left above it, and bands can stand out once the padding over them is gone. The surgical literature has treated band deformity appearing after submental suction as the classic argument for managing the muscle at the same sitting.
03
The submandibular gland
Described by the clinic as a walnut-sized organ under the jawbone. Where it protrudes below the jaw line it holds a bulge that no amount of fat removal touches, and Rewind lists its partial reduction as a separate operation with its own cautions.
04
The shape of the jaw itself
Rewind lists a structurally short chin among the reasons a double chin forms. Where the jaw sits back, soft tissue is pushed forward into the profile regardless of how little of it there is, and no fat operation moves bone.

A fifth explanation sits outside that list: skin that does not draw back once the fat beneath it has gone. Published series on liposuction after the age of forty treat retraction as the variable that decides how an emptied area settles. Where the examination finds laxity doing the visible work, the operation discussed is neck lift instead of further fat removal. Where the finding is the deep compartment, it is deep neck lift; where it is the layer above the muscle after all, double-chin liposuction with the muscle managed is the conversation.

Again

The second examination

How a neck is re-examined when the first operation left the profile full

A second assessment is a longer conversation than a first one, because the field already has a history in it. Six things are established, in this order, before anything is proposed.

01Record

What was actually done the first time

Which layer was entered, whether the muscle was managed, whether the gland was discussed, where the incisions were placed. Bring any operative record or plan you were given. A marketing leaflet describes a service; only a record describes an operation, and the difference matters here.

02Timing

Whether the tissue has settled enough to read

Swelling and early scar make a neck feel fuller and firmer than it will remain, so an examination carried out too soon overstates what is left. Rewind publishes no fixed waiting period; what it can say is that a profile is judged once the tissue has quietened, and that this is confirmed in person.

03Depth

What can still be taken between the fingers

Fullness that pinches is subcutaneous and still belongs to the layer suction reaches. Fullness that remains once that is accounted for is what puts the compartment beneath the muscle on the table, and that judgement is made by hand with the neck at rest and flexed.

04Muscle

What the neck does when it is tensed

Bands that spring forward on flexion point at the platysma instead of at anything a cannula could take. Where that is the finding, the answer is tightening the muscle, which Rewind carries on a combined listing with chin and jaw line suction.

05Gland

Whether a firm bulge moves with swallowing

A gland does not behave like fat under the examining hand. Where the examination traces the fullness to an enlarged submandibular gland, partial reduction is listed separately, and because it involves removing part of an organ it is discussed on its own terms before it goes on any plan.

06Plan

Whether a second operation is the right answer at all

Sometimes it is not. A neck whose visible problem is loose skin, a neck still settling, or a neck where the remaining fullness is small enough that opening it again buys little, is better served by a clear no. That answer is given at the examination, and a plan with no finding behind it does not get written.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi reviewing a patient's surgical history at the consultation desk
Fig. 02 — A second assessment starts with what was done the first time
Rewind

Why come here for the second look

Why a neck that stayed full is assessed by depth before anything else

The useful question after a disappointing result is which layer was treated, and the useful answer is a finding and not a product. Rewind approaches a second consultation by mapping the neck layer by layer and pricing each layer apart, so whatever is proposed can be traced back to something the surgeon felt.

01Mapping

Fat, muscle, gland and jaw are assessed separately

Each is capable of holding a profile on its own, and each has a different answer. Separating them is what stops a second operation from repeating the shape of the first one.

02Restraint

A no is a legitimate outcome of the consultation

Where the examination finds too little left to justify opening the neck again, or finds skin laxity as the dominant problem, that is what is said. Reoperating on a field that already carries scar is a heavier undertaking than a first operation, and it earns a stricter threshold.

03Continuity

The surgeon who assesses is the surgeon who operates

Rewind is a single-surgeon practice, so the hand that examined a previously operated neck is the hand that opens it and the one you see at every review. Someone travelling in for a second look is corresponded with in their own language from the outset, under this clinic's KHIDI registration for foreign patients.

Consultation room at Rewind Plastic Surgery, Apgujeong
Fig. 03 — Where a previously operated neck is read again, without a plan waiting in advance
Where

If a second operation is agreed

Where a second neck operation is performed, and by whom

Draped preparation before neck surgery in the procedure room at Rewind

Fig. 04 — Preparation, before an already operated field is reopened

Surgical team at work in the operating room at Rewind Plastic Surgery

Fig. 05 — The clinic's own theatre, Richro Building, Apgujeong

Rewind occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the Richro Building in Apgujeong, and the theatre belongs to the clinic. The consultation, the operation and every review afterwards are carried out by the same medical director. Consulting hours fall on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 to 19:00 and on Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00, all of it by prior booking. Where a second operation is agreed, this is what it involves.

The same short submental line, about 2 cm
Existing scar in the field assessed before anything is opened
Deep compartment cleared by hand where the finding is fat
Platysma tied back where the finding is the muscle
Gland reduction only where the examination places it there
No skin excised; nothing opened at the ear
Compression dressing fitted before you leave
Operated by Dr. Jonghwan Choi, start to finish
Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeon at Rewind

Board-certified plastic surgeon

Korean specialist certification in plastic surgery, ten peer-reviewed papers and membership of the Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. Patients travelling in for a second opinion are treated under KHIDI registration M-2025-01-08-09288.

Rates

Listed figures

How a second neck operation is listed at Rewind

A neck being corrected is quoted on a revision listing instead of the first-operation one, because scar tissue in the field changes the work. Where the examination decides the neck is effectively untouched at the depth being proposed, the first-operation listings apply instead. Which of the two governs is settled at the examination.

Revision: liposuction with platysma tighteningWhere a neck operated on before is being corrected instead of treated for the first time
₩7,500,000
Subplatysmal fat removal, as an additionThe compartment under the muscle opened and cleared by hand; covered compartments confirmed at the examination
₩1,500,000
Liposuction with platysma tighteningWhere the muscle was never managed and the layer above it still holds fat
₩5,390,000
Submandibular gland reductionWhere the examination traces the remaining bulge to the gland
₩1,600,000

Standard listed figures with VAT charged separately; the anaesthetic fee for each operation is already counted inside it. No figure here is confirmed for a previously operated neck until the surgeon has examined what was done before and what is left to work with, which is why these quotations are given in person. A line you decline comes off the plan without the rest being repriced.

Fit

Whether to operate again

When a second neck operation is worth doing, and when it is declined

Findings that support operating again

  • A profile that stayed full once swelling had settled, with fullness that no longer pinches between the fingers
  • Bands springing forward on flexion, in a neck where the muscle was never tightened
  • A firm bulge under the jawbone that behaves differently from fat under the examining hand
  • Skin still drawing back reasonably, so that emptying what remains has somewhere to settle
  • A patient prepared for a second compression week and another month of careful neck movement

Where the answer is wait, or no

  • A neck still settling after recent surgery, where the examination would be reading swelling instead of tissue
  • Loose skin as the dominant finding, which more fat removal makes more obvious instead of better
  • A remaining fullness small enough that reopening a scarred field buys very little
  • Expectations set by a photograph of somebody else's jaw line, discussed before any date is considered
  • Bleeding, clotting or wound-healing conditions and the medications that affect them; pregnancy or breastfeeding; active infection along the planned line
After

What a second operation asks

What reopening the neck asks of you afterwards

The instructions do not get shorter the second time. Rewind's post-operative sheets for facial liposuction and for muscle work both apply where both kinds of work are done, and where their windows differ the longer one governs. A field that already carries scar deserves the stricter reading of both.

Week one
Compression, and hands off
The dressing is kept on for one week and the area beneath it is neither pressed nor massaged. Bruising and swelling are recorded as possible alongside an early return to ordinary activity. The wound is kept clean, and severe pain or a fever means coming straight back in.
Two weeks
Nothing that works against the repair
Where the muscle has been tied back, at least two weeks without alcohol, smoking, sauna or steam rooms, no massage of the operated area, and rest enough for the tightened muscle to settle. Swelling and a feeling of tightness belong to this window.
One month
How far the neck may travel
For a month the chin is not dropped sharply and the head is not turned forcefully to either side, with strenuous exercise, sauna and alcohol held to the same month. Cold compresses are used early for swelling.
Later
Judging the result fairly
The submental line is cared for as a healing scar with sun protection while it matures; the clinic records it at about two centimetres. A neck is not assessed against its photographs until the swelling has gone, and Rewind records durability of more than five years with individual variation.

Operating on a field that has been operated on before carries the same named risks as a first operation and manages them in less forgiving tissue: bleeding, infection, prolonged swelling and bruising, asymmetry between the two sides, altered sensation under the chin, injury to nerves running near the jaw line, and a scar that heals differently from the one you imagined. Where part of a gland is removed, that is removal of part of an organ and is discussed separately before it is agreed. An outcome cannot be promised and results vary by individual. Bring every record of previous surgery and a list of every medication you take to the consultation.

Doctor

Professional

At Rewind, one board-certified plastic surgeon carries every case — from the first consultation to the final follow-up. Because a face is a story, and a story deserves a single author.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeonRewind,
Dr. Jonghwan Choi presenting at an academic session
Fig. 06 — Academic presentation, lifting session

Rewind's Doctor

Dr. Jonghwan Choi Medical Director

One surgeon, from the first
consultation to the last follow-up.

A board-certified plastic surgeon devoted to anti-aging lifting — with the precision and restraint built through years of craniofacial practice.

Board-certified plastic surgeon (Plastic Surgery)
10 peer-reviewed publications
Medical Director, Rewind Plastic Surgery
Korean Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons
Former chief director, Apgujeong Y&T Plastic Surgery
Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
J Craniofac Surg · JKMS · Arch Craniofac Surg
Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association
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Ask

Questions

After a chin liposuction that changed little — common questions

Why is my double chin still there after liposuction?
Usually because the structure holding the profile sits outside the layer a cannula reaches. Fat clinging beneath the platysma, a slackened platysma itself, an enlarged submandibular gland and a structurally short jaw each hold a profile in their own way, and none of them answers to suction above the muscle.
What deep structures cause a double chin that liposuction cannot reach?
Rewind names the fat clinging in granules to the underside of the platysma, a further deposit inside the muscle layer, and the submandibular gland, described as a walnut-sized organ beneath the jawbone. Reaching the first two means opening the compartment through the submental line and removing the deposit by hand.
How long should I wait before considering a second procedure?
Long enough that the examination is reading tissue instead of swelling. Rewind publishes no fixed interval, so the answer is given in person after the neck has been felt. A profile assessed while it is still settling looks fuller and firmer than it will remain, which distorts the whole discussion.
Does a second operation mean the same suction done again?
Only where the examination finds fat still sitting above the muscle. Where the finding is the deep compartment, the muscle or the gland, the second operation is a different one at a different depth, and repeating the first would repeat its result.
What if the examination finds that skin is the problem?
Then more fat removal is the wrong answer and is declined. Published work on liposuction after the age of forty treats skin retraction as the variable that decides how an emptied area settles; where laxity is doing the visible work, the operation discussed is a neck lift, working on an entirely different principle.
Is a revision quoted differently from a first operation?
Yes. A neck being corrected is listed at ₩7,500,000 instead of on the first-operation combination, because scar tissue in the field changes the work. The applicable figure is confirmed once the surgeon has examined what was done before, with VAT charged separately.
Could the cords standing out in my neck be what I am seeing?
They may well be. Bands that spring forward when the neck is tensed point at the platysma, and band deformity appearing after submental suction alone is the long-standing argument in the surgical literature for managing the muscle in the same sitting rather than leaving it.
What should I bring to a second consultation?
Any operative record or written plan from the first operation, a list of your medications, and photographs of the neck before it was operated on if you have them. A record states which layer was entered; promotional material states only what was offered, and the two are not interchangeable at an examination.
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Scientific evidence

Published work on why submental fullness persists after fat removal

These papers were chosen because each one addresses a reason a neck stays full: band deformity after suction alone and the case for managing the muscle, measurement of the deep compartment before it is opened, how skin behaves once fat has been taken from an older neck, reported outcomes after submental fat removal, and reduction of a neck across two planes. They report other surgeons' series and describe neither this clinic nor your neck; Rewind publishes no anaesthetic protocol, and that is confirmed at the examination. None of this research predicts an individual outcome.