E-PTFE (Gore-Tex) Suspension Cervical Facial Rhytidectomy

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Abstract
• Restoration of a well-defined, youthful-looking, cervicomental angle is not easily achieved. The classic rhytidectomy is now often supplemented by lipectomy and platysmamodifying procedures. Still, irregularities of neck contour are bothersome, and for the short, stocky neck, results at times fall short of a patient's and surgeon's expectation. Insertion of an E-PTFE (expanded polytetrafluroethylene [E-PTFE]; tradename, Gore-Tex, W. L. Gore Associates Inc, Flagstaff, Ariz) soft-tissue patch as a sling to support the floor of the mouth and redefine the cervicomental angle for a smoother neck contour is described. This method was used in seven patients presenting with problematic aging neck. The first three patients needed readjustment of the E-PTFE membrane. This evolving method seems to offer a superior, more lasting result for the correction of an obtuse cervicomental angle. (Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg.1993;119:694-698)