A beauty therapist who spent years trying to disguise her jowls with contouring make-up travelled from Cardiff to Glasgow for a pioneering and minimally invasive treatment that promises to tighten the jawline and neck without traditional facelift scars.
Lisa Morgan had spent years researching facelift surgery after becoming increasingly self-conscious about the loose skin around her jaw and neck. She is now one of th UK’s first patients to undergo the Quantum Lift.
She spent a lot of time on research and despite joining online support groups and examining other patients’ results, she could not bring herself to accept the scars and lengthy recovery associated with conventional surgery.
Lisa eventually travelled around 600 miles to McKeown Medical in Glasgow after seeing details of its new Quantum Lift on social media.
This new procedure combines power-assisted liposuction with radiofrequency energy, which is delivered beneath the skin to tighten tissue and improve the shape of the jawline and neck. It is carried out under local anaesthetic through tiny access points placed beneath the chin and around the jawline.
Lisa said: “I’ve hated my jowls for years. “As a beauty therapist, I’m looking at faces all day long, and I became so conscious of my own.
“I was forever trying to contour my jawline with make-up, but it never really achieved what I wanted.
“I’d spent years researching facelifts on Facebook groups because I genuinely thought surgery was my only option. But I couldn’t bring myself to go ahead because of the scars and the recovery. The moment I saw this procedure, I knew I had to find out more.”
Lisa remained awake throughout the procedure and said she was surprised by how relaxed she felt. “I was expecting it to feel much more intimidating,” she said.
“But it was honestly such a pleasant experience. We were chatting and laughing throughout the procedure and, before I knew it, it was finished.”
Her emotional reaction came when Dr Darren McKeown handed her a mirror.
“I burst into tears,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. For the first time in years, my jawline was back.”
Lisa experienced swelling immediately after the treatment, although she said much of it had settled within 24 hours. She wore supportive facial taping for the following week while the area began to heal.
Although she had been advised to allow up to two weeks away from work, Lisa felt able to return after only a few days.
“My clients all knew how much this had bothered me over the years,” she said.
“They couldn’t believe the difference.
“This morning, I cried again while getting ready for work. For the first time in years, I didn’t have to stand in front of the mirror trying to contour my jawline before leaving the house.”
Dr Darren McKeown, founder and medical director of McKeown Medical, developed the treatment for patients seeking a stronger result than non-invasive treatments can typically provide, but who are not ready to undergo facelift surgery.
He said: “For many years, I’ve felt there has been a group of patients who wanted a meaningful improvement in their jawline and neck but simply weren’t ready for facelift surgery.
“They didn’t want to keep disguising the problem with make-up or relying on temporary treatments, but equally they weren’t ready to accept the scars and recovery associated with surgery.
“I’ve spent much of my career looking for something that genuinely bridges that gap.
“What has been most rewarding isn’t simply seeing the physical change. It’s seeing the emotional effect that improvement can have on someone’s confidence.”
The clinic stresses that the Quantum Lift is not a facelift and cannot produce the same result as formal surgery. It is intended mainly for patients with mild to moderate loose skin, early jowling, fullness beneath the chin or a loss of jawline definition. People with more advanced facial ageing may still need conventional surgery to achieve their desired result.
McKeown Medical says it has received enquiries from across the UK after sharing patients’ results online.
Dr McKeown graduated in medicine from the University of Glasgow in 2005. He is registered with the General Medical Council, holds Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons and is a full member of the British College of Aesthetic Medicine.
The Quantum Lift costs £5500 at McKeown Medical in Glasgow.
Find out more here: https://www.drdarrenmckeown.com/.
