Fig. 1.

(a–c) The platysmotome is a hollow metal cylinder with a solid cylinder inside that can be turned by a handle at the lower end. On the opposite end, a semicircular metal plate with a 1.5-mm hole in the center is attached to the cylinder, which envelops the turning rod. Two metal rings are attached to the external cylinder, by which the surgeon holds onto the device. Both ends of the wire, looped around the platysma band, are threaded through the central hole of the semicircular plate. They then are inserted separately through each hole in the solid cylinder and knotted. When the handle is turned, the wire loop is wrapped around the end of the movable rod, gradually pulling the loop, which cuts the muscle and then emerges from the skin. The simplified platysmotome (d, e) consists of a 2-cm-diameter metal plate with a central 1.5-mm hole soldered to a 12-cm rod at an angle of 140º (f, g). The two ends of the wire, after encircling the platysma band (represented in the figure by a tube of silicone), pass through the hole of the plate, which is resting against the patient’s skin. (h) The two ends of the wire are secured by a strong needleholder, which turns around itself. Its tail is a lever the surgeon uses to tighten it. The steel wire is wrapped around the end of the needleholder. (i) The loop is tightened around the muscular band, cutting it before surfacing through the point-like needle hole