Cheek / Midface Lift

Midface lift
As we age our upper cheeks can lose volume and begin to sag. This results in the upper cheeks appearing flat, nasolabial folds appearing more deep and lower eyelids appearing more hollow. These changes can be addressed with a midface lift, also known as a cheek lift, which can restore position and prominence of your cheekbones.

A youthful face is characterised by round facial contours and fullness of the midface/cheek. The result of midface lift is more long-lasting than that achieved with injectables and recovery quicker than a traditional facelift.

Many patients mistakenly believe that a facelift will address midface ageing but are actually better served by a midface lift.

There are a number of techniques for midface lift and Mr Karri will discuss which technique is best for you depending on your facial structure and aesthetic desires. For some patients, Mr Karri may complement the midface lift with fat transfer.

Am I A Good Candidate For Midface Lift?

The best candidates for a midface list are those;

  • Who have hollowness beneath the eyes
  • Who have descent of the cheek
  • Are generally healthy and do not have a medical condition that could impede healing
  • Do not smoke
  • Have realistic expectations of the results and willing to follow all pre-op and post-op instructions

What Does A Midface Not Do?

A midface lift does not address the lower eyelids, fine wrinkles in the midface or Crow’s feet. To address these issues Mr Karri may recommend lower blepharoplasty and/or skin resurfacing procedure in combination with the midface lift.

A midface / cheek lift can be performed using several techniques with various incisions. These techniques can be broadly divided into four groups;

1. Approach to the midface through an incision in the lower eyelid, similar to the incision for lower blepharoplasty.
2. Approach to the midface through an incision in the temporal scalp and inside the mouth
3. Approach to the midface directly through a standard facelift incision in front of the ear
4. Augmentation of the midface with fat transfer

Whatever approach is used, it is essential that the midface is treated in the context of the entire face to ensure a harmonious result.

Mr Karri’s Midface Lift Technique

Mr Karri’s preference is to perform a minimally-invasive percutaneous midface lift, in which he repositions the cheek fat pad using suspension sutures. Very fine sutures are passed through the skin into the cheek fat pad and directed up toward the temporal scalp. At the temporal scalp they are passed through the temporal fascia which acts as secure anchor point.
The sutures are then progressively tightened until the cheek fat pad is repositioned correctly.
In some instances, Mr Karri may also perform a lower blepharoplasty at the same time to remove excess lower eyelid skin and fat, and to improve the contour at the eyelid-cheek junction.

The minimal-invasive nature of this technique ensures minimal bruising and quick recovery.

As with all surgical procedures, a midface lift has risks that should be considered before a decision on treatment is made. Risks include;

Scars / poor scarring

Infection

Swelling

Excessive bleeding / haematoma

Nerve injury / numbness (under the eyelids)

Asymmetry

Hair loss at the incisions

Related Procedures

Facelift

Facelift eliminates loose and sagging skin on your face and neck, creating a tighter and more youthful appearance.

For many patients restoration of facial volume can have much more of a rejuvenating effect than a facelift or skin resurfacing.

Eyelid Surgery – Blepharoplasty

Eyelid surgery serves to rejuvenate the upper eyelids, lower eyelids or both by removing excess skin and fat, as well as reshaping the eye.

Necklift

Necklift, also known as platsymaplasty, is a surgical procedure that restores the youthful appearance of the neck.