Cheek lift surgery

A mid-facelift, sometimes called a cheek lift, is a cosmetic procedure that tightens the skin from the upper mouth to eye area, Like other facial elements, cheeks droop and sag and show aging symptoms as we get older. Sagging of the cheeks signs usually appear after the age of 30. At first the volume of the cheeks decreases and the fat in the cheeks area shifts and moves down towards the middle line. The smile line becomes more prominent as the fat descends.

As shown in the following pictures, the laxity and descent of the soft tissue of the cheeks is usually downward and inward.

The cheeks are located in the middle face. Therefore, the aging-related changes we see in the cheeks are accompanied by the aging signs in other areas of the middle face. Symptoms, such as the tear trough, dimples under the eyes, and lower eyelid drooping and sagging may also be seen. On the other hand, cheeks are located at a small distance from the eye corner and brow tail, and we know that both of the above mentioned parts droop and the wrinkles around the eye increase as we age.

In many people, the cheeks’ drooping signs are accompanied by a droopy brow tail, which may affect the beauty of the eyes.

read about Cheek augmentation and cheek prosthesis implantation

What is an endoscopic cheek lift?

Endoscopic cheek lift is a method that separates the soft tissue of the cheek and mid face from the underlying bone using the incisions made within the hair and mouth and transfers it to the upper and lateral areas of the face. An endoscopic cheek lift is used, especially in the early stages of cheeks drooping. Therefore, this type of lift is used in youth and during the early elderly. This method is especially suitable for young women who are candidates for a temple lift and pulling back the tissues around the eyes.

In people with an elongated face, who are dissatisfied with their face shape, the endoscopic cheek lift can increase the width of the face in its middle part. This way the face becomes rounder or heart-shaped. Cheek lift surgery is usually done in combination with other facial surgeries, especially temple lift.

How do you expect the cheeks to change in an endoscopic cheek lift?

1. By performing an endoscopic cheek lift, the soft tissue volume of the cheek increases as the malar fat pads, which have descended below the cheek and around the smile lines, return to their original place and cause the cheek to protrude. As the cheek lift-related incisions are made within the hair and inside the mouth and the trace of surgery is not seen, some of your friends may think you have used gel injection or cheek prosthesis.
2. In some people with dimples under the eyes (lower eyelid) caused by genetic factors or by aging, displacing the cheek and under the eye tissues upwards and sideways can to some extent remove the dimple. This way the eyes look younger.
3. The face width in the cheeks area increases in almost all people who undergo an endoscopic cheek lift and the face becomes round or heart-shaped.

Who are the right candidates for an endoscopic cheek lift?

1. An endoscopic cheek lift can be used in people with mild saggy cheeks, especially women above 30-35 years who complain of cheek and facial tissues drooping, but are not still right candidates for open face lift.
2. In people who are dissatisfied with elongation of their faces, this lift can cause the face to look rounder by increasing the face width and creating visual error.
3. Choosing this type of lift besides other facial surgeries in people who undergo facial feminization surgery yields more satisfactory results.
4. This method can be used well in people whose signs of aging and drooping skin are restricted to the upper and mid face.

Who are not the right candidates for an endoscopic cheek lift?

1. Performing this surgery in people with a very thin face and low volume of cheek soft tissue causes changes less than the normal people. Therefore, these people should have less expectation from the surgery result. In addition to cheek lift, these people had better use the methods that increase the volume of the soft or hard tissue of the cheek. It means that they can consider other methods, such as gel injection, fat injection, or cheek prosthesis.
2. An endoscopic cheek lift should be performed with caution and to a milder extent in men because the volume of the cheek soft tissue increases in the cheek lift and even causes one’s face to look a little feminized. A better method to be used in men is to augment the bony part of the cheek. Therefore, using cheek prosthesis has very better effects on the men’s faces. This can be used in combination with an endoscopic lift for men’s cheeks.
3. An endoscopic cheek lift alone has no significant effect on severe drooping of the cheek tissue and other facial areas and other open face lift methods should certainly be considered.
4. An endoscopic cheek lift has no durable effect on the correction of the marionette line and the lower face drooping. Those whose main aim is to correct the lower face are not the right candidates for an endoscopic cheek lift.