What is a midface lift? How is that different from a regular facelift or a mini face-lift?
A mid face lift is an operation designed to restore fat volume to the cheek area.
Fat in the middle portion of the cheeks is moved in vertical fashion. Cheek implants can also be used in conjunction with mid face lift or as a standalone procedure to augment the cheek area.
A midface lift addresses the soft tissues located over the cheek that tend to drop or descend with age. This lift can be performed in several ways, including endoscopically via incisions hidden behind the hairline in the scalp, directly through a standard facelift incision (in front of the ear) or directly through a lower eyelid incision.
This is different than a facelift, which often (but not always) refers to improving the contour and appearance of the neckline and jawline.
The key is to sit down with your surgeon and speak openly about which one of these operations will address your specific concerns, so that you're well-informed and that you and your surgeon are on the same page.
Hope that helps-- good luck!
The midface is an essential component of an attractive face. With the aging process, the fatty tissue that normally drapes over the cheekbones can begin to sag with gravity. The result is less prominent cheekbones, and a droopy fold of skin and fat between the nose and the cheek (the nasolabial fold). The sagging cheek fat can also alter the appearance of the lower cheek. For example, bagginess of the lower eyelids often becomes more apparent after the fat of the upper cheek begins to sag. This in essence 'unveils' the bagginess of the lower lids, which have always been there. In addition to sagging of the skin and fat of the midface, there is also volume loss from the cheek with aging, due to loss of cheek fat and muscle.
A number of cheek lift or midface lift procedures may be performed either alone or in combination with other procedures. The goal is to reposition the sagging fat of the cheek over the cheekbone to restore the youthful fullness of the cheeks. The procedures include suture meloplication or percutaneous cheek lift, endoscopic cheek lift, subperiosteal cheek or midface lift, feather lift suture suspension, malar augmentation with lift, and SOOF lift.
Using minimally invasive cheek and midface lift techniques with limited incisions, the droopy cheek tissue can be lifted up over the cheekbone restoring the more prominent youthful contour, improving the tear trough and bagginess of the lower lids, and softening the undesirable cheek fold.
For more information and before and after pictures visit:
http://www.seattleface.com/html/cheek_lift.php
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