After a Facelift, Can Fat Gradually Disappear from the Path of Lift?

The facelift was two years ago. On one cheek, just below my cheekbone and along the path of the lift, a hollow channel has been inching toward the center of my face. The doctor has assured me that this was not a thread lift. The hollow is about 1.25" in width. The skin above it is taut and looks lifeless. The hollow keeps lengthening and it looks awful. What could be happening? And can anything be done to stop it and/or correct it?

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23 Doctor Answers | Asked by Honolulu7527 in Honolulu, HI

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Post Facelift skin depressions and hollow cheek may require revisions

Depressions after a Facelift do not often appear for several weeks or months after the Facelift once the surgical swelling has resolved. Many factors can cause a visible depression on the cheek or a hollow cheek after Facelift surgery. Some factors are: A tight Cheek SMAS Suture in the deep tissues-this will usually go away with time as tissues relax The surgeon passing Facelift Scissors too close to the skin when undermining the cheek tissue resulting in damage to the fat... more

Fat loss after facelift. Preserving facial volume.

Old wisdom was: When in doubt, cut it out. New wisdom is: Fuller cheeks are what we seek. We preserve facial volume, at all costs when lifting faces. We even bring some fat from outside of he area, from the abdomen for instance, when we lift faces. Facelift technique should preserve volume because if it doesn't, the cheeks can become hollow for a ghostly look. This can become apparent even one or two years down the line. Fat transfer is the... more

Ritu Chopra, MD

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Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

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Face Lift, Mini Face Lift, The Palmer Celebrity Face Lift, Beverly Hills Face Lift

Not sure, from what you're describing it could be fat loss or a disruption to the underlying SMAS layer during the Face Lift. Either one could cause what you describe. You should go back to the plastic and cosmetic surgeon that did your Face Lift or you may want to get a second opinion.

Loss of Fat after a facelift

It is difficult from your description to assess what is occuring. Photos would be helpful, however, I would discuss the issue with your surgeon and see what options are offered. Some patients may develop fat loss as a result of the aging process or due to the procedure. Some small intervention may be successful in correcting the problem.

Possible Fat Loss From Lift

Patterns of a facelift vary among patients. Most commonly, facial fat diminishes with age, with or without a facelift. Facelifts do not increase the rate of fat loss. Dr. G

Volume loss after Facelift?

I am not exactly sure what you mean by, “path of a lift”. My sense is that if fat is devascularized during surgery, it can melt away over the time; but often changes secondary to surgery in the face are more related to the pull of surgery on the tissues rather than fat melting. Fat grafts done during surgery can disappear (some fat loss after grafting is expected in most areas), but can be usually compensated for by over-grafting or perhaps saving some fat in a special... more

"Fat in face dissapearing"

I have not seen fat disappear from the path of a facelift, as we get older. Fat generally thins in the face. If you are asking about irregularity and a facelift, I would not think that it is due to fat gradually disappearing, but is more likely to be due to irregularity caused by the procedure.

Hollowing after facelift

It appears that your hollowing may be related to the vector of pull on the underlying muscle or the amount of skin undermined. Regardless, this can usually be corrected by autologous fat transfer. This involves taking fat liposuctioned from a problem area to fill the hollowed area. Approximately half of the fat takes on the first procedure. I recommend that you discuss your options with your board certified plastic surgeon and discuss a suitable... more

Facelift, Fat Loss, Aging, and out comes a skeletal appearance.

This is tough to assess from your photos. No fat should not diaappear. Sometimes the lift changes facial structure and reveals areas the ultimately would benefit from fat transfer which is easy to do. I suggest you discuss this with your surgeon and possibly one other ABPS surgeon and see what they think. This is the era of fat replacenment in the face and I do it routinely. Part of aging is fat loss. Part of aging is that we progressively... more

Thin cheek fat after a face lift.

There are several possible explanations for what you are describing. But your surgeon would be the most qualified to answer this. Though it may be unclear to him as well. Regardless, from your description, it sounds like you could benefit from AFT (autologous fat transfer). That is when fat is taken from elsewhere in your body, refined and injected into the "hollow" you describe. Our current methods with fat transfer are quite good. Best of luck