How Does a Midface Lift Work?

Dr. Sam P. Most discusses different midface lift techniques and describes who is a good candidate for the procedure. see video

The midface is the area of your face from the lower eyelid to the jawline. Generally this entire area ages as a single unit causing flattening of the "cheekbones," lowering of the thin eyelid skin exposing lower lid and cheek fat bags, deepening of the nasolabial folds, formation of lines connecting the drooping corner of mouth to the jawline (affectionately known as marionette lines), and finally the unattractive "bubble" of tissue that slips over the jaw presenting in... more

Midface lift Using minimally invasive 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. Incisions are typically hidden inside the mouth, between the gums and the lips, and in the temple. At times, when a lower eyelift is performed at the same time, the same incision may be used to perform a midface... more

As we age the cheek descends with gravity, and a "lift" brings it back up higher onto the cheekbone. As the volume of the ckeek and the bone itself shrinks as we age, often volume enhancement is also needed for "full" correction.

Here are the basic steps for a midface lift which essentially resuspends the cheek into a higher position on the face (back to where it has fallen over time) 1. Anesthetize the patient and area 2. Make an incision in the temporal area 3. Make an incision in the mouth 4. Release the tissue of the midface from mouth to temple 5. Suspend the tissue of the midface with sutures 6. Close the wounds

The following is my opinion. I have lectured on this very point to plastic surgeons at international conferences. The Mid-Face Cheek lift is my favorite procedure due to its elegance and power in transforming the facial shape from aged deflation to curved youth. As we age,almost all of us lose facial fat. The pockets of fat in the face are not united, but rather separated by thin walls of collagen. As they go horizontally across our face in our youth, deflation results in the more vertical... more

With aging gravity causes most parts of the body to sag. In the midface this results in decreased cheek projection, increased heaviness of the tissues below the cheekbones, and increased depth of the grooves between the nose and the corner of the mouth. Discuss the alternative techniques of a midface lift to reverse these signs of the aging process with your surgeon.