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Mid Face Lift for Malar Bags?

Can a Mid-face lift get rid of my malar bags? I am 30 years old and have noticed that my malar bags are becoming more prominent. They are not festoons but look more like malar mounds. I never had surgery and I've started to do my research on it recently. Is that good solution?

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14 Doctor Answers | Asked by sara in MN in Minnesota

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Mid facelift and cheek augmentation can help with malar bags

A mid facelift may help with malar bags, along with cheek augmentation. At 30 years of age, most people do not have malar bags. A mid facelift can sometimes help if performed properly. Malar augmentation can also help. Make sure your allergies are under good control and the malar mounds are not caused from fluid retention from allergies. A low-salt diet would also be helpful because salt intake can affect malar mounds.

Acculift for malar bags

Malar bags have been one of the hardest areas to address surgically. A midface lift can often improve the area, however it is a big procedure with a lengthy recovery. I have recently been using fillers to lift the cheek ( Juvederm, Restylane, or Radiesse), but I am especially excited about the Acculift Procedure which uses the Accusculpt laser, 1440 nm wavelength laser, to melt the fat and cause tissue tightening. This is a new procedure, so the results are early, but especially... more

Malar Bags

Malar bags are one of the most difficult problems to treat. The key step is to look at the underlying anatomic cause: Muscle excess- The orbital muscle can sometimes create redundancy along the malar area. This is one of the more correctable causes of malar bags can be corrected through a lower lid blepharoplasty. Lymphatics- Lymphatics are one of the more common causes of malar bags and one of the more difficult to treat. Sometimes the... more

A midface lift is not the answer.

These malar bags are the result of fluid collection. They can be improved with surgery to cauterize the area as well as removing tissue. The recovery can be prolonged and the results are not a complete correction of the problem, but improvement.

Toby Mayer, MD

7 reviews

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Midface Lift is Not the Right Procedure for Malar Bags

Many treatments have been used to correct malar festoons ranging from deep laser resurfacing over volume correction to excisions. I certainly would discourage a midface lift for the goal of malar bag reduction. In my opinion, it would be pure luck if it would help.

Surgery usually not an adequate answer for malar mounds or bags

The appearance of fullness below the orbital rim can be either real or relative. When real, it is usually due to a fluid accumulation. This is why it is often very variable and will change with diet, position you sleep in, and sun exposure. This will often respond to a mild diuretic, sleeping with your head higher, and avoidance of salty foods. When relative, it is due to a hollow area in the "tear trough" above it. This can be helped by very careful injections of a filler (we use... more

Nathan Mayl, MD

7 reviews

Fort Lauderdale Plastic Surgeon

There are several options for malar bags...

Of course it is impossible to advise you on the best treatment for your specific situation without examining you but in general early aging changes around the eyes respond to interventions that stress volume enhancement. Some patients will benefit from a fat transposition Blepharoplasty where orbital fat is brought down over the malar prominence smoothing the deflated cheek. Other patients may get by with fillers such as Juvederm or Radiesse. 30 is a bit young for a big procedure like a... more

Ivan Wayne, MD

13 reviews

Oklahoma City Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.oumedicine.com

Lateral cheek lift through extended blepharoplasty incision best for malar bags

The midface lift will not correct malar bags or festoons. I have used various lasers for many years and they have ALWAYS failed. The only procedure that has worked has been to extend the lower blepharoplasty incision and do a lateral cheek lift-it works, but canthoplasty is also required.

How to treat malar bags

This is the million dollar question, ow to treat malar bags. I have my own theories (a theory and 25 cents will get you a cup of coffee as they say) about what causes malar bags. There is an anatomic septum that runs through the cheek. It is not age related, although the bags get worse when tissue from above sags onto the inflexible malar septum. It often helps to do a cheeklift not at a subperiosteal level, but at a suborbicularis (underneath the eye muscle).... more

A difficult problem.

Malar bags are probably a mixture of fat and trapped fluid in the area. Like festoons, they are a difficult problem. I do not think a midface lift will help, because they are a superficial issue, and the mid facelift elevates deeply. It does nothing really for the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing sometimes helps, and even injection of steroid (triamcinolone) can help. Sometimes, however, surgical excision winds up being the only... more

Malar mounds are improved with a mid face lift

Malar mounds are improved with a mid face lift. At 30 y/o you probably do not have malar bags (but could- -see your dr. to check your thyroid and medical condition if you do). What usually happens is that the malar ligaments loosen and the cheek fat pad (properly called nasolabial fat pad) separates from the cheek or malar area producing a groove in between. This can be minimal in younger people, but bothersome. If your problem is this, a mid face lift can be helpful... more

The festoon is part of your midface

Dear Sara Midface surgery will generally not correct your bags. However given your age, your best option is to have restylane injected around your festoons to fill in the cheek. This will work for you for many years. Treatment will last about a year. I would advise against Juvederm for this purpose. This agent is a little runny and the filler tends to drift out of the treatment site. This is not seen with Restylane and Perlane.

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

8 reviews

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

Midface can give improvement in the right person

If your friend asks you if you would be "right" for person "X" your first question might be... "tell me more about "X" - right? Mid-face lifts can provide improvement for the right person. The longevity depends a great deal on the problem and the person's expectations. Unless you very unique, most 30 y/o do not have malar bags that require a surgical procedure. Maybe a non-surgical approach may provide a better pathway for you. Check out these options in your more

Midface Lift Surgery improves malar bags

Malar bags are one of the most difficult problems to correct. An endoscopic midface lift performed from the temple area I have found to improve these bags by a minimum of 50 % and usually more. Traditional face lift and eyelid lift surgery will not do this.