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A Mini Lift Appropriate After Korean Zygoma and Mandible Reduction Surgery?

I am a 29 years old asian female, and last December I underwent zygoma, mandible reduction and acculift in Korea. I have always had a bit of baby fat on my cheeks, and now it seems that my face is even chubbier. I do not know whether it is because of sagging after the facial bone surgeries, or because the pushing in of my zygoma naturally made the lower third of my face look heavier. I would say that my skin tone is still quite good. Would a mini-lift help restore a proper face proportion?

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6 Doctor Answers | Asked by Kurikura

Doctor Answers (6)
Community Comments (14)

A Mini Lift Appropriate After Korean Zygoma and Mandible Reduction Surgery?

The surgeries you had cause a lot of swelling that may take up to a year to resolve. As a surgeon who performs this type of surgery, I can attest to this. Once, a year has passed, then you may reevaluate your face. There may be some ptosis of facial soft tissues after these surgeries but it is too soon to tell how much.

Face lift

Most probably the soft tissue dropped down as the supporting boney skeleton was reduced.You nned a full evaluation including x-ray to see what was done. Then you need to be clear as to the look you want (write it down, get your old pictures, before the Korean surgery) and discuss with a BOARD CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON, (AMERICAN BOARD OF PLASTIC SURGERY) Possible liposuction, cheeck fat removal and a miniface lift.all should be expolored.

Mini Facelift

I would recommend that you have a personalized consultation with a board certified facial plastic surgeon who can best address your areas of concern. Unfortunately, I have had many patients who require revision surgery following surgery in Korea or Asia with less than desired results.

Face lift after zygomatic and mandible reduction

It appears you have fullness in the lower portion of your cheeks due to fatty tissue and ptosis after the zygomatic and mandibular reduction. You may still present with some swelling from the past surgeries domit is my feeling you would benefit from waiting an entire year before evaluation. At that time upon a physical evaluation I would discuss the many options you may have to help your features be more proportionate. Liposuction, bucal fat removal, possible face lift or mini lift with... more

Michael Elam, MD

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Orange County Facial Plastic Surgeon

michaelelammd.com

Would a mini face lift help me?

I have performed face lifts for over 20 years including the newer minimal incision variations. From your photos, the lower half of the face appears to have marked lipodystrophy (excess fat) that makes it appear overly round and not the aesthetically desired heart shape. In these cases, I typically perform facial micro-liposuction of that area and if the skin and SMAS layers are loose, a minimal incision face lift will help. The decrease of skeletal structure from the... more

Do I ned a minilift

In the type of bone reduction you had, the tissues of the cheek will lose their support and fall. Although a mini-lift might help, you need to understand that you now have less structural support than you used to so how long the proposed mini-lift will last for is hard to tell.

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Comments (14)

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New York8226 8 Dec 2012

Did you ever have dark marks where the zygoma reduction was made? I have these dark shadows/marks where the zygoma incisions were made on both cheeks. They are really ugly and I cannot cover them up with makeup, so I don't think they are scars,

Kurikura 8 Dec 2012

Hi, No, I don't have any marks/shadows or visible scars for my surgeries. All in all I don't regret my surgeries, despite the loss of structural support.

New York8226 8 Dec 2012

That's good. I think I got really unlucky with this and I probably wasn't a good candidate for this surgery. Hopefully these dark marks will go away soon.

New York8226 30 Oct 2012

All in all, do you like the results of your zygoma reduction and mandible reduction surgeries? Nowadays I'm starting to regret mine because of the loss of structural support when I need it.

New York8226 29 Oct 2012

That's great! I was actually also thinking about doing Ultherapy. Did you find that that sufficiently lifted the fat/tissues upwards to give a slimmer lower face? I'm not looking into fat grafting yet but fillers for my nasolabial folds. Honestly, these surgeries caused me a whole lot more problems than I had to begin with.

Kurikura 29 Oct 2012

Honestly, I'm not sure how much of the slimmer look and firmer skin is due to my weight loss, and how much from the effect of Ultherapy. It's definitely worth a try. Just a warning though - it was one of the most painful experiences I ever had. I had fat grafting for my nasolabial folds, and it did help a little. Typically the percentage of fats that survive in the nasolabial folds will be lower than fats grafted into the cheek area, due to the constant movement there. I have never had fillers before - sticking to fat grafts because of the natural look and the long-lasting improvement!

New York8226 30 Oct 2012

I'll look into fat grafting as I do have a flatter midface after these procedures. I'm afraid I have very little fat anywhere to spare. I did hear Ultherapy was very painful. Did you get your fat grafting and Ultherapy in Korea or elsewhere?

New York8226 10 Dec 2012

Hello, Did you notice your positive effects on your lower face before or after the fat grafting to balance the top half? Did you get Ultherapy before you tried to lose weight? I'm just trying to see if Ultherapy is worth it or not...it's expensive so I would really like to see if it will do what I would like it to do. Thanks so much for your time!

Kurikura 29 Oct 2012

Hi there. I went for the less invasive Ulthera to tighten the skin, as well as fat grafts to the cheekbone area, to restore volume to the top half of my face. I also lost some weight since then. All these combined to give me a satisfactory solution to my problem. Hope it helps!

New York8226 29 Apr 2013

Hi! I am due to have ultherapy done to the lower face in late may. I wanted to know if it was riskier to have ultherapy done after mandible reduction because of the possible movement of the mandibular nerve. Did your doctor explain risks? Mine told me about possible paralysis from nerve injury.

Kurikura 29 Apr 2013

I don't remember whether I disclosed my mandible surgery to the doctor who did ultherapy, but no, she didn't mention about the risks.

New York8226 29 Apr 2013

Did you feel like it was especially painful in the jaw area? Like was there any indication of nerve issues after?

New York8226 19 May 2013

Hello, Did you notice any particular issues with pain in the jaw area like during and after Ultherapy? My aesthetician was telling me that there might be more issues with nerve location because it may have shifted after mandible reduction so she says it might be more painful for me. I heard that they changed the ptotocol to make Ultherapy 30% less painful recently...I really hope so.

New York8226 29 Oct 2012

Hello, I am undergoing a similar problem 1.5 years out from surgery. What did you end up doing to fix your problem? Thanks.