Difference Between Cheek Lift and Mid Face Lift

A cheek lift is not a midface lift.  Surgeons who use the terms interchangeably do not understand midface anatomy.  A cheek lift traditionally refers to the lower third of the face and a midface lift refers to procedures used to lift the top of the cheek.  This distinction in important because very different surgical strategies are needed to address these very different areas.  The cheeklift is part of a standard facelift.  Certain cheeklifts do attempt to incorporate midface lifts but the results of this type of work is generally very unsatisfactory vectors of pull in the face and cheek.  If you are looking for help in the lower half of the face and neck, a lower facelift/cheek lift is what you need.  If your issue is under eyelid circles and hollows, these methods simple do not address your concerns.

FaceTite can internally tighten the skin in the lower face and neck. After all the skin has been heated and contracted, we shape the neck with liposuction to give definition and remove stubborn pockets of fat. In one quick treatment, we can tighten skin, remove fat, and contour the lower face, jawline, and jowls with only a weekend of downtime.​ Keep in mind that combination approaches will give you a more significant improvement as opposed to a single procedure. I recommend getting a consultation with a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist and facial sculpting expert. Best, Dr. Emer

The relationship between the terms "cheek lift" and "mid-face lift" might be best characterized as one of genus versus species. Thus any surgical procedure that is intended to rejuvenate the area in and around the cheeks might be termed a "cheek lift". This might include a variety of facelift procedures from subperiosteal to high SMAS to skin only facelifts, as well as all sorts of variety of "short scar" and "mini-facelifts.  However, it would also include placement of malar and submalar implants, as well as all variety of fillers from fat, to hyaluronic acid to artefil and beyond.

A mid-face lift, on the other hand, refers to something very specific. It is a procedure designed to lift the soft tissues of the mid-face, which is defined as the area of the face extending from the lateral canthus (the outside corner of the eye) to the oral commissure (the corner of the mouth). To do this, the soft tissues of this region of the face are thoroughly freed from their attachments to the underlying facial skeleton, elevated to a more youthful position, and then fixated in their new location. To achieve this movement, the ligaments that secure this soft tissue to the bone must be released, and this generally dictates that dissection be performed in a subperiosteal plane.

Access for this kind of dissection is generally obtained via incisions in the lower eyelid or the temporal scalp, sometimes with counter-incisions placed in the gingivobuccal sulcus (the space between the cheek and gums), in order to optimize the release of soft tissues in the midface. In our practice, we prefer access incisions in the temporal scalp instead of the lower eyelids, since we feel this reduces the risk of periocular complications. We always perform the gingivobuccal incisions as well, since we believe this insures the complete release of the soft tissues of the midface, which is the essential step to insure their adequate movement to achieve dramatic facial rejuvenation.

In addition to softening the nasolabial folds and achieving some improvement in the marionette lines and the jowls, a well-executed midface lift can translocate soft tissue to the lid/cheek junction that will camouflage the exposure of the inferior orbital rim (lower rim of the bony eye socket) that is one of the hallmarks of facial aging.  Finally, an effective midface lift will shorten the distance from the ciliary margin (the lower eyelashes) to the orbital rim. This lenghthening of the height of the lower eyelid is another cardinal sign of facial aging that can be significantly improved by a mid-face lift, to a far greater degree than can be achieved by standard "cheek lift" procedures.